Staying Neutral: Effect of Principled Neutrality on Engagement

Abstract: As social issues like sustainability and diversity increasingly permeate workplaces, employees are often expected to engage with these topics. However, not everyone feels comfortable taking clear stances due to the complexity of the issues. This research builds on the idea that people can hold seemingly contradictory opinions and proposes that instead of avoiding stances, employees can take a principled neutral stance. This means that although they do not take sides, they communicate clearly why they support or disagree with each side based on clear principles. By engaging in conviction rather than passivity, employees are perceived to be more trustworthy. A pilot study shows that adopting a principled neutral stance on various social issues, compared to using passively neutral or partisan stance, increases observers’ perceptions of trust and willingness to engage with the communicator.

Keywords: principled, neutrality, trustworthiness, social issues