Employees hide their political beliefs at work, study finds
1 in 3 Gen Z employees said they lie about their political beliefs to avoid workplace conflict.
With an upcoming presidential election, political discussions are likely to return to the workplace with higher prevalence. However, a new survey conducted by Enhancv reveals the fear many employees share surrounding political discussions in the workplace.
According to the survey, 31% of workers experience conflict at work due to their political beliefs and 1 in 5 say they feel threatened while discussing politics at work. The survey found that the most controversial topics to discuss at work included Presidential candidates, abortion and LGBTQ rights.
However, the most controversial topics proved divisive as Gen Z identified racial equality as the most contentious topic, female Democrats identified abortion as the top issue and Hispanic workers said presidential candidates came in first.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Gen Z employees seem especially fearful of political conversations in the workplace. According to the survey, 1 in 3 Gen Z employees said they lie about their political beliefs to avoid workplace conflict. Additionally, while 1 in 4 employees feel threatened discussing politics at work, the survey found that Gen Z are almost twice as likely to feel threatened as baby boomers.
The increased fear among Gen Z might be due to the fact that they are 10 times more likely than baby boomers to have been disciplined for expressing their political opinions in the workplace.
Despite consequences or not, many workers seem to be in agreement that politics do not belong in the workplace.
Related: Health care is top of mind as voters prepare to head to polls, survey finds
When asked about discussing politics in the workplace, 58% of respondents said it is unacceptable. Interestingly, the survey found that both women and high school graduates are more likely to consider political discussions innaporpriate when compared to men and master’s degree graduates, respectively.
“My advice is to maintain a boundary between your private self and your professional persona, especially during the first 3 to 12 months on the job. This approach allows you to observe and understand the workplace culture before deciding how much of your personal beliefs to share,” said Silvia Angeloro, Executive Coach at Enhancv.