Many HR leaders will likely be relieved to see November in the rearview mirror, as election season brought reports of skyrocketing stress and conflict among American employees. While Election Day may be over, with former President Donald Trump winning a second term, the tensions driving up political divisions at work will persist, experts say.
“The U.S. election is just one example of a politically polarizing event making its way into the workplace,” says Gabriella Kellerman, chief innovation officer at BetterUp. “Managing those is going to be an increasingly difficult part of HR’s job.”
HR Executive recently checked in with a number of experts to find out what HR leaders can focus on today to ensure political divisions at work don’t deepen and to safeguard the business from the impacts of future polarization. Here are their top five recommendations:
1. Strengthen relationships.
At both a personal and organizational level, HR should prioritize building better relationships, says Rachel Marcuse, chief operating officer at culture and DEI firm ReadySet. A prime target should be the relationship between managers and direct reports. As HR knows well, she notes, the manager-employee relationship is a key driver of turnover—or retention.
At a functional level, HR must align more closely with the legal department to heighten understanding of the changes to come with the new administration. This knowledge, she says, can help HR more effectively lead through uncertainty to come—which can create more stable, healthy environments for workers.
“A strong collaboration between HR and legal—with some healthy push and pull—will be crucial in getting ahead of a shifting regulatory landscape and to ensure that we have answers (whether short or longer term) to consistently communicate to our managers and leaders as the situation evolves,” she says.
2. Lean into company values.
As future elections or national events cause political divisions at work to creep up again, HR should be ready with a focus on company values. That work, however, needs to start before problems arise, says Amy Mosher, chief people officer of HCM provider isolved.
For example, managers should consistently lead with respect and expect their employees to do the same.
“When values are consistently put into action, they have a lasting effect on the organization,” she says.
3. Create psychology safety.
Kevin Oakes, co-founder and CEO of the Institute for Corporate Productivity, says organizations looking to reduce political divides at work can look to the example of Starbucks.
When a racial issue arose in 2018 at one of the coffee chain’s Philadelphia stores, Starbucks closed all of its stores nationwide for an afternoon of racial bias training.
“That created the psychological safety for employees to voice their opinions. They did it in a way where people actually could listen to those opinions instead of just listening to immediately reply,” he says.
Oakes says those sessions were “very effective overall” and that companies would be well-served by creating spaces to have “good, internal conversations” about challenging topics, instead of trying to prevent or ignore such discussions.
4. Invest for the future.
Kellerman says that when employers invest in their workers’ career growth through development opportunities, it helps “give people a sense of momentum and can keep them centered at work.” When employees see a path for themselves—and understand that their employer is interested in their growth—they are naturally going to be more focused and motivated, she says.
Development doesn’t have to be a singular experience, however, she notes; employers can encourage workers to reach across divides as they work together to grow themselves and the organization.
“It’s harder to be thrown off when you have momentum. Picture the physics of it: Rowing in a boat together in the same direction—when you’re working together for a good rhythm, it’s harder to tip the boat,” she says.
5. Celebrate diversity without division.
At employee recognition platform O.C. Tanner, the organization strives to show workers that diversity matters, says Mindi Cox, chief marketing and people officer. But when differences start to divide the workforce, they need to be left at the door.
“We always say that how each individual votes, eats, worships, etc., is an important part of who they are, but those subjects should not dominate work-related conversations or decisions,” she says. “First and foremost, we behave and act like committed teammates at work no matter what jersey we wear outside our walls.”
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