Politics at work: workplace experience and political divides among employees in France
LIFT Working Paper 2026-01 — February 2026 (first released as an HEC Policy Note)
Drawing on a survey of 3,900 private-sector employees in 2024-2025, this note analyzes how everyday experience at work shapes political divides in France. The axis that separates electorates at work is neither wages nor socio-occupational category, but the quality of the social ties experienced day to day in the firm. Employees close to the Rassemblement National (RN) show strong trust in their firm but distrust their colleagues and are socially isolated, while employees close to La France insoumise (LFI) distrust management but trust their colleagues. One third of employees, the most isolated at work, are unaffiliated and do not vote: disengagement at work precedes civic disengagement.
democracy, work, political divides, social trust, RN, LFI
Drawing on a survey of 3,900 private-sector employees in 2024-2025, this note analyzes how everyday experience at work shapes political divides in France. The axis that separates electorates at work is neither wages nor socio-occupational category, but the quality of the social ties experienced day to day in the firm. Employees close to the Rassemblement National (RN) show strong trust in their firm but distrust their colleagues and are socially isolated, while employees close to La France insoumise (LFI) distrust management but trust their colleagues. One third of employees, the most isolated at work, are unaffiliated and do not vote: disengagement at work precedes civic disengagement.
PDF in French