The key question is whether and how employers and their HR teams should help navigate this difficult situation.
Anxiety and stress over this year’s election are high.
This work is Mindshare PartnersCEO Molly Riordan.
We know from national polls, media reports, and our own conversations with those closest to us that the days following the upcoming presidential election will be filled with a wide range of emotions.
While some parts of the country will feel joy and relief, others will feel anger or deep anxiety and stress. Emotions may run high in the workplace. The key question is whether and how employers and their HR teams should help navigate this difficult situation while maintaining a neutral and psychologically safe environment.
As with any other issue weighing heavily on employees—gun violence, economic troubles, the death of someone they know—our answer is yes. How this works is unclear, given that this level of intense political tension is relatively new, only in the last five years or so.
The workplace reflects society as a whole: it is diverse, it is not always neat, and sometimes there are no clear answers. The political conflicts that run through our society tend to target marginalized communities and fuel political debate. Political violence, and the threat of it, is on the rise.
There’s no question that the divisive political climate is affecting Americans’ mental health. The American Psychiatric Association found that 73% of Americans surveyed this year felt particularly anxious about the election. Many people are feeling politically exhausted and burned out.
Let’s start with some general guidance for HR leaders: Understanding politics can be an incredibly tricky topic, especially in the workplace.
Easy to lift
The 2020 election saw record turnout and people believe their vote matters. Employers can seize the opportunity by supporting employee engagement, whether that be by offering flexible hours to vote, volunteering at polling stations or taking time off work to process emotions after the results are known.
This is a good time to remind everyone of the company’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and values of fairness, justice and civil dialogue.
More difficult lifts
It’s easy to write an article about research-backed, client-tested ways to deal with emotional issues in the workplace. What’s harder is understanding how political conflict actually plays out and how to manage it in an effective and harmless way.
Politics can get personal. Candidates and their supporters can get aggressive. HR teams must rely on empathy and inclusivity in these individual situations. Always refer back to and stick to your company values. It’s natural to talk about empathizing with vulnerable employees who feel they are being treated badly. Let them know that the HR team, or even the management, supports them. Also, remember that all employees just want to feel a sense of belonging and safety, including in the workplace.
Another suggestion is to continue the discussion. Issues, Not a specific candidate, but an effective “middle ground” when talking about politics. Our own research 80% of full-time workers want their employers to be politically neutral. This doesn’t mean that all political opinion should be banned from the workplace, but it does mean that there is a desire to maintain a workplace where the employer’s opinions do not dominate the workplace.
Once political tensions have calmed down a bit, it may be worth acknowledging the range of emotions people are feeling, refocusing on the company’s shared values, and moving forward as a goal- and mission-focused workplace team.
We are human beings. As America nears the end of election season, let’s acknowledge that we are all on new ground with the intensity of our current political ecosystem. We can choose how we treat each other. We can respectfully disagree and still find common ground. This is a smart approach not just to work but to our nation, and it’s a critical part of supporting our collective mental health.
