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Forget Thanksgiving, now politics is threatening to ruin the office too. According to a recent study, 91% of American workers report witnessing or experiencing political clashes at work. What’s more, it seems the problem has been getting worse since the election last year.
Resume Now’s Post U.S. Elections Report, which surveyed 1,037 American workers last month, suggests that politics are having a big impact on workplace culture. Seventy-nine percent of employees reported discussing politics at least weekly, with 32% talking politics every day. According to a majority of the surveyed workers, these conversations have picked up in frequency and intensity since November: 72% said political conversations were more common, and 75% said the conversations had become more intense. Moreover, 83% of employees said they anticipated political tensions to continue rising under the current administration.
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Although talking politics at work isn’t inherently bad, the survey suggests that the character of current political discourse is having a negative impact on office culture. Fifty-one percent of employees reported avoiding collaboration with colleagues of opposing views. Ninety-three percent of surveyed workers said they believed leadership’s political bias affected workplace policies and decisions. Further, 90% said they believed political bias impacted promotions, raises, or workplace opportunities.
How should management navigate political conflict at the office? Ninety-two percent of surveyed workers said they were in favor of restrictions on political talk. Such policies, however, are likely to raise the issue of censorship.
Keith Spencer, a career export at Resume Now, thinks companies will have to find a balance between free expression and rules to preserve office tranquility:
"Political conversations are no longer just a side topic—they’re shaping workplace culture and fueling divisions. With 91% of employees reporting conflict over political differences and more than half avoiding colleagues with opposing views, companies must find a way to balance free expression with maintaining a professional, inclusive environment.”
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