We are weeks away from the next presidential election and I’m pretty sure that I’ve been sent enough giant postcards in the mail to construct a small village. Not only that, I’m getting texts, phone calls and ads in my social media feeds that I don’t want and that don’t make sense for me politically. It gets on my nerves and I hate the waste of resources on those postcards – they go directly into recycling, but what a waste of money and materials that could be better spent! That, my friends, is as political as I’m going to get here. I know, like me, you’ve been inundated and will continue to be until the election and probably afterwards for a while as well.

All that being said, this year’s election not only has the usual politically charged stress, but it also has the added stress of Covid-19 and all the havoc it has wreaked. I’ve written several times about stress in the workplace, but I think it’s worth mentioning again to employers since this is a particularly charged election year – even more so than the last and who would’ve thought that possible!

What can you do as an employer to help manage this? You can’t control what employees think and feel about things nor do you have much control over what they discuss nor should you. However, you can lean in on some of the policies you already have in place with regard to code of conduct, respect in the workplace, professionalism, anti-harassment and bullying. You may not have all of these in your handbook, but likely you have some of them and they could come in handy.

The real goal though, is to set the tone and expectations for your workplace before you have any issues. You want to provide a professional environment for your employees and in order to do that, everyone has to do their part and act professionally. It doesn’t matter if your business is construction or accounting, people can be professional with each other. 

Right now, is an opportune time to remind your team about the expectation for professionalism at work. Everyone is well aware of party differences and our collectively stressful world and should not be surprised that the topic has come up. A few things you might want to cover: 

• Acknowledge that there is a higher level of stress on everyone right now. Talk about it on a personal level if you want, it’s an opportunity to connect with your team. 
• Take a moment to applaud them for their resilience and let them know you appreciate them.
• Talk to them about the expectation for professionalism while at work. As I said, you really can’t ban employees from talking about certain things, but you can encourage mutual respect, tolerance and self-awareness. Talk about taking the high road, knowing when to walk away and exercising self-control, all good suggestions to make. Everyone knows these, but in some conversations it’s harder to draw upon them. We’ve all been there, listening to someone trying to convince us why we’re wrong in our political thinking. It really never goes anywhere good. Remind them that whether you’re the “lecturer” or the “lecturee,” either person has an equal opportunity to respectfully end the conversation.
• Reiterate the expectations for professionalism and encourage them to review the policies you have in place on these topics in their handbooks and if they have any questions to ask away. 
• Encourage them to vote. If your business is such that some of your team is not able to vote before or after their shift, make sure that you follow your state’s rules on time off for voting and make that available to them.

These talks should happen with your remote workforce as well as onsite. Remember the same conversations and situations can occur virtually, via several different avenues so it’s important to coach them too even though they are no physically face to face with others.

As a leader you need to keep your finger on the pulse of employee morale. The last election was an extremely emotional time and no doubt so will this next one be. Be aware of the emotional climate around you and if you’re informed about or witness any signs of unprofessional behavior, address it immediately. Be compassionate but be firm – you’ve got a business to run and have hired professionals to help you so if they can’t self-correct or take direction to reel it in, they aren’t keeping their part of the “deal.”

Lastly, set the example! It’s easy to be lured into political and other types of discussions and go right down the rabbit hole. Let’s face it, we’re all human and have our own feelings and emotions about everything. As a leader though, you have to walk the talk if you want to hold others to that standard. This is when some self-care can be helpful in managing your own feelings and stress levels. It will help you personally and will also help you to continue to help and guide them. You really are setting the tone for the whole organization so please keep that in mind as we all maneuver through the election and the rest of 2020. 

J