With election season right around the corner, many employers are grappling with issues unique to this time of year. Sure, politics are always a thing, but elections can bring about a whole host of different issues that your organization may feel uncomfortable handling. Questions like, “Should our organization take a stance on the election? Do we encourage employees to talk about the election? How do we mediate possible tense conversations about politics? Should employees be provided with paid time off to vote?” are all bound to come. Without the proper solutions, you may feel a bit overwhelmed.
And rightfully so. Elections are stressful times. Having been around since 1985, we here at Payday HCM have seen a large number of elections. Time and time again, we’ve seen employers grapple with all these different questions and issues. We’ve helped numerous organizations navigate this tricky landscape so they can approach this time of year with confidence.
In this article, we’ll review the common problems employers face in and around elections. We’ll talk about the different ways to discuss elections in the workplace, as well as the broader ramifications this time of year can have on your organization.
The problems discussed in this article are:
- Voting In The Workplace
- Discussing Politics In The Workplace
- Navigating The Stress Of Election Season
Voting In The Workplace
Voting is arguably the most integral part of an election. You want to ensure your organization is ready to handle the conversations around it.
Encouraging Employees To Vote
The first big question is whether your company will encourage its employees to vote. Obviously, you don’t want to endorse a specific candidate, but you could feel it’s still important that everyone participate in the election.
Encouraging employees to vote can be a great way to alleviate some of the stress and stigma around discussing the election. It may help you and your employees feel like they’re not having to walk on eggshells during this time of year, even if more specific conversations aren’t being had.
Considering a message from the CEO or from the HR manager around voting is one way to encourage employees to vote. Including information about when early voting starts and even local voting sites near the office can also be helpful.
Providing PTO For Voting
Another good step to ensure your employees can participate in this year’s election is to provide them with paid time off to vote. A study from the Pew Research Center found that 35 percent of voters didn’t participate in midterm elections because they couldn’t get time off from work or school.
Larger companies have joined several initiatives to help alleviate this problem, including one called Time To Vote and another launched by Vote.org. There are also laws in thirty states and the District of Columbia that require employers to provide time off for voting.
Providing PTO for voting not only helps your employees find the time to vote but also lowers the unease around this time of year by encouraging people to discuss it.
Discussing Politics In The Workplace
The other, slightly more stressful, topic that may come up during election season is the actual politics surrounding the election. Discussing politics in the office can often feel like the one big thing you’re not supposed to do, so how should organizations approach it?
Don’t Shy Away From It…
Unfortunately, regardless of how much you pretend that politics don’t exist, they still do exist. Therefore, it isn’t a sound strategy for your organization to go radio silent on the topic of politics during one of the most politically charged seasons of the year.
How should you go about this? Well, you want to ensure that your employees have the resources to navigate difficult conversations. The University of Florida has a great guide on navigating difficult conversations in the classroom that can just as easily be applied to the office.
Ultimately, you should let your employees know that these topics might come up and they might be uncomfortable. But ultimately, your organization has the resources to help everyone feel a little more at ease.
…But Don’t Necessarily Encourage It
While these conversations could be considered in some sense inevitable, this doesn’t mean you want to encourage them to take place in the workplace. After all, according to The Dialogue Project, a survey of 1,000 people living in the U.S. found 70 percent of them thought it was difficult to talk about politics with someone of opposing views.
While I’m sure most of us would like to see that percentage go down, the workplace isn’t necessarily the best environment for trying to do that, nor should it be. Your role as an employer should be to make it clear that these things might come up and that your company has the resources to navigate difficult situations.
After all, you’re all working on the same team. It could be detrimental to productivity if political divisions begin to stand in the way of being able to work together.
Navigating The Stress Of Election Season
This time of year can be especially stressful for everyone. It is crucial to ensure that your organization provides employees with the proper tools to combat that stress.
Diffusing Tense Situations
Talking about politics can lead to tense situations. These can be especially tricky to manage in the workplace when tension between two people who have to work together five days a week can ripple throughout other areas of the team.
The key to combating these kinds of situations is to be proactive and empathetic. Don’t assume these things won’t happen; assume they will, and let everyone know HR is here to help de-escalate them. A small comment could lead to a big argument later, so if you see something, say something.
Not only that, but you want to ensure everyone is being understood, so it’s critical to show empathy to those involved. Taking the time to really understand where someone is coming from can mean the difference between a healthy or tense work relationship.
Providing Mental Health Resources
Ensuring your organization provides its employees with the proper resources to take care of their mental health is crucial during a stressful time like election season. This can range from opening up conversations around mental health to providing full-scale benefits like employee assistance programs.
Ultimately, you want your employees to know you care about them and want them taken care of. Communicating what resources are available to them during this time of year—and any time of the year, really—is a must.
Elect For A Stress-Free Workplace During Elections
Election season can be a stressful time in general, but especially so in the workplace. Not only is it stressful, but it can often feel like something you’re not supposed to talk about—something that only makes the stress worse. A sense of uneasiness can overtake the office, and before you know it, everyone is too stressed out to focus on their work.
This isn’t where you want your organization to be. With the tools provided in this article, you’ll be able to easily navigate this election season so that the stress that comes with this time of year can get checked at the door.
Curious to know more about this year’s election and how it might impact your business? Dive deeper into this year’s election with our look at each candidate’s stance on legalized cannabis and how that might impact your organization.
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