January 12, 2021
January 12, 2021
Contributor: Caroline Walsh
To preserve employee well-being in times of political and social disruption, manage negative emotions, establish appropriate political expression policies and create safe spaces for dialogue.
The current landscape the U.S. — and around the world — is a reminder that the turmoil we experienced in 2020 and 2021 can flare up at any time, and the emotional well-being of employees is at stake.
Early last year, Gartner surveys showed that U.S. presidential campaigning was damaging employee morale, collaboration and productivity many months before election day. The day after the vote, 64% of U.S. employees said the results made them feel anxious.
Surveys on Brexit showed a similar response among EU and U.K. employees at the time. And, in mid-2020, protests demanding diversity, equity and inclusion erupted around the world, requiring organizations to engage authentically with unnerved employees on a range of complex and often emotional issues.
Download Guide: How HR Leaders Support Employees During Change and Uncertainty
The common theme in these disruptions is that they relate to deeply held and potentially divisive personal beliefs. But organizational leaders can’t afford to be timid when issues might be contentious. In fact, when the potential for tension among co-workers is high, it’s even more important to be proactive, candid and authentic. Here are five ways to do that.
Employees feel a range of negative emotions after divisive events, including fear, anger, devastation and anxiety. While many employees will turn to their managers for support, many managers are ill-equipped to handle these conversations, especially when in a virtual environment.
Senior management and HR should remind managers to model appropriate behaviors and set the right tone by speaking candidly about their own experiences — which also reduces the stigma of openly discussing mental well-being.
Look to HR for resources that can be shared directly with employees. For example, one Gartner client provided a guide to the emotional stages people commonly go through during times of great change. Efforts such as this show help to demonstrate how the organization empathizes with employees and supports their well-being.
Expression policies help to ensure a safe and productive work environment for all — and such policies are popular with most employees. At organizations with political expression policies, over 75% of employees agree with them. HR leaders often take the lead in crafting such policies, but communications leaders also have a key role to play.
Keys to an effective political expression policy include:
Eighty-four percent of U.S. employees report discussing politics in the workplace, but it’s difficult for an employee to know when, where and how to share thoughts and feelings about political events that they may not consider to be welcome at work.
Create safe spaces for productive conversations in which employees feel free to express themselves. Establish standards and norms of communication, encourage employees to focus on common goals, and set examples of respect and civility.
Productive conversations should have clearly defined session objectives, such as:
Set explicit guidelines to facilitate the session, including:
Remember to balance formal conversations led by leadership with informal, small-group or one-on-one conversations between individual employees. That balance can be especially difficult in a remote or hybrid workforce environment.
Small-group conversations can be logistically difficult to create, but leadership-driven dialogue can escalate the emotional reactions of employees and increase communication fatigue. Encourage employees to reach out to peers and friends for unstructured conversations and to find additional support during emotionally turbulent times.
Read more: 9 Tips for Managing Remote Employees
Employees, especially through resource groups and other affinity networks, have become increasingly vocal in urging organizations to communicate on societal issues. But a recent Gartner survey shows that employees are more likely to report higher satisfaction with their organizations’ responses to social and political issues when the response is action-oriented.
In the U.S., 69% of employees were very satisfied when their organizations took action in response to the mid-2020 protests against racial injustice, compared to 50% who were very satisfied when their organization just issued a public statement.
It’s difficult for any organization or individual to know the exact actions to take amid the U.S. election turmoil, but communicate to employees a message that:
Share resources with employees and managers on how to handle stress and conflict. For example:
“The events of this week have been extremely emotional and tense for us all. It’s important to look out for our physical and emotional well-being. Let’s be kind and patient with one another. Please make use of our organization’s resources for emotional health and well-being. Also, please check on your colleagues; plan a virtual catch-up or coffee to take time to process recent events together.”
“Please join your colleagues for a Zoom conversation [time, date] to discuss the ongoing political unrest. We want to create a safe space for employees to be heard and understood by engaging in discussion. The conversation is open to all, and we encourage open dialogue with respect and understanding. Due to the nature of the discussion, this conversation will not be recorded.”
“The next few weeks will be difficult. As individuals, we’ll continue to strive for the things we believe in. As a company, we’ll continue to serve our customers and strive for excellence.”
“The leadership team will be meeting over the coming weeks to discuss how best to support those initiatives across the organization that we feel are essential to improving and maintaining employee well-being and encouraging corporate citizenship during these emotionally turbulent and politically charged times.”
Extreme fatigue already threatens leaders, managers and employees following a long year of disruption, distraction and unrest. The employment deal has evolved since COVID-19 struck, and progressive organizations are now working with employees on many fronts to increase both employee engagement and productivity. HR leaders and their teams have been integral to radical enterprise initiatives — from remote work and hybrid workforce models to COVID-19 vaccine strategy — but HR staff aren’t immune to professional or personal disruptions.
HR leaders can provide support by hosting regular meetings with HR staff to give them time to discuss how they are personally handling their situation, clarify work priorities for the HR team and recalibrate expectations so HR staff handle only the most essential issues now. They should also consider developing a buddy system and leveraging existing mentoring relationships to help HR staff navigate disruptive situations and spot mental health stress in colleagues.
Join your peer CHROs and senior HR executives from leading organizations to discuss specific HR challenges and learn top HR trends and priorities.
Recommended resources for Gartner clients*:
How HR Can Support Employees Following January Political Unrest in the U.S.
How to Address Social and Political Distractions With Today’s Employees
How HR Can Support Managers During Times of Political Change and Uncertainty
Addressing the Emotional Well-Being of the HR Team in a Crisis
How CHROs Are Responding to Social and Political Movements Worldwide
How to Navigate Times of Political Change and Uncertainty
U.S. Election Prep: Assess Risks Across 5 Categories
*Note that some documents may not be available to all Gartner clients.