The role of political affiliation in employment decisions: A model and research agenda.

Abstract

Organizational researchers have studied how individuals identify with groups and organizations and how this affiliation influences behavior for decades (e.g., Tajfel, 1982). Interestingly, investigation into political affiliation and political affiliation similarity in the organizational sciences is extremely rare. This is striking, given the deep political divides that exist between groups of individuals described in the political science literature. We draw from theories based on similarity, organizational identification, and person-environment fit, as well as theoretical notions related to individuating information, to develop a model, the political affiliation model (PAM), which describes the implications of political affiliation and political similarity for employment decisions. We set forth a number of propositions based on PAM, to spur future research in the organizational sciences for a timely topic which has received little attention. (PsycINFO Database Record

Political identity dissimilarity, workplace incivility, and declines in well‐being: A prospective investigation

“…This extends prior research on incivility and discrimination as most studies examining categorization processes have examined identities such as gender or race. Although less research has examined the effect of political identity dissimilarity (Roth et al, 2017), our results suggest that it could also be a catalyst for subtle workplace mistreatment. Thus, as long as some difference among coworkers incites in-group/out-group categorizations, incivility can occur.…”

“…For example, the political orientations of CEOs and managers have been associated with corporate debt, capital and research and development expenditures, investments, profitability (Hutton, Jiang, & Kumar, ), firm tax avoidance (Christensen, Dhaliwal, Boivie, & Graffin, ), and corporate social responsibility (Chin, Hambrick, & Treviño, ). Roth, Goldberg, and Thatcher () posit that dissimilarity in political orientations can have very real implications for interpersonal workplace interactions. They described several studies (e.g., Iyengar, Sood, & Lelkes, ; Iyengar & Westwood, ) documenting that political identity dissimilarity affected how individuals felt about others and, consequently, how likely there were to award dissimilar others.…”

“…For example, the political orientations of CEOs and managers have been associated with corporate debt, capital and research and development expenditures, investments, profitability (Hutton, Jiang, & Kumar, 2014), firm tax avoidance (Christensen, Dhaliwal, Boivie, & Graffin, 2015), and corporate social responsibility (Chin, Hambrick, & Treviño, 2013). Roth, Goldberg, and Thatcher (2017) posit that dissimilarity in political orientations can have very real implications for interpersonal workplace interactions.…”

“…These problems are especially likely during an election season, where frequent discussion of politics is likely to make one's political FIGURE 1 Conceptual model identity salient and, consequently, vulnerable to in-group/out-group distinctions (Roth et al, 2017). Indeed, political talk is common in workplaces.…”

Organizational political affiliation and job seekers: If I don’t identify with your party, am I still attracted?

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. (Roth et al, 2017). Other high-profile events might include social unrest (e.g., concerns over police brutality and associated events) that might split individuals by parties or beliefs on law and order (recall this is an important value associated with political affiliation noted above).…”