Handling election emotions in the workplace – Mary T. O’Sullivan

By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL

“You likely have a divided workplace when it comes to political opinions, which is heightened and maybe even exposed during the political season,” – Stephen Paskoff, CEO Employment Learning Innovations

From optimism and pride to disappointment, disillusionment, and even fear, employees must now “contemplate what the election results mean for their values, communities and hopes for the future,” says CBS News. And with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s even more important to figure out ways to preserve civility and calm around the table.

But everyone has had to go back to work post-election, and managers are faced with similar issues that the Thanksgiving hostess encounters. Managers, already stressed by impossible workloads and deadlines, now need to learn to tackle potential loss of engagement, heightened workplace conflict, and post-election stress and work to create an environment of psychological safety and trust for all employees.

Ensuring that the organization has adequate policies to support expected behavior in the workplace falls squarely on the shoulders of the HR department. HR can assist managers facing employees in conflict by reviewing policies that deter overly emotional behavior.

“Policies should be well-established, understood, and actively upheld to prevent conflicts,”, states Beth Brown of ComPsych. If leaders can stay neutral and handle people with empathy, listen to their complaints objectively, to avoid negative emotional spillover in the workplace. Organizational polices regarding bullying, harassment and diversity need to be revisited. Toxic workplace behavior only adds to the tension. Without creating a safe, supportive workplace, negative impacts of the election will last longer than anyone wants.

However, political stress at work is nothing new. A 2022 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 20% of workers reported mistreatment at work due to their political views. SHRM also found that 20% of HR professionals say, “there is greater political volatility at work [now] than there was three years ago.”  Moreover, a 2019 SHRM survey showed “26% of workers admit to regularly talking politics in the workplace, 42% have had a “political disagreement” at work and 12% “have experienced political affiliation bias.” SHRM’s findings led them to conclude that HR should not ban civil discussions of opposing views “if [they are] managed transparently and with guidelines for civil discourse” Harvard Business Review (HBR) says psychological safety for all depends upon “openly listening to others’ points of view, setting  boundaries and expressing  humility”. HBR states that these elements are “the keys to keeping political conversations from escalating.”  

A recent American Psychological Association (APA) report, Stress in America, found that political tension and stress influences people’s physical and mental health Sixty nine percent of people who answered the survey said that political stress impacted both their physical and mental health; 74% reported that they feared political violence; 56% feared threats to democracy. These statistics serve to  emphasize employers’ need to actively lessen employee post-election stress both at work and at home.

Jason Walker of Adler University outlines how employers can keep the peace.

• Don’t assume or dismiss people’s emotions
• Create psychological safety by remaining neutral and don’t take sides
• Set clear guidelines on respectful discourse
• Promote inclusiveness and empathy
• Get back to business – focus on shared goals

Organizations are now challenged with an important historical inflection point.  It’s incumbent upon them to create and maintain a secure, objective workplace.  In these times “it isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential” (Forbes).

The host and hostess at Thanksgiving can set the rules. Ask that discussions be civil and respectful. Most people want to eat and visit in peace. In a recent poll taken by Quinnipiac University, more than 60% of people said they want to avoid discussing politics on Thanksgiving. However, according to the same poll, 29% said they are looking forward to talking politics over the holidays. If this describes your guests, suggest that there is no right or wrong answer, and this day is meant to be enjoyable, not to solve the world’s problems.  Fostering respect and affection for everyone instead of making enemies can move the holiday spirit forward. And that’s a good reason to be thankful.

People who listen respectfully to those with whom they disagree, refrain from using personal invectives, state their points objectively and, if necessary, accept that differences remain, should be able to hold conversations on any topic with those who observe the same courtesies. – Miss Manners

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Mary T. O’Sullivan, Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Society of Human Resource Management, “Senior Certified Professional. Graduate Certificate in Executive and Professional Career Coaching, University of Texas at Dallas.