How to Handle Politics at Work During the Final Days of the Election Campaign

I recently delivered a keynote address to staff at a mid-sized technology company. When they first approached me, the company’s leadership wanted me to speak about fostering better connections in the workplace during the stress of the election campaign. But the focus of my keynote evolved as they realized they wanted to think beyond the first Tuesday of November. As we talked, the company leaders saw the value of focusing on psychological safety at work as a rule, not only during particularly trying times.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to call our current moment a stressful one. As I write this newsletter, we’re just less than a week away from election day in the United States. This presidential campaign has been a difficult time for people across the country, regardless of their political stripes – the race is tight, partisan divisions are stark, and the stakes feel high on both sides of the aisle. Many of us are distracted and worried, and those emotions aren’t easy to turn off during the workday.

Below the surface leaders may have noticed that anxiety plagues their teams. A poll from the American Psychiatric Association found 73% of Americans are anxious about the U.S. election, and another recent survey found that more than one-fifth of people blame the current election for stress at work. And as election day nears, keep in mind that whatever the outcome, about half of your team is likely to be disappointed.

Should We Ban Politics At Work?

Faced with that information, it’s tempting to ban political conversations at work. However, this type of blanket policy can backfire. Here are three reasons why:

1. Bans are complicated to enforce

Removing politics from the workplace may seem like a simple and fair solution. However, a sweeping ban could cause confusion – or even have the unintended effect of stifling conversations that should happen. For example, does a rule against talking about politics include discussion about taking time to vote, or questions about political issues affecting your industry? It’s impossible to entirely cut political talk out of the workplace because politics impacts every area of our lives, including our jobs. Instead of a blanket rule, focus on ensuring that discussions about the election, candidates, or political issues remain respectful when they do happen.

2. They stifle psychological safety

Psychological safety is essential to below the surface leadership, but it’s difficult for your team members to feel safe at work if they believe they have no voice while they’re there. Politics touch every aspect of our lives, including some that are core to our identities. It’s difficult to feel like a valued member of a team if you feel you have to leave important pieces of who you are out of your workplace. Your actions as a leader help ensure psychological safety at work by setting expectations for how others are treated – when they agree but even more importantly, when they don’t. The Change Coaches Guide to Psychological Safety is a guide to fostering this type of below the surface workplace culture. You can download it for free here .

3. The election campaign will end, but politics won’t

It may not feel like it right now, but, in a few weeks, the presidential election will be over. A couple of months later, a new incoming president will be in office. But political discussions (or disagreements) don’t evaporate once the candidates leave the trail. Large ongoing political issues, domestically and internationally, will continue to show up in your team members’ lives in different ways. So will smaller issues, at every level from local to federal. Building a foundation of respect for differences and mutual consideration during a stressful period like a presidential election better equips your team to handle workplace discussions about these everyday issues in the future.?

Instead, Build a Below the Surface Culture

Instead of trying to remove politics from the workplace, focus on fostering an environment where people can collaborate effectively and compassionately regardless of their differences. Below the surface leadership helps build a workplace culture of mutual respect – one where people can show up as their whole selves, even during a stressful time.?

Start your leadership journey with our Change Coaches Guide to Psychological Safety . Then, our workshops can help you get even further below the surface and set your team up to emerge united from this anxiety-inducing time.

And if you’d like to learn more about psychological safety in the workplace, here are two Leading Below the Surface podcast episodes that will help:

How to Support Employees in Times of Distress

How to Have Psychologically Safe Conversations About Difficult Topics Part One and Part Two with Elisa Glick, PhD