From Taboo to Team Talks: Political Conversations in a Changing Workplace

Engaging in political conversations in the workplace was long considered taboo, but a volatile political climate – as well as shifting generational norms – are changing attitudes about the types of conversations that are appropriate at work. About three-in-five workers in the United States (61 percent) have discussed politics with colleagues at work over the past 12 months, and younger generations – who came of age in a politically fraught moment for the United States – are more likely to expect that their employers be vocal on current political issues.[1]

As 2024 political campaigns kick off across the United States and with ongoing geopolitical conflicts around the globe as well as the lingering legacy of high profile pandemic-era political debates, it’s likely the politics talk in the workplace is bound to increase in the coming year: Over the past year about one-in-twelve (8 percent) of active Company Bowls^TM on the Glassdoor community had a conversation featuring either President Biden or former President Trump, and more than one-in-five (21 percent) had a conversation about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East during the week after it started. (Company Bowls are an exclusive space in the Glassdoor community for coworkers to connect.) Employees have a wide spectrum of comfort with – and expectations for – these conversations.

Here are some key findings:

Politics make prime workplace conversation material for three-fifths of today’s workers.

Political conversations in the workplace are very common: About three-in-five (61 percent) workers in the United States have discussed politics with colleagues at work over the past 12 months.

While a majority of both men and women say that they have discussed politics with colleagues at work over the past 12 months, men are more likely to have done so (67 percent of men versus 54 percent of women). This gender gap is true across age groups, though the gap is smaller among younger workers due primarily to younger women being much more likely than older women to discuss politics in the workplace.

Experiences also differ by workers’ self-identified political affiliation: Self-identified Republicans (64 percent) and Democrats (66 percent) were similarly likely to have discussed politics with colleagues in the workplace over the past 12 months, compared to 52 percent of employees who selected “Independent” or “Other” as their political affiliation.[3]

Younger workers are less likely to be comfortable with politically diverse workplaces.

An overwhelming majority (82 percent) of workers are comfortable working with colleagues who have very different political views from their own, though the youngest workers expressed the least comfort with politically diverse workplaces: 72 percent of Gen Z, compared to 83 percent of Millennials, 87 percent of Gen X, 84 percent of Baby Boomers.

Among older generations, women are more likely than men to be comfortable working with politically diverse colleagues: 89 percent of Baby Boomer women versus 79 percent of Baby Boomer men, versus 90 percent of Gen X women and 85 percent of Gen X men. For Gen Z and Millennials, the shares are 80 percent for women and 79 percent for men.

Self-identified Democrats (79 percent) appear to be slightly less likely than self-identified Republicans (83 percent) to be comfortable with politically diverse colleagues, though this difference is not statistically significant.

Keep it confidential: Preference for anonymity in political conversations, particularly amongst Democrats

Half (50 percent) of workers only feel comfortable sharing their political views with colleagues when it is anonymous, and those with a preference for anonymity skew younger, Black, and Democrat-identifying.

It is clear that, absent a mechanism for anonymous conversation, employers are likely to see only a biased perspective on their employees’ political views.

Young women are most likely to feel supported when their company takes a public stance on issues they care about.

Close to two-thirds of workers (64 percent) said that they feel supported when their company takes a public stance on an issue that they care about.

Younger workers are most likely to agree that they feel supported when their company takes a public stance on an issue that they care about: 71 percent of Gen Z workers and 70 percent of Millennial workers compared to 59 percent of Gen X workers and 51 percent of Baby Boomer workers. This is particularly true for Gen Z and Millennial women (81 percent agree compared to 63 percent of Gen Z and Millennial men). The gender gaps are much smaller or nonexistent for Gen X and Baby Boomers.

There is also a wide gap in support for companies taking public stances on political issues across self-identified Democrats and Republicans: 78 percent of self-identified Democrats agree that they feel supported when their company takes a public stance on an issue that they care about compared to 52 percent of self-identified Republicans, and 60 percent of those who identify as “Independent” or “Other”.

While a large majority of workers feel supported when their company takes a public stance on political issues that they care about, less than half (45 percent) think that employers in general should take public stances on important current political issues such as abortion, immigration, or LGBTQ rights.

Here, again, younger workers and self-identified Democrats are more likely to be in favor of employers taking public stances on current political issues.

Gen Z workers and Hispanic workers are particularly sensitive to the political candidates that their company’s senior executives support.

Historically, senior executives have been much more active in politics than more junior employees, due in part to their age, social status and wealth. There are risks, however, associated with senior executives’ political speech – particularly among their youngest employees.

Over one-third (36 percent) of employees would not apply to open roles at a company, and nearly one-third (31 percent) would consider leaving a job, if a company’s CEO supported a political candidate who they did not agree with.

The youngest workers are much more sensitive than older workers to the politics of their senior executives. Almost half (49 percent) of Gen Z workers would not apply to open roles at a company and 44 percent would consider leaving a job where the CEO supported a political candidate they did not agree with, compared to 39 percent of Millennials who would not apply to open roles and 37 percent of Millennials who would consider resigning. Among Gen X, 29 percent would not apply to open roles and 23 percent would consider leaving a job where the CEO supported a political candidate they did not agree with, as would 30 percent and 18 percent respectively among Baby Boomers.

Across race/ethnic groups, Hispanics are the most sensitive to the politics of their company’s senior executives: 49 percent of Hispanic workers would not apply to open roles and 47 percent would consider leaving a job if their company’s CEO supported a political candidate who they did not agree with. Among Black workers, the shares are 39 percent and 34 percent respectively. Among white workers, 31 percent would not apply to open roles and 25 percent would consider leaving a job if their company’s CEO supported a political candidate who they did not agree with.

Self-identified Democrats also appear to be more sensitive than self-identified Republicans to the political candidates who their company’s CEO supports: 43 percent of self-identified Democrats would not apply to open roles and 40 percent would consider leaving a job if their company’s CEO supported a political candidate who they did not agree with – compared to 34 percent and 26 percent respectively among self-identified Republicans, and 31 percent and 27 percent among those who self-identified as “Independent” or “Other”.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor from October 3-5, 2023 among 1,055 U.S. adults ages 18 and older employed full/part time. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact pr@glassdoor.com.

Footnotes

[1] Unless otherwise indicated, data presented in this report include those employed full- and part-time. Results by race are not disaggregated for Asians due to insufficient sample.

[2] Generations as defined by the Pew Research Center: Silent Generation (born 1928-1945), Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Gen X (born 1965-1980), Millennials (born 1981-1996), Gen Z (born 1997-2012).

[3] Response to the question: “Regardless of how you may vote, what do you generally consider yourself?” Response options included: Republican, Democrat, Independent, and Other.