By Beth Schaefer
IPD Director

Despite your best efforts for a creating a respectful workplace for civil discourse (See Part 1 and Part 2 of Politics in the Office), the day after the election, there will be winners and losers.  Do not assume everyone on your team will share your own response to the election results.

And…as the first 2 parts discussed, it is not just about red and blue, but about policies that will affect people’s families, economic status, religious beliefs, and healthcare.  Regardless of who wins, the people on your team will face an unknown future.  And, the unknown can bring fear, and fear can bring stress.

Consider these 10 strategies to assist your team through the most-intense weeks before and after the election:

1. Accept a decrease in productivity.  Just like the December holidays or a warm sunny summer afternoon in Minnesota, the pace of work will slow down.  Plan for it rather than fight it.
2. Plan your schedule and deadlines.  If you know that your team will be especially distracted during the weeks before and after the election, avoid creating deadlines for your most critical projects or project pieces during that time.
3. Focus on work.  While productivity may decrease, you are still in the workplace.  You can direct people to focus on work rather than half-day discussions at the water cooler.  Consider tasks that are easy to complete.  Perhaps that will be a good week to do some “housekeeping” work (updating files, cleaning emails) that improves productivity overall but is easy to do.
4. Model respectful discourse.  If you set political discussion boundaries, remind your team that they are still in effect after the election too.  If you did not set boundaries, consider doing so.  Be ready to respectfully end political discussions that are too long or are disrespectful.
5. Be consistent.  Treat all your team members the same even if their politics are different than yours.   Make sure the guidelines you put in place are evenly enforced.  If someone’s political discourse is disrespectful or harassing, as the leader, you need to address it.  See Part 2 for strategies.  When your team sees that you are serious about a safe space at work, it can reduce their stress.
6. Schedule check-ins.  If you do not currently do 1:1 check-in with your team members, this may be a good time to start.  Use check-in time to see if they are feeling extra stress in general.  You can do this without asking about political preferences. If they are having trouble focusing, suggest work that needs to be completed, but is not too challenging. This is also a good time to address any political talk that is not following the guidelines.
7. Listen with empathy and seek to understand.  Even if your politics are different, you can still listen to why people are disheartened by the results and provide empathy.  See the article Heard! for a review of empathetic listening strategies.
8. Suggest a media break.  If the elections seem to be stressing out members of your team, suggest they step away from media and social media for a few days.  Research is clear that social media can compound stress.
9. Be ready with resources. Have your organization’s Employee Assistance Program links at the ready.  Share them with individuals as needed or proactively share them with your team.
10.  Care.  While this article is framed through the lens of workplace productivity, genuinely caring about your individual team members is one of the best ways to help them avoid burnout– whether it is due to the election or any other endless factors that contribute to life and work stressors.

Follow Up Note: In the Part 2 article, I failed the beginning assessment for leaders.  I am happy to report that since I wrote that article, my organization provided training to staff and leaders on what types of political activity are acceptable in our workplace.  The session was informative and clarified several guidelines for me.  Since I work in education, our workplace guidelines are probably a bit trickier than most, and that made the training all the more helpful.

Many of us are familiar with office politics – advocating for power in the workplace.

Increasingly, the angst created by office politics is taking second place to angst generated by politics in the office.

The 2024 Presidential election is being touted as “high-stakes.”  This sense of urgency makes it almost impossible to keep political discussions out of the workplace.  And, with all that comes with high-stakes election rhetoric, it seems almost impossible to maintain a welcoming workplace culture that is inclusive to all points of view.

During my career, I have played many roles in workplace political discussions. Here are some roles I have tried out over the years.

The Observer

The Observer listens to what is being said, but remains silent.  The Observer may (or may not) have a viewpoint, but attempts to appear neutral or mysterious on political views. Never weighing in has several advantages:

1. You never reveal your ignorance of politics or your lack of attention to current events.
2. You never reveal your apathy of politics and risk having someone tell you that you NEED to care and take a stand. It is your FUTURE!
3. You never offend anyone because you have never said anything.
4. You never get lectured by someone who follows you down the hall or catches you in the parking lot trying to convince you of how wrong you are about your beliefs or vote.

The Apathetic

The Apathetic does not care.  And they are vocal about it so that all who work with them know that they find politics to be a waste of time. This allows them the freedom to disengage from any political discussion. While we may find it easy to make presumptions about The Apathetic, there could be several reasons for political apathy:

1. Perhaps they do not feel that either side can fix anything.
2. Perhaps they are embarrassed by the behavior of political leaders and wish to avoid association with any side.
3. Perhaps they are young and free and having too much fun to worry about THE FUTURE.
4. Perhaps, they are too busy working 2 jobs or caring for 3 children or caretaking parents or fighting a medical illness to take the time needed to truly study the issues for an informed opinion.

The Apathetic can present as The Observer IF they do not ever voice their apathy.  Once you take a pronounced Apathetic stance, you will be immersed in workplace political discussions: See #4 from The Observer.

The Worker

The Worker has definite opinions on the state of the country and is current in their knowledge of the political landscape. The Worker may even agree with most of the political rhetoric being heard in the workplace. However, The Worker wants time spent at work to be about working. They want workplace harmony so that they can get things done. If and when progress is derailed, The Worker wants those challenges to be related to the work. I am often The Worker, and I use similar techniques to The Marginal (see below) to manage political conversations in the workplace. Because The Worker is head-down productive, the Worker might be mistaken for The Observer or The Apathetic.

The Marginal

The Marginal believes their opinion is the opposite of most of the people they work with.  As our politics become more combative, more us vs them, more we’re right and you’re wrong, and more all or nothing, I can often find myself in the margins.  Even if I want some of the same outcomes as the majority, the approach and rhetoric being used makes me uncomfortable. I do not want to nod my head in agreement nor do I want to find myself facilitating a political discussion.  The Marginal role is difficult and uncomfortable; you can feel limited on options:

1. Go along to get along. You pretend to agree with political platforms touted by others to avoid an argument, but you may feel like a fraud.
2. Speak up. You can speak up and spark a discussion, but you risk isolation and see (again) #4 of The Observer about people following you to your car.  And, do you risk promotion if you disagree with the wrong people?
3. Divert. The weather is always a good option. This option, while a safe route, can make you feel shallow because it avoids important life topics- at least at work.
4. Avoid. You take steps to avoid certain coworkers or even workplace gatherings and meetings to avoid having to navigate this political situation.  This option can also limit your workplace productivity.

The Majority

The Majority believes that their opinion is the opinion of everyone in the office.  As a young teacher, I firmly believed that those I worked with were on the left.  This appeared to make workplace political discussions easy to navigate because I thought I could predict which statements would be acceptable and which statements would generate animosity.  The environment felt safe because even if I never said a word, I could nod in agreement.  As I spend more time in the workplace, I realize that I am probably never in the majority, but more likely, surrounded by:

1. Observers
2. Apathetics
3. Workers
4. Marginals

When in the role of The Majority, I was making a lot of assumptions about the people in my workplace. And, most likely, I was making many coworkers uncomfortable with my “I have all the answers” political statements.

Perhaps, you have also played (or play) these same roles.  In reflecting on these roles, I realize that I do not think I have ever received any guidance for how to handle politics in the office.  September’s article: Politics in the Office: Part 2 will provide some resources that we might all find helpful to navigate the workplace during this 2024 election season.

Sources Cited

No resources were used in the writing of this article – just my own experiences, observations, and reflections of XX years of being a part of the American workplace.