Oct. 12--Banks are tanking, Wall Street's in turmoil and world credit markets are freezing up.

Toss in a contentious presidential election and there's fuel for heated discussion at work.

Experts say it can be best to limit -- or avoid entirely -- political talk at work, but when the economy and politics start affecting employees' everyday lives, it's going to seep into their conversations.

Still, Marilyn Pincus, a local author who wrote "Everyday Business Etiquette," said it can be best to just avoid the topic at work.

"This is a really contentious time," Pincus said. "We're going to be electing a president, and there are very strong opinions on both sides. We're getting bombarded in the news, on television and on the radio, and people who don't share your opinion may get annoyed."

But some say political banter is fine as long as employees stay respectful to each other and they let workers who aren't interested in sharing their point of view stay out of the conversation.

If you're talking politics at work, the conversations should be limited to five minutes, said Aaron Witsoe, president of Creative Business Resources, a Phoenix-based company that provides human-resources outsourcing to medium and small businesses. That gives employees plenty of time to find out each others' views -- any longer and it could reach the point where employees are trying to sway one another's opinions.

And that's where problems can emerge.

Unfortunately, Pincus said, when someone knows where you stand on the political spectrum it can have a lasting effect that extends beyond an election or the immediate issue at hand. A co-worker who disagrees might see you in a different light if you unleash a political diatribe, she said.

Also, if your political leanings counter that of a supervisor, you could miss out on a promotion or even have your job at risk, Pincus said.

"We would like to think these things don't effect us," Pincus said, "but everybody's human."

Keeping politics to the break

Bernice Lewis, a department manager at Wal-Mart, said political talk isn't taboo at her work so long as the employees keep it to break time.

For the most part, the employees respect one another's different opinions, she said.

"They can get kind of intense," she said. "But a lot of people don't do their homework and don't know the background."

Lewis, 45, said she's a Republican and a supporter of presidential candidate John McCain, but she has voted for Democrats in the past.