The 2016 election has already had a major effect on the workplace — and a president hasn’t even been elected yet.

Jim, a 25-year-old corporate trainer at a Midtown-based software company, says he bites his tongue when the women in the office start talking about Hillary Clinton.

“I’m for Bernie,” says Jim, who asked his last name not be used because the Flatbush, Brooklyn, resident doesn’t want his co-workers to know.

“I mentioned it once to a woman, and she got so condescending. I don’t need that. Keep the elections at home; keep the peace in the office.”

Republicans and Democrats alike are rabid over this year’s presidential election, which experts say is the most polarizing yet. It’s not just the candidates’ contentious points of view that are problematic, but also that the wannabe nominees are in the spotlight 24/7 thanks to the primaries, debates, headline-grabbing remarks and social media gaffes.

But be warned: Comments regarding politics could sour your reputation in the office — or even get you canned.

“We work closely together in our offices [and] we’re constantly checking our smartphones, asking each other, ‘Hey, did you hear what he or she just said?’ ” says Richard Deosingh, a manager at staffing firm Robert Half.

Some are so stressed out by the upcoming election that they’ve sought professional help. Midtown-based psychotherapist and executive coach Jonathan Alpert says that more than a quarter of his clients are afflicted with election-related stress around who the next president will be. “It’s a real problem,” he says.

But “not everyone wants to hear [about politics],” Deosingh admits.

In fact, research conducted by Robert Half found that 56 percent of workers surveyed feared that discussions about politics could get heated and offend others.

So be careful with whom you gossip about Hillary Clinton’s e-mails or Ted Cruz’s new running mate, since what you say in the office may come back to bite you.

“Plenty of employers have policies that [restrict] political talk at work,” says David Lichtenberg, an attorney for national law firm Fisher & Phillips. Five years ago, a waitress accused Outback Steakhouse of firing her simply because she wore a Tea Party bracelet while serving tables. Outback Steakhouse denied the claim, but lawyers say that even if it were true, the restaurant would have been well within its rights.

“It’s employer and employee at will,” explains attorney Alix Rubin of Rubin Employment Law. In other words, unless you have a contract with the company, you can quit or your employer can fire you at any time, with or without reason.

And before you use the “freedom of speech” defense, know that from a legal perspective, you surrender that right when you walk through your employer’s doors (unless your employer is, of course, the government).

Still, most employers will turn a blind eye unless it causes a major disruption in the workplace.

Experts agree that the best way to discuss politics in the office is to simply not discuss them at all — and if someone else brings it up, disengage quickly.

“Whether you agree or disagree [with a colleague], don’t get into it,” says Dr. Bart Rossi, a political psychologist. When you say something such as, “I don’t like what your candidate stands for,” it can translate to, “I don’t like your beliefs and values.”

Instead, Rossi recommends you let your colleague speak his or her mind for a minute, and then say, “I don’t understand where you stand, I’m not there,” and then change the subject to something along the lines of, “How about those Mets?”

Most people will take the hint.