A new survey from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found that political debate in the workplace is creating a tense environment among colleagues.
The CMI Managers Voice Pulse Point Poll conducted back in March found that of the 1,000 managers polled, 44 percent said they had witnessed disagreements between workmates over political views. A quarter of people said the disputes led to increased stress and tension during company meetings.
Leadership expert and keynote speaker Anton Gunn said a majority of people experience some sort of tough situation at work or feel like they've been treated unfairly at some point.
"We experience so many things and politics is no different than anything else," he said
He said a good way to go about this type of situation is to acknowledge your emotions and think long and deep about what you should or should not say.
"If people are pressing you because of your beliefs, you just have to understand that not everybody is prepared to have the same conversation," Gunn said.
Some organizations may have specific policies against talking about politics in the workplace and people have lost their jobs over violating that policy. Although, some other companies have created "safe spaces" within their building to allow people to speak freely about different things including politics.
Between the sexes, female managers were more likely (30 percent) to say at some point there was an increased stress and tension level at work caused by political disagreements than male managers (19 percent).