In 2016, Weber Shandwick did research on CEO activism. Remember, that was four years ago. Imagine being a CEO and seeing these stats:

This seems odd to me as a denizen of 2020. 62% of total surveyed Americans thought CEOs should probably keep quiet about public policy topics. I asked my network on LinkedIn the same question five days before the 2020 election and had the opposite breakdown:

In the interest of full disclosure, this is 1,027 responses versus 17. This is a pathetic and biased response rate. Even still, in the microcosm of my LinkedIn network in 2020 right before an election, respondents do not follow the 2016 trend. Read into that as much as you want.

But let’s say as a CEO you did make a public policy stance. 2016 data says it’s not a winning proposition to drive universal employee engagement:

There’s a real financial cost here. Employee turnover hurts and can make hiring harder, especially if the Glassdoor review is articulate and specific about why they left. That’s a 19% increase for employee turnover: better to keep quiet.

Even moreso, the public is more likely to be anti-establishment and look at your executive proclamations as publicity grabs:

This distrust from 2016: do you believe it’s greater or lesser four years later? Do more employees prefer if their CEO takes a side of an issue today? In either case, would you as a CEO feel empowered to speak up in this climate?

So What Can HR Do About Politics In The Workplace?

Organizations are typically apolitical because there’s no easy way to have a public policy opinion that makes everyone cheer and nobody feel ostracized. Better not to get in the messiness of potentially pissing people off and just be silent.

Times are changing, though. The increasing polarization, the echo chambers of social media, and outside foreign influence means that politics are coming closer and closer to the office. And for many of you, they’re already there, unofficially: private Slack channels, political banners in the background of Zoom videos, and snarky comments before a team meeting begins.

If you’re in HR, you know what it feels like being the friction point where the political minority and political majority clash. Not only that, but usually “culture” is delegated as a HR responsibility (aside: it’s everyone’s responsibility). Whenever an election or major public policy floats into regular conversation, the rubbing begins, feelings get hot, and regrettable words and actions make their appearance.

Try this instead:

1. Put on your own mask before helping people around you

Take care of yourself. Check your emotional state before you go into a conversation with a colleague or stakeholder. The Three Breath Check is a great method to assess and calibrate. Answer three questions over the span of three slow deep breaths. Pick the best answer in that amount of time: don’t dither.

Question 1: Can I control my own focus right now?
Question 2: Can I put my personal opinions to the side?
Question 3: If the answer is no to either of those, what’s my #1 technique to regain control/disconnect my personal opinion?

The magic of the Three Breath Check is that the short decision window forces you to make a rapid truthful assessment while also calming the sympathetic nervous system. Our head has a great way of obfuscating our initial gut reactions, so don’t give it the time to do so. However, you do need to have a technique-in-waiting for Question 3. Those techniques are what we cover in more detail in the Employee Engagement Cohort.

2. Provide Lubricant

Employees are going to talk about politics at work: about 1 in 2 employees will do so. However, you can curate spaces and ground rules to ensure that things stay civil. That can include:

Curating Slack channels with designated moderators
Modeling feedback and constructive debate through non-political learning programs
Identify the loudest or more influential individuals and privately talk with them about creating inclusive workspaces without having them self-censor

Sadly, you have to accept that poli-talk will happen and that any time you acknowledge it happening, you assume responsibility. This is the burden we bear: let things play out for better or worse OR step up and take the risk your team needs to keep them psychologically safe.

3. Listen to the People and Listen to the Silence

If you’re a good HR professional, you’re plugged into the culture and care about your employees. They may have valid points, real problems, and authentic passion. If you can recognize that human need for expression and social justice, you provide important validation. You can do a lot for someone by simply listening. If a request is reasonable, grant it.

However, when politics comes into play, there is a chilling effect to the minority or disempowered. There are people who will stay quiet...and they are entitled to be heard and acknowledged just as much as the loud folk. HR has a duty to protect and uplift everyone in their organization, even the minority or unpopular ones. Providing avenues for individuals to privately communicate their concerns, proactively reaching out to marginalized groups, and providing legitimacy and justice for all is just part of the HR bag. *

*There is definitely a hard line you must draw. Legally protected classes such as age, gender, creed, etc. are protected for a reason: anything that infringes on that protection becomes a legal issue. Additionally, there should be soft norms that your organization declares are dealbreakers: white supremacy, eugenics, classism, or other behaviors that are antithetical to your mission and values should be addressed swiftly and firmly.

If you’re feeling like you’re treading water as the HR Political Peacemaker, know that you’re not alone. Especially in this political climate, tough issues and real choices are facing politicians and the constituents they represent. In HR, you’re kind of a politician too: you are there to enable and engage people to pursue their life’s work.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, unsure, or anxious, perhaps you’ll feel better among your own kind where you can talk about these concerns with people who have seen it before and are handling it now. The Employee Engagement Cohort awaits: we have hot chocolate.

Learn more about the cohort