Want to keep young employees? Let them talk about politics

Traditionally, politics has not had a place at work — the standard policy was don't ask, don't tell. But that mentality isn't sitting as well with younger employees as it did with those who came before them, and some feel they're paying a price.

According to a recent survey conducted by workplace analytics platform Perceptyx, 71% of workers under the age of 35 and 61% of workers between 35 and 45 agreed that all employees should be able to actively discuss their political opinions at work — but only 53% of employees over 45 agreed. Relatedly, just 13% of workers over 45 reported experiencing any kind of discrimination based on their political beliefs and affiliations, as compared to roughly one-third of workers under 45. 

"This kind of data doesn't just matter during election time," says Emily Killham, director of research and insights at Perceptyx. "It matters all year round that you create an environment where people feel safe to speak up about things that are of concern to them." 

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While younger workers may be more eager to discuss politics at the workplace, they're also twice as likely to be concerned about how they might be treated if they disagree with a manager's political opinions, worried that sharing their opinions could damage their career opportunities.

It's easy to suggest, then, that younger workers simply stop sharing their views at work, but therein lies the differentiator between the newer and most tenured members of the workforce: millennials and Gen Z-ers put more stake in company activism than their Gen X and baby boomer counterparts.

"For them, the personal is political and the political is professional — it's all tied together," Killham says. "For younger workers, they don't really want to work in a place where we can't have these real discussions."

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In fact, younger workers are three times more likely to consider a job change if their coworkers don't share their beliefs, the report found. They are also twice as likely to have had at least one politics-related conflict at work in the past three months, and twice as likely to have had more than three conflicts.

"They're not deterred from having these conversations, even though they know they're most at risk," Killham says. "They cannot stop themselves and don't want to stop themselves." 

To avoid losing their existing young talent or missing out on recruiting more, companies may want to consider the value of creating space (and guidelines) for sharing views at work. Signaling an open and honest workplace culture will attract younger generations today — and that talent will grow to be tomorrow's managers, according to Killham. For employers, this could mean taking steps to making it clear to all employees that the company values and respects all points of view, and supporting managers in creating a culture of belonging where it's appropriate to have healthy conflicts about work matters. 

"Leaders are going to have to say, 'I don't like it, but we need it,'" Killham says. "We have to model healthy conflict. We have to say it is okay to disagree about things and still be productive. It is okay to work on a project together and not agree on the steps to get to the answer."