Political Misfits in the Workplace

Being the only conservative or liberal political voice at work can determine how long employees stick around.

Based on the research of Sekou Bermiss

Before you accept a job offer, it may be a good idea to take the political temperature of your future coworkers.

You could end up being the lone liberal or conservative in the organization, and that could determine how long you remain on the job, says Sekou Bermiss, associate professor of management at Texas McCombs.

In a paper coauthored with Rory McDonald of Harvard Business School, Bermiss looked at information on thousands of political donations to gauge private equity firms’ leanings. Such donations have been repeatedly proven to be a good measure of political ideology, he says.

The researchers found that being an office outlier — labeled an “ideological misfit” — isn’t always a predictor that an employee will be driven away, however. “On the liberal side, it actually decreases your likelihood of leaving,” he says.

“Liberal misfits seem to stick around longer than conservative misfits, who seem to punch out a lot faster.” — Sekou Bermiss

Donkeys Don’t Leave

For their paper, “Ideological Misfits: Political Affiliation and Employee Departure in the Private Equity Industry,” the researchers tracked over 40,000 investment professionals in the U.S. private equity industry over 10 years. To quantify whether workers were relatively more liberal or conservative, they examined the ratio of their campaign donations to both candidates and political action committees compared to others in the firm.

“We were looking at how different they were from everyone else, and then along the spectrum,” Bermiss says. “We tried to look at it as a continuum.” So, just as people tend to be more or less liberal (or conservative) than others, not everyone is a misfit to the same degree.

Next, they examined turnover at the firms. “We thought if you’re the only liberal — or the only conservative — you’re probably going to get more hostility, you’re not going to be part of the in-group, and you’re going to feel a lot of isolation, so you’ll be more likely to leave,” he says.

The researchers learned that liberal misfits surrounded by conservative co-workers are actually more apt to stay in the job. They conducted follow-up interviews with some of the individual misfits, where they uncovered some qualitative reasons. Sometimes, it’s about making your objections heard. If the misfit leaves, there won’t be anyone left to voice the misfit’s political opinions at work. Additionally, unlike being the lone extrovert in an office of introverts, where personalities won’t change, misfits feel they can use their evangelical role to influence co-workers’ political ideologies.

Conservatives in a sea of liberals, however, are faster to leave. Why is that? Due to the size of the data sets studied, it wasn’t possible to determine workers’ overall psychological motivations. Still, Bermiss has some theories. He points to psychological research indicating that conservatives have more of an “in-group/out-group distinction” and perceive out-group members less favorably compared to liberals. “Meaning if I’m the sole conservative, I’m more likely to separate myself from you,” he says.

Hiring a Misfit

During the hiring process, political discussions are typically discouraged, if not forbidden. Sometimes, new hires just don’t care how different they are from fellow employees. “If you get a good job, most people are going to take it, even if they think it might be a bad fit,” Bermiss says.

His research suggests it might be worth considering political fit, so that companies and workers know whether they’re likely to be a long-term match. “The biggest mistake that organizations make is just assuming we all are the same, and that probably will drive away people who might be really valuable to your organization,” he says.

To prevent that outcome, Bermiss suggests having the conversation during the interview job process. The company can ask the interviewee if they view themselves as a team player and whether they’re comfortable having less support from colleagues.

The company can also acknowledge its own position on various issues. The interviewer can state, for example, that the firm is dependent on limited government intervention. They can highlight company policy and note that many individual workers share that philosophy. “You would either share that or ask a question that gets to how our business works, what we’re motivated by, and our philosophy,” Bermiss says. The company can suggest the candidate do their own research on the company and the policies it supports in order to make their decision. “That’s probably the easiest thing because most of that stuff is available,” Bermiss says. An online search can reveal where the CEO has made donations, for example.

It often doesn’t require much digging. “CEOs state their ideological values more and more now in public venues,” Bermiss says. “Ten years ago, a CEO wouldn’t do a video about diversity or Obamacare.”

Political Diversity Challenging, but Beneficial

Yet having a diversity of opinion among staff can actually be beneficial, and help a firm become more creative, leading to better decisions.

“We like being around people who agree with everything we say. So if we’re around people who don’t agree, you may think, ‘I don’t like these people,’ but you actually perform better.” — Sekou Bermiss

Should we discuss politics at work? As a management professor, Bermiss is hesitant to encourage workers to share their politics with coworkers. Nevertheless, he sees a larger benefit: Since work is one of the few places we may get to interact with people who hold opposing views, these exchanges can be good for society as a whole.

“We need that exchange because people aren’t doing it anywhere else,” he says. “Organizations can be a place where we have those discussions, and I think they can be somewhat civil, informed, and useful.”

“Ideological Misfits: Political Affiliation and Employee Departure in the Private Equity Industry” was published on Feb. 27, 2018 in the Academy of Management Journal.

Story by Jeremy M. Simon