Managers have observed increased workplace incivility over politics in the months leading up to the U.S. presidential election, to the point that many are having employees work from home on Election Day and even election week, with a quick outcome uncertain.
According to a new ResumeBuilder survey of over 1,000 managers in the United States, four out of every ten will have their employees work remotely during election week. According to the survey, almost 30% of employees have experienced confrontations as a result of the election, and 70% believe tensions would rise following the election.
Managers are coping with strained relationships, verbal altercations, and, eventually, a loss of team cohesion. They claim that political issues divert employees’ attention and reduce overall productivity. According to the survey, around one-fourth of employees have refused to collaborate with coworkers who hold opposing viewpoints and have requested to work remotely in order to prevent potential conflicts.
ASTRSK, a boutique agency with 20 workers and an office in central Manhattan, intends to close on Tuesday and Wednesday and allow employees to work from home. Staff often work a hybrid schedule, coming in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“We’ll kind of see what happens next week, and if we’ll even be coming on Thursday or not,” said ASTRSK president Lisa Horton.
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Many of the agency’s employees are millennials or Generation Zers who are outspoken and enthusiastic about social concerns. “This is definitely the most politically, socially, and economically charged presidential race in our generation, and probably ever. And we really want people to feel like they can be wherever they need to be, whether it’s creating a safe space for themselves, spending time with friends or family, or whatever it is that they require based on the election results,” Horton added.
“We tend to always have like-minded people that are working together at the agency, so I think naturally there’s an environment and a culture where people feel safe to kind of express those opinions,” she told me. “So no one has necessarily felt unsafe to come into work or anything like that, but it’s more so about really protecting everyone’s mental and emotional space.”
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