Maybe they don't like Donald Trump or can't stand Hillary Clinton, or believe Bernie Sanders had the Democratic presidential nomination stolen from him, but employees are bringing their politics into their workplaces even as businesses try to discourage such behavior, according to a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

SHRM surveyed 457 human resource professionals from its membership in May to find out their companies' policies about discussing politics in the workplace. The society also wanted to get a feel for how the current political climate is shaping those conversations.

SHRM found that 72 percent of respondents said their companies discouraged political activity at work. Only 4 percent encouraged it. At the same time, 70 percent reported that they perceived the same amount of political activity at work as they had during previous elections years. However, 26 percent said political activity at work had ramped up in recent months.

Given the findings, the SHRM report noted that organizations can't prohibit employees from discussing politics, as the National Labor Relations Board labels such speech as "protected concerted activity." However, the society also warned that political discussions can touch on issues related to protected classes like minorities and therefore must be treated with caution.

"HR professionals and managers must their exercise good judgment about when to step in to quell discussion that is becoming heated, inappropriate or impeding productivity," the report stated.

SHRM also warned HR professionals to prepare for more volatility as the campaigns wore on.

"Anything is possible during a political campaign—not least controversy and disagreement," the society said. http://bit.ly/28Jwqvl

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