Reflektive Survey: More Than Half of Your Employees Are Talking Politics at Work
New Survey Reveals How US Politics Are Affecting Workforce Morale and What Employers Can Do About It
American men are more willing to engage in political conversations with co-workers but also more likely to be affected by US political volatility at work, according to new research released today by Reflektive, the leading performance management platform.
The survey of more than 1,000 US employees also revealed which topics Americans find most uncomfortable to discuss with co-workers, which topics lead to the most heated debates at work, and what resources would be most effective for dealing with tense conversations in the workplace.
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“It’s concerning that half of the American workforce is worried that disagreeing with their managers about politics might have repercussions for their career,” said Reflektive CEO Greg Brown. “As an employer, you want your employees to have diversity of thought. Your job isn’t to suppress this, but you do need HR, leadership and management to set the boundaries, communicate them to employees, and lead by example.”
Almost a third of American workers (32%) say they needed a mental health day after the 2016 election. And when it comes to creating discord in the workplace, it’s still Trump for the win: according to the survey, the 45th US president provokes the most heated, angry debates between American co-workers. The other most loaded topics include racism, religion and US politics generally.
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Many Americans plan to take a day off if Trump is impeached — 43% of men and 24% of women for mental health and 49% of men and 42% of women to celebrate.
Significantly more men (67%) than women (46%) engage in political conversations at work, and perhaps it is for this reason that more men (56%) than women (43%) say the current US political volatility affects them at work. For example:
- More men (56%) than women (40%) worry that disagreeing with the political views of their boss or co-workers could negatively bias their performance review.
- Twice as many men (30%) as women (15%) say the impeachment hearings may affect their work performance.
- Twice as many men (26%) as women (12%) say it will be difficult to go to work the day after the 2020 election, regardless of who wins.
- More men (58%) than women (49%) say that if their candidate loses the 2020 election, it will affect their performance at work.
Reflektive is a performance management company built for top performers and growing businesses. With Reflektive, you can scale constructive, ongoing conversations that keep your people and your business continuously improving
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