About a third of the employees at US productivity software firm Basecamp have announced their resignations after the company banned political conversations in the workplace.
The mass walkout came after Basecamp chief executive and co-founder Jason Fried published a blog post on Monday explaining new rules adopted by the company, including a ban on "societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account."
He also announced the end of some "paternalistic" employee benefits, such as fitness and continuing education allowances, and said there would be "no more lingering or dwelling on past decisions."
About 20 of Basecamp's 57 employees have announced their resignations on Twitter, according to a tally by developer John Breen, who works for another firm.
To justify the ban on political conversations, Fried said they had become "a major distraction" in the current climate.
"Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant," he wrote.
"You shouldn't have to wonder if staying out of it means you're complicit, or wading into it means you're a target."
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