> What they mean is that politics they don't want to talk about is bad at work.

I'd phrase it as "all personal politics are bad at work"

Your personal politics around parties, constitutional issues, housing, healthcare etc are irrelevant to the company and an active distraction to your coworkers. So keep them for personal time.

I don't know why this is such a challenge for the US work cohort. You don't sit and do crafting hobbies at your work desk, or process photos that you took on the weekend trail expedition. So why use company time for your politics? Why do you think Bob from Accounts has any interest in your views on the size of the President's hands?

I worked for 15 years at a company that had two over-riding rules: no sports talk and no politics. And it was bliss.