Of course it depends which country (or part of that country) you live in, but I've never had a major problem with "persecution", hostile reactions or even particularly strong responses to being a JW in day-to-day life (apart from when actually "on the ministry" of course).
Living in a big multicultural city in a largely free and secular country and working in a diverse sector where people of many different religious beliefs (and none) interact, I would agree that generally no-one here really cares if you happen to be a JW, nor has much knowledge about them. (Nor is bothered to find out.)
But then I don't go out of my way to push it into others' faces. I've never been one for all this slipping in "ministry introductions" into breaktime conversations, or strategically placing Watchtower or Awake mags on my workspace to try and manufacture opportunities to "give a witness". If I was asked directly about something that touched on my beliefs, or asked to do something I specifically wasn't comfortable doing I'd reply simply and factually, but that's about it.
I found that mostly, people would reply with a fairly neutral "oh ok". Occasionally they might respond with something like "why do you believe that?" or "I don't think I agree with that/with JWs", but mostly they were fairly accepting in the past. I suspect this may change as the public spotlight falls more on the controversial teachings that come from the GB, especially some of their more outlandish statements in talks and broadcasts.
Of course, in most public sector workplaces in the UK (health, education, local government, etc), overtly discussing religious topics is a taboo anyway and could even lead to disciplinary action if it were thought you were "preaching" or criticising others' beliefs, hence most people shy away from the subject. Same in most social situations. The old saying used to be "don't discuss politics or religion in public", and many still keep to that, especially if they don't know the people around them extremely well.
The British attitude in the workplace is still mostly "we're here to do a job" and "your belief is your business, mine is mine", so they will be respectfully neutral to you and rarely oppose directly. I'm fine with that, and have no desire to create distance or difference just for the sake of it, despite what is sometimes stirred up by the GB or more over-enthusiastic elders in their talks.
