Right versus left: How does political ideology affect the workplace?

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/job.2291
• Author: Andrew F. Johnson,Katherine J. Roberto
• Published date: 01 October 2018
• Date: 01 October 2018

THE INCUBATOR

Right versus left: How does political ideology affect the

workplace?

Andrew F. Johnson* |Katherine J. Roberto*

Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, Corpus

Christi, Texas, U.S.A.

Correspondence

Katherine J. Roberto, Texas A&M University–

Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5808,

Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, U.S.A.

Email: katherine.roberto@tamucc.edu

Summary

Underscored by perceived moral truths and at times punctuated by hypocrisy, political

ideology is a deeply held conviction for many individuals, affecting their behavior. In

an organizational setting, conflicting political ideologies may lead to a number of

undesirable outcomes. This Incubator calls for further study into this important indi-

vidual trait.

KEYWORDS

conflict, diversity, hypocrisy, morality, political ideology

1|INTRODUCTION

“Man is by nature a political animal.”—Aristotle

Political discourse has permeated many facets of society leading

up to and in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Much of this

discourse has led individuals to promote their political ideology (PI)

publicly. Ideology is a deeply held conviction that is central to an

individual's belief structure, which may drive people to take extraordi-

nary measures against others of differing views, even leading nations

to war (Jost & Amodio, 2012). We define PI as a set of opinions

underpinned by doctrines, values, and perceived moral truths that

guide behavior toward a specific social order. Individuals may express

their PI through membership in political parties, interest groups, activ-

ism, social media activity, elections, contributions, support for particu-

lar candidates, and other activities.

The popular press repeatedly notes work‐related consequences of

expressing PI. CEO Mathew Blanchfield told employees and cus-

tomers in 2016 that his marketing firm “will no longer do business

with any person that is a registered Republican or supports Donald

Trump”(Chasmar, 2016). A Republican in the Iowa senate filed a bill

in 2017 that would have required applicants' PI be considered as a

diversity measure when hiring new faculty members at public univer-

sities. Though the bill was not passed, it was seen as an effort to bal-

ance the political rhetoric students received by hiring more

conservative professors in what is perceived as a predominately liberal

environment (Pfannenstiel, 2017). A woman was fired when a picture

of her riding her bike and giving the “middle finger”as the presidential

motorcade passed went viral. Though unidentifiable in the picture, she

was terminated from Akima, a government contractor, when she told

her bosses it was her (Dvorak, 2017). An African‐American professor

was suspended from Grand Canyon University in response to his com-

ments about the Black Lives Matter movement. The professor said in a

school‐sponsored forum that members of the movement “who are

saying things that are not helpful to any way, shape or form of human

dignity or flourishing”should be hung (Krafft, 2017). Some who sup-

ported and participated in the Charlottesville, Virginia, protests—white

supremacists and neo‐Nazis—faced significant consequences at their

jobs. One member identified through social media subsequently

resigned amid backlash from customers at Top Dog, a California res-

taurant (Rocha, 2017). In most of these cases, expressing PI resulted

in a negative work‐related outcome. These examples illustrate that

PI influences employee behavior in both work and nonwork roles, ulti-

mately affecting organizational outcomes such as diversity, communi-

cation, employee relations, and turnover. This Incubator seeks to begin

fecundation of the role individual PI plays within organizations due to

the many workplace considerations surrounding these phenomena.

Examining PI at the individual level and its effect on organizational

behavior has only recently garnered attention. This may be in part due

to the increasing divisiveness of politics, the willingness to be more

vocal, and the availability of different platforms to express (e.g., social

media) and identify (e.g., internet availability of political contributions)

opinions, ultimately bleeding into corporate America where it is often

expected that you leave your personal life at the door. Other

*Please note that both authors contributed equally to this article, as such order

of authorship is listed alphabetically.

Received: 26 March 2018 Accepted: 6 April 2018

DOI: 10.1002/job.2291

1040 Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J Organ Behav. 2018;39:1040–1043.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/job