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Political discourse in the workplace can have a variety of consequences, including deterring potential employees, causing existing employees to consider quitting, and creating rifts among employees, according to a study by HR tech company HiBob.
Half of survey respondents expressed concern that sharing their opinions with their manager could harm their job and relationships, and 61% felt the same about sharing opinions with a colleague. Fifty-five percent of men, up from 46% the previous year, and 43% of women, up from 39%, acknowledged the potential negative impact of political discourse at work on their professional standing and workplace relationships, according to the survey.
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Forty-four percent of job candidates indicated they may be deterred from taking a job with a company that has a differing political stance. That was up from 39% of job candidates the previous year. About 42% said a company’s political stance would not deter them from accepting a job.
Men were more likely to be dissuaded by political stances than women, and millennials and younger workers were more likely to avoid a job with a company holding conflicting political views, the report found.
Nearly two-thirds of employees said they would not be prompted to leave a company with conflicting political views, up significantly from last year when 46% said they would consider quitting. Twenty-six percent said a company's opposite political stance would prompt them to leave.
More than three-quarters of employees and managers believe political discourse should not happen at work, up from 61% last year. Even more, 81%, think socio-political discussions should be kept off of company communication channels, and 68% of respondents believe such discussions should be avoided on business-related social media.
Overall, a majority of respondents agree that respectful socio-political discourse should be encouraged in order to nurture a legitimately inclusive and diverse company culture. Younger individuals were stronger advocates for free speech, largely disagreeing with keeping such discussions out of the office, company digital communication channels and personal-professional social media platforms, the report found.
“On the flip side, this demographic also comprises a notable proportion expressing a lack of opinion in each of those areas, indicating a complex interplay between apathy and stance,” said the report.
Respondents indicated there are several ways employers can prepare the workplace to handle potential social and political issues. The most popular strategy is to have well-defined workplace policies to guide employees on addressing challenges stemming from noteworthy social and political events. Comprehensive DEI training and creating open channels for employees to engage in respectful discourse were other popular strategies.
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