Beyond Politics: How Liberal and Conservative Ideologies Predict Workplace Hierarchy Preferences and Interpersonal Judgments

Abstract: Liberals and conservatives often disagree about societal policies due to ideological differences, but whether such differences extend to ostensibly apolitical organizational policies remains unexplored. Across four studies, we demonstrate that political conservatives consistently prefer steeper organizational hierarchies across multiple domains—compensation, benefits, decision-making authority, and supervisory structures (Studies 1a-1b). These preferences are explained by perceived intrinsic benefits of organizational hierarchy beyond general social dominance orientation. Critically, we demonstrate downstream workplace consequences: Ideological differences in hierarchy preferences generate interpersonal conflict and reduce interpersonal collaboration at work even when political ideology remains undisclosed (Study 2). These findings reveal how fundamental ideological orientations shape organizational preferences and interpersonal dynamics even in the absence of explicit political discourse.

Keywords: Political ideology, organizational hierarchy, social inequality