Tag: Randstad North America

The data showed that while almost half of respondents enjoy talking politics with colleagues because it helps them understand other viewpoints, 53% admit they limit social interactions with co-workers who have differing political beliefs. Audra Jenkins, chief diversity and inclusion officer for Randstad North America said that the study showed that the topic of politics itself is extremely divisive in the workplace. Without a strategy in place, organizations run the risk of impacting their diversity and inclusion initiatives by creating another barrier that limits the diversity of thought.” The survey found that over half of employees had witnessed heated political discussions or arguments at work and over a third have been involved in them. The survey also found that differences in political viewpoints whether expressed online or in person can be alienating and damage workplace camaraderie. Forty-three percent have at least one colleague whose political views don’t align with their own and have felt excluded at work as a result. So how can managers create a culture of tolerance and respect in an organization of employees with wildly differing political opinions? Jenkins says that banning political discussions outright in the workplace is neither appropriate nor realistic. Fifty-eight percent of employees wouldn’t interview at companies that publicly promoted political beliefs they didn’t support. Just over a third of employees would take pay cuts to move to companies that promoted causes aligned with their political values. Sixty-seven percent of millennials say they’d quit their jobs over political differences with their bosses versus just 15% of 50- to 64-year-olds.