Hidden consequences of political discourse at work: How and why ambient political conversations impact employee outcomes.

Abstract

Discussions of politics have become increasingly common in the workplace, likely due to increasing political polarization around the world. Because of this, political conversations have the potential to be emotionally charged and disruptive, creating tension in the workplace and negatively affecting employee productivity and well-being. In light of this possibility, the goal of the current investigation was to examine the costs of ambient political conversations in the workplace, assuming that simply overhearing such discussions-without being a participant in them-may have unintended consequences for employees. Across three studies, our findings indicated that employees experience negative affect after overhearing political conversations at work, with these effects being attenuated (amplified) in contexts where employees perceive that their coworkers are more (less) similar to them. In addition to unpacking the mechanisms through which ambient workplace political conversations might impact employee outcomes, our findings from Studies 3A-B provide evidence that under certain circumstances (i.e., when employees agree with the content of ambient workplace political conversations), employees may experience a boost in positive affect after overhearing such conversations at work. Altogether, our findings provide insight into the costs and potential benefits associated with overhearing coworkers discussing politics in the workplace, particularly for those employees who perceive themselves to be dissimilar from their coworkers.

Personal narratives build trust across ideological divides.

“…As a result, any conversations about such decisions will likely reveal people's ideology. Indeed, even when employees discuss shared views on issues, others who disagree may overhear these conversations and experience negative affect (Rosen et al, 2024). Thus, try as they might, employees and employers may find it difficult to avoid politics in the workplace and thus require approaches to navigating any resulting disagreements.…”