The 2020 election and COVID-19 have fostered high political tensions in the workplace, according to a Society of Human Resource Management study released Oct. 5.
Researchers surveyed 504 U.S. workers and 1,525 human resources professionals in August and September regarding their experiences with politics in the workplace.
Here are seven key findings from the study:
- Twenty-four percent of workers said they have experienced either preferential or negative treatment based on their political affiliation, up from 12 percent in 2019.
- Twenty percent of HR professionals say there is more political volatility in the workplace today than three years ago.
- One in 10 workers say their promotion opportunities have been limited due to their political views.
- Forty-five percent of workers have had political disagreements at work.
- Seventy percent of liberal and 73 percent of moderate workers say their co-workers are inclusive of different political views, compared with 60 percent of conservative workers.
- Supervisors are 10 percentage points more hesitant to hire conservative workers than liberal workers.
- Thirty percent of male workers say they have experienced political affiliation bias, compared with 18 percent of female workers.