# About four-in-ten Americans say getting ahead means playing office politics

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/money/about-four-in-ten-americans-say-getting-ahead-means-playing-office-politics/

> Indexed question in Money & Finance.

## Reading

Verasight surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults from August 12 to 18, 2026. 40.4% of Americans say career success in most organizations requires playing office politics. 21.8% disagree.

Another 26.9% neither agree nor disagree, and 10.8% say the statement does not apply to them. Strong agreement accounts for 9.7%.

## Topline

Career success in most organizations requires engaging in organizational politics.

About four-in-ten Americans say getting ahead means playing office politics.

Net findings combine adjacent response options from the same scale.

- Agree: 30.7%
- Neither agree or disagree: 26.9%
- Disagree: 14.7%
- Not applicable: 10.8%
- Strongly agree: 9.7%
- Strongly disagree: 7.1%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2026-08-12 → 2026-08-18
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.2%
- Module: AOM Survey #2026-152
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/aom-2026#q-32](https://reports.verasight.io/r/aom-2026#q-32)

## Citation

AOM Omnibus, fielded August 12-18, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/aom-2026#q-32](https://reports.verasight.io/r/aom-2026#q-32)