For many Americans, 2020 has been an extraordinarily hard year. From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and far too many others, the economic uncertainty and record unemployment to catastrophic weather events of fires and storms, Americans are exhausted. And on top of it is the 2020 election.

If you’re worried about sharing a perspective at your workplace about the events unfolding for all of us, or concerned about how the election and the aftermath may impact workplace dynamics, you’re not alone. 

A recent study by The Dialogue Project shows that 57% of Americans think that having a respectful conversation with someone holding an opposing view is a major problem. In particular, the study highlighted, “the most difficult issues for people to find common ground in the U.S. were politics (76%), race/ethnicity (71%), and gun laws (70%).” 

At Empower Work, we’ve heard from workers across the U.S. how isolated they feel speaking up about racial justice or advocating for COVID safety, how unsupportive their workplace seems about listening to different political perspectives or providing time off for voting. And there are real concerns that this may increase as we approach the election and in the weeks and months following. This has a real impact both on mental health and financial wellbeing.

Examples of unsupportive workplaces

Some examples we’ve seen from workers that conversations around current events or politics aren’t welcome in their workplaces include:

• Requests by management to not discuss politics or national events

• No time off for voting (there is no federal law about providing time to vote, though many states do have laws that require it and supportive workplaces usually encourage it)

• Harsh, unwelcome, or dismissive comments among coworkers when politics or political topics come up

• Exclusionary behavior (e.g., being left out of things because of expressing political views or feeling retaliated against due to beliefs) 

• Exclusionary policies (e.g., a policy banning discussing political preferences or activities) 

This list is by no means extensive. There are many ways both outright and quietly in a workplace culture, that send signals that “differing views are not welcome here.”

What can you do if you’re feeling worried about discussing the election or national politics in your workplace?

When we feel unsupported, it’s normal to be worried about taking action to change it. Sometimes that fear is grounded in very real experience and sometimes it’s fear of the unknown.  

Here are three steps that may help you figure out what to do in your workplace:

1. Understand internal policies or ground rules. Your workplace may have an internal policy about discussing politics, political activities, or elections. If you’re unsure where to find them, an employee handbook or online worker portal may be a good starting point. In addition, if you’re experiencing negative behavior such as bullying or demeaning behavior due to your political beliefs, your employer may have other policies or practices for protection (e.g., a policy against bullying).

2. Reflect on your comfort level. Policies don’t cover everything. And what you’re experiencing may or may not fall within something officially laid out.

   • If a policy exists - how is what you’re experiencing in or out of line with it? How is your employer enforcing it (or not)? Would you feel comfortable raising this with a coworker, supervisor, or other internal resource?

   • If a policy doesn’t exist - would it help you feel better to have one or simply have ground rules for respect? What would it take to ask or enlist others to ask for those? How likely would a policy or ground rules be enforced?

   • In either case, if you feel unsafe researching or asking, that’s an important indicator to pay attention to. Check in with a friend, a partner, a former coworker, or a third-party resource like a trained Empower Work peer counselor to talk through the situation further.

3. Research your rights. If you have directly experienced retaliation or discrimination at work because of your political beliefs, speech, or actions, you may be protected under the law. Workplace Fairness, a national nonprofit that provides worker rights information, lays out the state of law, whether you are protected, and what activities may be protected.

In addition to thinking about concrete actions for your workplace, it’s important to think about what you need personally as well. There are many subtle ways in which we can feel unsupported that may fall into gray areas. And we’re in an unprecedented tough moment collectively where we’re experiencing stress at record levels. 

What you can do for yourself to take care of you:

• Be aware. Reflect on how being able to discuss political opinions (or not) is impacting you. What do you need for yourself right now to address that? For some, it may be different daily routines or reaching out for help from a friend or therapist. For others, it may be something entirely different. It’s about what works for you.

• Reflect on what you need at work. What do you want to see in your workplace? Painting a picture of how you want to see conversations about the election or other political topics tackled within your employer can help you think about what you value, and what’s important to you. If your workplace doesn’t align with that, how can you change it, manage through it, or perhaps look for a better aligned job? 

How does not feeling supported around politics, the election, or current events impact workers?

Stress among workers is at an all time high. Over 51% of people report worse mental health since the pandemic started, and that’s particularly high among Black and Latino workers. Mental health is often tied to whether you can turn to someone at work to talk to about what you’re facing. And this includes politics and national events. We are human and thrive when we feel a sense of connection. Stifling the ability to be open and vulnerable about how the world is impacting our lives and our personal experience takes a toll. 

In such a polarized atmosphere, it’s normal to be worried. And work is often a place where culturally we’re pressured not to be fully open or vulnerable. Sharing a personal experience tied to politics can feel emotional, hard, challenging, or even unprofessional. 

But we live in a world where we are all impacted by the world and events around us. It’s impossible to separate those. How we manage through it and approach it in our workplace is what matters - and can often lead to stronger, more connected teams. Rarely does not discussing an elephant in the room make the elephant disappear. 

You’re not alone.

If you’re worried or uncertain how to get the support you need in your workplace around the election or hard political conversations, free, confidential support is just a text away: 510-674-1414.