It May Be Impolitic to Discuss Politics at Work

Politics and Religion: Most people shy away from either topic in the workplace. Not even a hotly contested presidential election appears enough of an incentive to engage in political debate during the workday. In fact, “employees are decidedly mixed” on sharing political opinions with co-workers, according to an American Management Association survey. Roughly 35 percent of employees are uncomfortable with political discourse, while nearly 40 percent have no problem endorsing their ideas and candidates to colleagues. About one-quarter of those surveyed said they hold neutral political opinions. Interestingly, employees appear slightly less constrained when talking politics with supervisors, although they are almost evenly split: 40 percent are comfortable, while 38 percent are uncomfortable (22 percent say they are on the fence).

Believe it or not, nearly 80 percent of companies say their senior executives do not contribute money to a particular political party. Also, political activism is largely absent from the workplace, in spite of the fact that most companies (57 percent) lack formal written policies that prohibit employees from campaigning on behalf of their favorite candidates.