Organizational Political Affiliation and Job Seekers: If I Don't Identify With Your Party, Am I Still Attracted?

Political divisions appear to be relatively frequent in today's world. Indeed, individuals on opposing sides of these divisions often view each other very negatively. The present multi-study investigation contributes to the nascent literature on organizational political affiliation by examining how job seekers view organizations with political affiliations, a practice that is becoming more prevalent. Studies 1 and 2 indicated that many job seekers are aware of organizations' political affiliations or stances, and that they often considered these affiliations and stances during recent job searches. For example, nearly one-third of participants said they did not apply to an organization because of its political affiliation or stances. Study 3 showed that the extent to which job seekers identified with the organization's party affiliation positively influenced their reactions toward the organization (e.g., perceived similarity and liking), as well as their intention to pursue employment with the organization. In contrast, job seekers' disidentification with the organization's affiliation decreased their feelings of perceived similarity and liking. Study 4 demonstrated that organizational affiliation with a political issue (i.e., gun control/second amendment) also influenced perceptions of similarity and liking. Taken together, results suggest that organizations' affiliations with political parties or their stances on political issues can influence the amount and types of potential employees that organizations attract.