10 Tips for Talking Politics at Work

Aaron Gouveia, Salary.com contributing writer

In a perfect world, this article wouldn’t have to be written. When it comes to politics, reasonable people would agree to disagree, cast their ballots in private without fanfare, and then go back to office small talk. But during this election season in the most politically divisive time in recent memory, that’s just not in the cards. So the question isn’t whether or not people should talk politics at work, but how to survive talk of the election during office hours. Continue Reading

36% Discuss Politics at Work. Remainder Don’t Get Three Branches of Government.

As one of the most anticipated and contentious presidential races moves forward, you may find the most vocal political pundits in the next cubicle, according to a new CareerBuilder survey. Thirty-six percent of workers reported they discuss politics at work. Forty-three percent expect they will be talking about this year’s presidential election with co-workers. The nationwide survey of more than 7,000 full-time workers nationwide was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder between November 9 and December 5, 2011.

While most conversations around politics were good-natured or even-tempered, 23 percent of workers who have discussed politics at work reported they had a heated discussion or fight with a co-worker, boss or someone else higher up in the organization. One-in-ten workers said their opinion about a co-worker changed after they discovered that person’s political affiliation, with most stating it changed for the negative. Continue Reading