Do thoughts of the upcoming presidential election have you popping Pepcid and losing sleep? If so, you have plenty of company: A recent survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association shows that 68% of adults in the United States are saying the election is a significant source of stress. That's up from 52% in 2016. Moreover, the anxiety is felt across party lines: 76% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans and 64% of Independents all report election worries. Related: How to keep politics from disrupting the workplace Those stresses extend to the workplace as well. According to data from Reflektive, 54% of 1,000 surveyed employees say their performance at work will be impacted if their candidate loses, and 29% say office politics will make it difficult to go to work the day after the election. Millennials in particular (57%) are somewhat or very concerned that political disagreements with co-workers or bosses could negatively affect their performance review. With the aim of allaying those fears, Reflektive has proposed a number of actions for companies to take in order to help their employees feel more supported during election week. See the slideshow above for those suggestions. "Supporting your employees' voting rights is an important way you can reduce the stresses and bring confidence to the outcomes of the November 3rd elections, regardless of political point-of-view," says Rachel Ernst, Chief Human Resources Officer for Reflektive. "But whether or not this translates into encouraging employees to vote by mail or giving them a paid day off for elections is going to depend on your values and mission." The performance management company also suggested some best practices for the coming days: • Commit to mutual respect. Organizations can create a safe, inclusive environment through active listening and practicing empathy for employee stress and the different ways they're trying to cope with it. They can also ensure their employees know about the mental health resources they offer. • Prior to holding discussion forums, provide guidance on how those will proceed. Emphasize speaking from one's own experience and not invalidating another's. Underscore everyone's individual responsibility for their own statements and actions, and the potential impact they may have on their fellow employees. • Leaders should be non-partisan and objective while also being authentic. Managers and executives can set the example by focusing the attention on how they're feeling instead of sharing personal views or opinions. They can also talk about coping mechanisms that are helping them. "Conversations can have a real impact on employee engagement and feelings of inclusivity," says Ernst. "We recommend reminding managers of their responsibility as role models during times of stress and the importance of de-personalizing the elections. Everyone needs to commit to mutual respect, creating a safe inclusive environment where differing points of view are equally shared. By operating in a non-partisan and objective way, sharing only how they feel and cautiously avoiding anything that could be disagreeable, the elections can help employees feel engaged and connected to the company—no matter the election outcomes." Read more:
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Richard Binder
Richard Binder, based in New York, is part of the social media team at ALM. He is also a 2014 recipient of the ASPBE Award for Excellence in the Humorous/Fun Department.
