Political Talk Heats Up the Workplace, According to New CareerBuilder Survey

-- 3 in 10 employers have argued with a co-worker over a political candidate vs. 17 percent of workers

-- IT employers most likely to argue about candidates, followed by manufacturing employers

-- More than a third of workers say political correctness has hindered their business

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Jul 14, 2016, 12:04 ET

CHICAGO, July 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the race for the White House sees the Republican and Democratic candidates heading to their national conventions, political tension is making its way from the campaign trail into the office. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 3 in 10 employers (30 percent) and nearly 1 in 5 employees (17 percent) have argued with a co-worker over a particular candidate this election season, most often about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

More than 3,200 workers and more than 1,900 managers in the private sector across industries participated in the nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 11 to June 7, 2016.

"With passions running high this political season, individuals run the risk of saying things or behaving in ways that can be considered unprofessional or discriminatory toward each other," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. "The tip to navigating the rough waters during election season is to make sure your conversations are fair and respectful. If you feel like political chit-chat is getting heated or confrontational, it's time to walk away."

Bringing the Debates to the Office

Management is more likely than employees to argue about candidates, with employers in information technology (47 percent) taking the lead, followed by those in manufacturing (37 percent).

IT: 47 percent
Manufacturing: 37 percent
Professional and Business Services: 30 percent
Financial Services: 29 percent
Health Care: 24 percent
Retail: 23 percent

Overall, 19 percent of employers have argued with a co-worker over Donald Trump vs. 17 percent over Hillary Clinton. While both male and female employers say they have debated with a co-worker over Trump most (22 percent of men, 16 percent of women), men are nearly twice as likely as women to say they've argued with a co-worker over Clinton (21 percent vs. 11 percent).

When it comes to employees, 13 percent have argued with a co-worker over Donald Trump and 8 percent have argued over Hillary Clinton. Male employees (20 percent) reported a higher incidence of arguing politics at work than female employees (15 percent). Comparing age groups, younger workers (ages 18-24) are the most likely to report engaging in heated political debates at work at 24 percent.

Does Political Correctness Help or Hurt the Workplace?

Workers are often urged to remain politically correct, but according to most, their workplaces are censoring them too much. Half of workers (50 percent) and nearly 6 in 10 employers (59 percent) believe the workplace has become too politically correct in America, and a third of employees (33 percent) are afraid to voice certain opinions because they feel they may not be considered politically correct.

More than half of workers (55 percent) describe their workplace or management (59 percent) as politically correct.

And although more than a fifth of workers (22 percent) say political correctness has made their business stronger, more than a third (34 percent) say it has hindered business, making people tiptoe around issues and afraid to speak their minds instead of addressing the issues head on.

Tips to Keep the Peace This Political Season

While most workers choose to keep political debates outside of the workplace, those who like a little healthy debate should keep it at that – healthy. To avoid letting political talk turn sour, Haefner says managers should:

Recognize there's a thin line between freedom of expression and a potential source of conflict. Consider providing respect and dignity behavioral training to all employees and emphasize tolerance for different ideas, beliefs and needs.
Ensure your harassment policies and harassment complaint system are posted and that employees are trained in the process. Similarly, make sure employees are aware of any guidelines that prohibit bringing campaign materials into the office.
Create a culture of open dialogue and mutual respect, but if conversations do turn heated, encourage employees to walk away.

Survey Methodology

The nationwide survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 1,902 managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) and 3,244 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between May 11 and June 7, 2016 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With pure probability samples of 1,902 and 3,244, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have sampling errors of +/- 2.25 and +/- 1.72 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

As the global leader in human capital solutions, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of the recruitment process from acquire to hire. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing job distribution, sourcing, workflow, CRM, data and analytics in one pre-hire platform. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE: TRCO) and The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

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SOURCE CareerBuilder