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As the battle for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination stretches on, early endorsers of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama must be getting nervous.

Will their bets pay off? Or will they be left out in the cold when the race is finally decided?

Whatever happens, the risk of political endorsements pales in comparison to the danger of publicly endorsing a leader in the workplace.

When politicians back a loser, there's usually no harm and no foul: Philadelphia Mayor John Street, who endorsed Ms. Clinton, and Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, who supports Mr. Obama, don't have to worry about losing federal funding - or their jobs - if their favoured candidate fails.

At work, though, making the wrong endorsement can kill your career, especially if you go negative against someone vying for a top job.

"You have nothing to gain by playing politics," says Toronto-based industrial psychologist Guy Beaudin.

"You've got your fate relying on one individual, and it's always a mistake."

And yet, it can be easy to fall into the endorsement trap at work, especially when several candidates are jockeying for a position that will affect your own work life. Who wouldn't be tempted to put in a public good word for the easygoing boss who really listens to your ideas over the always-frowning rival who snidely points out your mistakes at staff meetings?

You may not be sending out press releases trumpeting your choice for senior vice-president, but even subtly telegraphing your preferences could come back to haunt you. If your calculations are wrong and the rival gets the promotion, now you've got a grumpy boss with a grudge.

"When you choose one person, it's a vote of non-confidence in the capabilities of the other," says Bruce Snow, a partner with Halifax human resources firm Robertson Surrette.

If you go on the record against one candidate, he says, "it's very hard to have the trust of that individual."

You don't necessarily have to sit out office contests, though. If you want to support your boss's climb up the career ladder, and by extension your own, Dr. Beaudin says the best approach "is to try to make your boss look good."

"Then you can't lose," he says.

But political power struggles are not always fair. What do you do if you get branded, against your will, as endorsing a losing leader? For example, you might wholeheartedly support your new boss's ideas for change, but because you were a favourite of the old boss you're lumped in with the old regime.

The difficulty of realigning your loyalty may depend on how far up the corporate ladder you are. For top executives, Dr. Beaudin says, "There's often very little you can do."

"You'd want for [the new boss] to take their time, evaluate all the individuals and keep the people who can help them create change," he says. "Unfortunately, these people get brought in with a very short time mandate and tend to want to wipe the slate clean."

If your new leader isn't dead set on a fresh start, experts say honesty is your best policy.

"You could go to the new leader and congratulate them, and let them know what you're capable of doing to support that leader's goals," says Karen Rae Short, a business coach and trainer at the Canadian Management Centre. To strengthen your bond with the new leader, she says, "ask for coaching and ask for feedback."

Mr. Snow counsels a similar approach, saying you should explicitly let the new boss know that no matter what your past allegiances were, you're on board with the new program. Sure, it may cost you some dignity, but that's the reality of office politics.

"Being seen as a suck-up might be the price you have to pay to keep your job," Mr. Snow says.

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Backing a loser

Political partisans usually think that they'll be irrevocably heartbroken if their favourite candidate loses an election.

But research shows we shouldn't worry so much: Our unreliable memories can ease the sting of backing a loser. While we might swear undying allegiance to one candidate in the heat of a political battle, a few months later we tend to forget how much we cared.

Psychologist Linda Levine documented how emotions play with memory in a landmark study during the 1992 U.S. presidential election, in which Ross Perot ran as an independent. The scrappy Texas billionaire withdrew from the race in July, but then re-entered a month before the election and won one-fifth of the popular vote.

Dr. Levine, an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, polled Mr. Perot's supporters in July and again in November. Most felt sad and angry in July; but Dr. Levine found that their feelings about Mr. Perot in November greatly influenced how they remembered their disappointment surrounding his dropping out.

Those who deserted Mr. Perot and turned to another candidate remembered their anger accurately, but forgot how sad they had been in July - the "I never much liked him anyway" mental defence. Those who remained loyal or returned to Mr. Perot's camp when he re-entered the race remembered feeling less angry and more hopeful in July than they had actually been - the "I always knew he'd come back to us" rationalization.

"Emotional memory is not indelible," Dr. Levine said. "It's something we construct, and it changes over time as our perceptions of past events change."

So passionate Michael Ignatieff supporters learn to live with Stéphane Dion, and in a few months Mitt Romney backers will probably forget how disappointed they felt when he dropped out. By November, even the most fervent fans of whoever loses the Democratic nomination may fool themselves into thinking they backed the winner all along.

Rebecca Dube

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Backing strategies

The U.S. presidential race has nothing on office politics, where the sands of power shift constantly and declaring allegiance to anyone may be hazardous to your career. Some tips from experts:

Be a diplomat, not a politician: Don't align yourself exclusively with any one leader. If you openly campaign for someone and they end up losing an office power struggle, industrial psychologist Guy Beaudin says, "There's no way to recover from that."

If you want to endorse your current boss, make him or her look good. That way you both win, Mr. Beaudin says.

Don't sling mud: Negative words are likely to come back to haunt you. "A true professional can support their leader without downgrading anyone," business coach Karen Rae Short says.

If you're lumped in with a loser - an old boss who's resigned, for instance - confront the problem head-on with your new boss. "Go into their office and say, 'I'm here for you, I'm on board with the program,' " human resources consultant Bruce Snow says.

Rebecca Dube