As politically divided as the country is these days, it should come as no surprise that a lot of the effects from political discussions carry over into the theoretically neutral workplace—and that's not necessarily a good thing.

A survey from Randstad US finds that although close to half—49 percent—of respondents say they enjoy political discussions with coworkers because it helps them understand alternate points of view, 53 percent say they tend to steer clear of coworkers who differ in their political beliefs.

And despite the fact that 65 percent say they're comfortable with talking politics with their colleagues and 38 percent say they've actually changed their political opinions thanks to those discussions, there's the little matter of when those discussions get a little too hot for comfort; 55 percent say they've seen such discussions (or political arguments), and 38 percent have been involved in them.

That plays out a little differently than “friendly” political discussions, since 72 percent of respondents say that heated arguments make them feel stressed or anxious, and 44 percent say they weigh on their productivity.

Oh, and then there's the way people feel about their coworkers once political opinions come out into the open. Fully half of respondents say that their thoughts and feelings about colleagues changed once they were aware of their political beliefs, and 43 percent say they have a colleague whose views differ from theirs and have felt excluded at work as a result; 38 percent say they've experienced negative bias at work because of their politics, and 60 percent self-censor on social media lest colleagues catch on to their politics.

And along those lines, 46 percent have un-followed colleagues on social media because of political posts—and 47 percent think they have to hide their political beliefs lest they fail to fit in with senior leaders at work.

Of course, if the boss speaks out that can affect the workplace too, with 35 percent saying they'd find another job if direct managers were on the opposite side of the fence and spoke about it openly. Not only that, they'd take a pay cut to work at companies espousing their own views. And 58 percent wouldn't even interview for a job at a company publicly promoting political beliefs opposed to their own.

Yet 46 percent of workers say it's important for them to work at companies to take a stand, while 56 percent say it's important for them to work at companies with charitable and/or corporate social responsibility views that fit with their own. Such hot-button issues include LGBTQIA rights (53 percent), immigration policy (54 percent) and gun control (53 percent).

Millennials are the most passionate about politics, with 55 percent saying they've come in for negative bias at work because of it, compared with just 23 percent of 50–64-year-olds. And while half of all workers say their attitude toward colleagues changed after learning their political beliefs, that's true for 69 percent of millennials. They're also the most ready to jump ship over politics, with 67 percent of millennials saying they'd go job-hunting if their bosses' politics differed from theirs; just 15 percent of 50–64-year-olds would take such drastic action.

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Political discussions can affect work, workplace relationships

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