How to Navigate Politics at Work. From Marketplace, I'm Nancy Marshall Genser in for David

Von Kaccio. It is Martin Luther King Day. Today is also inauguration day, with Donald Trump

officially starting his second term as president. Election season is, for the most part, over,

but that doesn't mean political discussions stop, even when you go to work.

After all, some people are saying the 2026 midterms are just around the corner.

So what do you do if news or politics start impacting you at work?

And how do you navigate those conversations safely at the office?

Minnesota Public Radio correspondent Catherine Richard has been reporting on political polarization

as part of the Talking Sense Reporting Project. And Catherine is here to tell us what she's learned.

Good morning, Catherine. Good morning, Nancy. So we're seeing more political tension in the

workplace? Why is that?

Well, the experts I spoke with say it's because our personal identities have become so deeply entwined with our political beliefs. So it's really hard to leave that part of yourself at home when you show up for work every day. And on top of that, social media has made it easier for us to access information about

our colleagues' political beliefs. You know, if you're friends on Facebook with your cubicle

mate, they might post something about the election, you're going to see it, and maybe you're

not going to like it. People still have to work together, even if they disagree politically.

So what can employers do about these tensions? Well, if employers ignore

these tensions, they may fester and then explode. And when there's distrust between colleagues,

productivity can suffer. People might not want to collaborate together. Now, George Vergolius is

the chief clinical officer for R3 Continuum.

It's a company that provides behavioral health services to organizations facing workplace disruption.

Vorgolius says that it is possible for employers to create forums for productive conversations. In an ideal scenario, what we want is to have both parties actually walk away with a deeper understanding

of why the other person sees their views the way they do. We're not talking about converting

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