Election Anxiety - How to Lead Teams through Political Tension

With the election less than a month away, workplace stress is rising. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 73% of U.S. adults are feeling anxious about the upcoming presidential election. This may not surprise you, since you might be one of them. The uncertainty of the political direction of our country—especially when it’s so deeply polarized—is stressful. And this stress doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s piled on top of so many other pressures. Managing tight deadlines, juggling home and work life, global conflict, financial stress, and caregiver demands—people are understandably stressed.

Those tensions can easily bubble up at work. A casual chat can become politically charged simply by discussing the latest news cycle. According to Bloomberg, “after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s debate on June 27, 64% of US workers surveyed said they experienced or witnessed people being treated poorly in the workplace due to their political views.”

The reality is that mental and emotional strain is heightened during high-stakes elections—and this has organizational consequences such as burnout, reduced productivity, turnover, and decreased morale. It’s clear that leaders need to take action, but how?

Here are 4 things you can do to ease stress from the upcoming election:

1. Review Your Mental Health Resource Offering

   Mental health care is an essential part of a comprehensive health benefits package. According to Forbes, “92 percent of workers said it's important to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being, and that same percentage said it's important to them to work for an organization that provides support for employee mental health.”

   If that’s not a compelling enough reason, I’ll leave this right here: each dollar invested in mental health supports sees a return of $4.

   Does your organization deliver adequate mental health care to its employees? Now (and of course, annually) is a great time to ensure your team has access to the care it needs. The ROI is so much more than the bottom line. Taking care of your team during difficult times is the right thing to do—and an investment that pays dividends.

2. Create Safe Spaces for Dialogue

   As humans with different backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences we are bound to disagree especially when tensions are high. The bedrock of psychological safety is that folks aren’t afraid to share feelings, thoughts, and opinions—particularly dissenting ones. In a time where there is more overlap between “work” and “life”, it’s important to create spaces where people feel safe to share their perspectives.

   This means that as leaders, we need to create the conditions that promote that degree of safety. That can happen in many ways, from connecting with ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) to hosting facilitated discussions, training, or seminars. The key is to be intentional about creating space to speak freely and respectfully about the upcoming election and the feelings that come along with it.

3. Be Prepared for Interpersonal Conflict

   Many of us have experienced it—we are in a so-called “safe space”, but it falls short on the “safe” bit. Despite our best intentions as leaders, there will be times when there is conflict between employees. Some of it will be healthy, and some of it won’t. All of it is manageable and should especially be expected during times of heightened political tension.

   When that happens, it’s good to know that we don’t necessarily have to take on mediating interpersonal conflict as leaders. You can leverage experts through tools like tEQuitable, which is a modern Ombuds practice, to help individuals effectively navigate interpersonal conflict. As leaders, we can use the data gained through the platform to create systemic, policy, or programmatic changes that can decrease the overall risks of unhealthy or unproductive conflict.

4. Encourage Voting!

   While our views may differ, one thing we have in common is the power to vote. Encourage your team to get informed, and participate in democracy. Create a communications strategy. Communicate clearly and often that employees are encouraged to vote and that taking time away to do so is a good thing. Provide nonpartisan resources, like When We All Vote, to encourage civic responsibility in an unbiased way.

   If your state doesn’t already require it, create a policy that provides paid time off for your team to vote. If you want to take it a step further, extend that paid time off opportunity for folks to volunteer to serve as poll workers. Use your position to empower your team to make their voices heard. After all, the tension is real, because the outcomes are too.  

It’s natural to feel stressed during elections, and the stakes are especially high with this one. People are struggling. As leaders, we can take steps to mitigate that stress and lead with compassion through this election cycle and beyond.

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