Survey: 3 in 5 American workers fear sharing religious, political views in workplace

Poll of 3,000+ employees highlights need for companies to protect employee civil rights as outlined in Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index

WASHINGTON – Is corporate America harming employee recruitment and retention by failing to respect the diverse religious and political viewpoints of those on the payroll? A new Ipsos survey commissioned as part of Alliance Defending Freedom’s Viewpoint Diversity Score initiative suggests that companies might be alienating their workforce by taking political stands on contentious social issues and creating a culture of intolerance toward diverse views in the workplace.

The Freedom at Work survey, which polled more than 3,000 adults employed across a wide variety of professions, was conducted from Oct. 7 to Nov. 16, 2022. The findings confirm data profiled in the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, the first comprehensive benchmark designed to measure corporate respect for religious and ideological diversity in the market, workplace, and public square.

Many employees, the survey indicates, worry about workplace repercussions for expressing deeply held views both at work and even while off the clock. For example, 3 out of 5 respondents say that respectfully expressing religious or political viewpoints would “likely or somewhat likely” carry negative consequences at work, while 1 in 4 say they know someone who has experienced negative consequences for respectfully expressing their religious and political viewpoints.

The survey suggests that companies can take concrete steps to minimize the potential for negative consequences and avoid preemptively chilling the speech of their workforce. Large pluralities (49% and 48%) say their companies could make important progress by adopting policies that protect viewpoint diversity in the workplace and the freedom of employees to engage in political activities on their own time without fear of repercussions at work. The Business Index recommends policies and practices which companies can adopt to bolster their reputations as businesses that respect viewpoint diversity across their enterprise.

“Employees shouldn’t fear that their religious or political views could cost them their job,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President for Corporate Engagement Jeremy Tedesco. “Yet these survey results show that a significant number of employees do. We created the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index to help companies measure and improve their respect for religious and viewpoint diversity. Companies could make big strides in winning back their employees’ trust and improving their scores on the Business Index by doing four things: (1) adopt our model religious accommodation policy, (2) adopt our model policy protecting employees’ exercise of their civil rights outside work, (3) include religious charities in employee charitable giving programs, and (4) participate in the survey portion of the Business Index, which asks companies to disclose internal policies and practices that implicate civil liberties.”

Among the survey’s most concerning findings, more than half of all employees (54%) say they fear that sharing political content on their own social media accounts could result in negative consequences in the workplace. Data collected on Fortune 1000 companies' policies and practices as part of the Viewpoint Diversity Score 2022 Business Index demonstrates that employees have good reason to fear: Of 50 benchmarked companies, only one—Paychex—confirms that it respects employees’ civil rights outside of work.

In addition to raising important questions as to whether such companies are violating employees’ rights protected under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the survey’s findings come at a time when many companies are facing unprecedented challenges in recruiting and retaining talent.

Most employees (66%) say their company’s commitment to diversity should include respect for a wide range of religious and political beliefs in and out of the workplace. By failing to provide these minimal protections, companies risk losing employee talent as nearly 42% of potential job seekers say they are much less likely to apply to work at a company whose work culture is hostile to their religious or political views.

Related topics studied by the survey include employees’ perceptions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training materials that rely on concepts common in critical race theory, such as “systemic racism” and “oppressed/oppressor” dichotomies. A plurality (40%) of employees say this approach divides, rather than unites, colleagues.

Key takeaways from the survey include the following:

• Companies are failing to respect the diverse religious and political viewpoints of those on the payroll.
  • Large majorities (60% and 64%) say that respectfully expressing religious or political viewpoints would “likely or somewhat likely” carry negative consequences on their employment.
    • Employees believe these negative consequences for expressing religious viewpoints most often include hostile treatment from colleagues or supervisors (19%), as well as exclusion from professional development or advancement opportunities within the company (12%).
    • Employees believe these negative consequences for expressing political viewpoints also most often include hostile treatment from colleagues or supervisors (18%), as well as exclusion from professional development or advancement opportunities within the company (12%).
  • 1 in 4 say they know someone who has experienced negative consequences for respectfully expressing their political viewpoints (27%) or religious viewpoints (25%).
  • 30% say they have considered relocating to a state or region that is more tolerant of their values.

• Employees’ fear of negative consequences for respectfully expressing their viewpoints extends beyond the workplace.
  • 54% say they are concerned that sharing political content on their own social media accounts could result in negative consequences in the workplace.
  • 66% say their companies’ commitment to diversity should include respect for a wide range of religious and political beliefs in and out of the workplace.
  • Large pluralities (49% and 48%) say their companies could make important progress by adopting policies that protect viewpoint diversity in the workplace and the freedom of employees to engage in political activities on their own time without fear of repercussions at work.
  • A plurality of potential jobseekers (42%) say they are much less likely to apply to work at a company whose work culture is hostile to their religious or political views.

• Companies’ public stances on hot-button issues are often at odds with their workforce and customers.
  • 55% support or strongly support—compared with only 14% who oppose or strongly oppose—bills (like Florida’s 2022 Parental Rights in Education bill) described as those that “aim to protect the freedom of parents to decide what their kindergarten through 3rd grade children are taught in the classroom about sex and gender identity by limiting what teachers can discuss and requiring notification and consent of parents before sensitive topics can be addressed.”
  • This widespread support from employed survey respondents is notably out of sync with the bill’s opposition, for example, from the 284 large corporations (including The Walt Disney Corporation, Starbucks, Target, Apple, and financial institutions including Deutsche Bank and PNC Financial Services Group) that signed the Human Rights Campaign’s statement opposing such state-level legislation.
  • A plurality (44%) say they are uncomfortable with their employer taking a stance on a hot-button cultural issue that contradicts the views of many employees and customers.
  • 64% say companies should not be able to coerce their employees to affirm or celebrate social or political views that violate their personal beliefs.
  • 57% say they are likely to stop purchasing products or cancel subscriptions from brands that do not respect their values.

• Employees believe workforce training that features concepts of “systemic racism” fail to foster unity.
  • Nearly 1 in 4 either have been or know someone who has been asked by their employer to affirm they are complicit in systemic racism and/or oppression.
  • A plurality (40%) say this type of curriculum divides, rather than unites, colleagues.
  • A plurality (43%) say they are less comfortable sharing their views on racism or bias at work after participating in the training.

• Most employees (65%) are unaware of employee resource groups at their company.
  • 87% are not a member of a company-sponsored ERG.
  • 64% agree that companies should treat ERGs equally regardless of whether they are religious or non-religious.

View the survey results in detail and find out more about Viewpoint Diversity Score and the Business Index at www.ViewpointDiversityScore.org.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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