(CNN) Google is urging its employees to cut back on political debates at work.

The company published updated community guidelines for its employees this week, informing staffers that "disrupting the workday to have a raging debate over politics or the latest news story" does not help build community.

Google has historically prided itself on embracing free speech and open debates among employees. But that culture has proven increasingly challenging for Google, which has found itself under fire with some politicians accusing it of anti-conservative bias and some of its workers claiming they were retaliated against for speaking out about the company.

"Community guidelines exist to support the healthy and open discussion that has always been a part of our culture. They help create an environment where we can come together as a community in pursuit of our shared mission and serve our users," said a Google spokeswoman in a statement to CNN Business. "It's critical that we honor that trust and uphold the integrity of our products and services. The guidelines are official policy and apply when employees are communicating in the workplace."

Google first published community guidelines about a year ago concerning how employees engaged with each other, specifying that trolling online and name calling are not okay in the workplace.

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