Talking politics at work — Many feel uncomfortable

A new survey from management consulting firm Robert Half finds employees need an measure of caution when broaching the subject of politics in the workplace.

Robert Half metro market manager Dora Onyschak says "more than a quarter of the individuals surveyed said that these types of conversations make them really uncomfortable."

Workplace political buzz is more common than it was five years ago. But just 22% in the survey were absolutely sure the subject is appropriate.

Onyschak agrees that in a free workplace, you really cannot ban political discussions altogether — "especially in today's age with all of the social media buzz."

A presidential election is next year and New Jersey is having an Assembly and local elections next month.

"I think that the topic can come up certainly more often than it did," Onyschak said.

The survey also showed 49% of surveyed workers say they're interested when politics pop up, but 27% feel uncomfortable or indifferent, and 19% become irritated.

"It's OK to have different viewpoints and it's OK to have different opinions, and you need to learn to respect each other's opinions," she said.

She says managers must set the tone and "lead by example."

Joe Cutter is the senior news anchor on New Jersey 101.5