With a U.S. presidential election quickly approaching, many Americans are bracing for increased political discussions both at home and at work. To better understand how political discussions impact people in the workplace, ResumeHelp conducted a survey on January 22, 2024 of 1,000 U.S. workers and found that 45% have regretted having political discussions at work. Fifty-one percent believe that talking about politics at work negatively impacts the overall work environment. Twenty-four percent think the upcoming U.S. presidential election is going to make their workplace more uncomfortable.
- Implications of company politics on retention and hiring
- Impact of bosses' political affiliations on direct reports
- Gender distinctions about how politics impacts the workplace
- Generational differences in comfort level talking about politics in the workplace
“These findings suggest that political discussions at work can absolutely have a negative impact on employees’ experience in their workplace,” said Maria Correa, a career expert at ResumeHelp. “Additionally, when workers disagree with a company’s political position or with their boss’ political affiliation, it can impact not just morale but also retention and a company’s ability to recruit and hire,” Correa concluded.
Impact on Retention and Hiring
A company’s politics can influence candidates’ interests.
- 23% of people have decided not to apply to a company’s job listing because of the company’s political stance.
- 10% of people have chosen not to apply to a job because of a company’s politics on more than one occasion.
Bosses and Politics
Political discussions in the workplace can create an undesirable climate for some workers, especially if it comes from the top.
- 37% of workers know their current bosses’ political affiliation.
- 59% believe their manager's political beliefs influence their management style and/or decisions
- 25% have either have left a job or have wanted to leave their job because of their boss’ political beliefs. Specifically, 13% have left one or more jobs because of their boss’ political beliefs. Another 12% have wanted to leave their job for this same reason.
Broad Regret Over Political Talk
Talk of politics in the workplace runs the risk of making people uncomfortable.
- 45% of people say they have regrets about political discussions they’ve had at work.
- 51% of those surveyed believe that talking about politics has a negative impact on the overall work environment.
- Only 24% say it has a positive impact, and the other 26% say it has no impact on the atmosphere at work.
Gender Distinctions
Men and women experience political discussions in the workplace differently, with women feeling more negatively about them.
- While 57% of women reported feeling that political discussions impacted the workplace negatively, only 44% of men reported feeling the same way.
- Conversely, men (32%) felt that talking about politics at work had a positive impact at work at nearly double the rate compared to female workers (17%).
Generational Differences
More than half (51%) of workers say that they never or rarely discuss politics at work, but the data shows that a person’s level of comfort with these discussions varies with age.
People under 45 years of age report talking about politics at work at a higher rate than people over 45. Specifically, respondents aged 35-44 are the most likely to talk politics at work at (60%), followed by 58% of those between the ages of 25-34.
Percentage of respondents who say they sometimes or frequently talk politics at work by age group:
- 18-24: 36%
- 25-34: 58%
- 35-44: 60%
- 45-54: 41%
- >54: 40%
The same age groups were also most likely to report higher comfort levels with political discussions at work. Older workers are also more likely to feel that political discussions create discomfort in the workplace. Here is the breakdown by age group of those who reported being “comfortable” or “very comfortable” with political discussions in the workplace:
- 18-24: 34%
- 25-34: 43%
- 35-44: 50%
- 45-54: 31%
- >54: 31%
Survey Methodology
The full report may be accessed at https://www.resumehelp.com/
The results were gathered through a Pollfish survey conducted on January 22, 2024, involving 1,000 respondents in the U.S. The survey included questions about people’s level of comfort discussing politics in the workplace through yes/no questions and scale-based questions relating to levels of agreement with a statement.
About ResumeHelp
ResumeHelp is a top-tier career resources website sought after by millions of professionals in producing standout resumes and cover letters. The site’s user-friendly resume-writing tools simplify job hunting for job seekers, benefiting thousands of new users weekly with 17 recruiter-approved templates and hundreds of industry-specific examples. Recognized for its proven-successful structured writing guidance, suggested wording for each career, and professional resume designs, ResumeHelp has earned accolades from reputed publications including LifeHacker, Career Karma, techradar, and New York Weekly, among others.
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