Business and politics: a false debate
The distinction between a “political enterprise” and a “partisan enterprise” should not be overlooked. Every election cycle brings up the question: what role can a company play in influencing voting decisions? Implicitly, how can certain political forces be prevented from gaining power, or how can institutional resistance be organized if they do succeed? But by framing the issue this way, we are on the wrong track.
The company is not meant to dictate electoral choices to its employees. It is neither a political party nor a moral authority responsible for correcting election results. Assigning this role to it would be shifting it outside of its sphere of responsibility. Similarly, it is not a democratic principle to prohibit institutional dialogue with political parties represented in public debate. The confusion between civic responsibility and partisan engagement weakens the company’s position.
However, the company cannot retreat into abstract neutrality. It is a fundamentally political entity in the sociological sense. It does not engage in politics, but it generates political implications through its structures, decision-making, and work organization.
Displayed Commitments and Concrete Practices
It first generates political implications when the disparity between its stated commitments and actual practices becomes apparent. In 2024, 58% of young employees believed that CSR commitments were a form of greenwashing or social washing. By 2025, only 45% of employees felt that the interests of executives and employees aligned. These findings do not indicate a lack of concern for corporate responsibility; they signal a demand for alignment. When promises are not kept, symbolic credibility diminishes.
The company also generates politics through the everyday work experience. According to Viavoice, when defining a “meaningful job,” employees primarily cite “quality of work-life” (44%) and “fair compensation” (39%), far ahead of explicitly activist or citizen-focused aspects. It is clear that the social question remains central.
Additionally, there is a worrying reality: 35% of French people claim to “suffer at work,” and 22% believe that their professional activity affects their mental health. Work is not just a contractual space; it is a place of recognition, conflict, identity-building, and projection. It is one of the main vectors of social integration.
One must also remember that small and medium-sized enterprises employ over 10 million people. They often lack the resources to formalize sophisticated engagement or well-being initiatives. However, they significantly shape the country’s work experience. Any discussion of a company’s political responsibility limited to large corporations would miss a decisive part of social reality.
Conditions of Work Exercise
Recent electoral results show that working-class categories have predominantly supported the far-right. It would be simplistic to view this solely as an ideological phenomenon. Working conditions, prospects for advancement, material stability, and a sense of respect are central variables in shaping political preferences. Work shapes social trajectories; it indirectly but structurally contributes to “producing voters.”
Saying, as Pascal Demurger does, that the 21st-century company “will be political or will not be” does not mean it should aim to influence “good” votes. It means it cannot ignore the social effects of its organization. Its responsibility is not to replace political parties, schools, or media. Its role is to fulfill its commitments, ensure coherence between proclaimed values and actual practices, and organize work sustainably and fairly.
The company’s political contribution lies not in moral coercion but in the solidity of its structures. Placing work at the center – conditions of practice, recognition, compensation, prospects – is a strategic responsibility. It is within this coherence that its social legitimacy and, indirectly, its contribution to collective stability are at stake.
Elodie Baussand is a founding partner of Tenzing and a board member of EPIDE.
