POLITICAL DISCUSSION IN THE WORKPLACE: AGREEMENT, APPROPRIATENESS, AND ENGAGEMENT

Abstract

Conversations in the workplace can often veer from job related content to more controversial subjects, such as politics. In the current political climate, views on political issues are becoming increasingly polarized, and could lead to emotionally charged discussions. This research was interested in looking at how political conversation in the workplace was perceived by employees. This study was specifically interested in whether agreement on a political conversation would lead a person to deem a conversation as appropriate to have in the workplace, and whether agreement would render them more likely to engage in that particular conversation. It was found that the degree of Agreement an individual had with the stance on the political conversation was sometimes related to whether they thought it was okay to have that conversation in a work setting, however it did not have bearing as to whether they were likely to engage in that conversation. Another area of interest was whether an individual’s level of Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Openness would cause an individual to engage in a political conversation. It was found that those low in Emotional Stability were sometimes more likely to engage in political conversations in the workplace regardless of agreement on the political topic. Implications and suggestions for future research are further discussed.