Most organizations do not formally manage political discussions in the workplace. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) cites that barely a quarter of businesses have formal policies regarding political expression in the job. That means that most employees have no formal governance on whether they can talk politics at work.
That may be changing, as today’s political climate has people talking, texting, posting, and otherwise overtly conveying how they feel. The division of political parties is being felt strongly in this country, and the workplace is not immune from political discussion or even aggression.
An interesting survey conducted by CareerBuilder showed that 30 percent of managers and 17 percent of employees had argued with a co-worker regarding a political candidate or issue during the past election season. More than 5,000 private sector employees participated in the survey.
More and more employers are looking at formalizing policies regarding political discussion given recent events. Following are issues they should address when doing so.
First Amendment Rights
Many workers would argue that the First Amendment protects their right to free speech. That is not true for most employees. The First Amendment applies only to government censorship, so the workplaces of government employees are protected under the First Amendment. Private employers can regulate and even prohibit political expression if they so choose. Those who work for private companies are...
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