Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
By the NRMC Team
(download The Political Risk issue of Risk Management Essentials, here.)
Is civil discourse creating a toxic environment in your workplace? According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Politics at Work Survey, deepening divisiveness across party lines is a catalyst for workplace conflict. This often results in lower productivity, employee alienation, poor morale, increased stress for individual workers, and claims of employer discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Nonprofit employers can do more to effectively manage disruptive political debates that increasingly occur at work.
SHRM’s Spring 2020 edition of HR Magazine tackles contentious political conversations in the workplace in its article, “Uncivil Discourse.” (Note: the full article is available to SHRM members.) Author Susan Milligan shares how toxic these talks have: “. . . gone far beyond setting rules about whether employees should be permitted to wear T-shirts or buttons supporting political candidates. It’s much more personal, with people feeling threatened about not just their choice of candidate but their very value systems.”
Take the following steps to maintain an inclusive work environment while managing the risks of politically driven discord.
Instead of censoring employees or trying to prevent these disagreements, focus on fostering peaceful, productive dialogue while preventing escalation and negative outcomes.
Explore some of the laws that protect employees based on their political affiliations, expressions, and other activities. Some jurisdictions prohibit employers from retaliating against employees for engaging in political activities; others prohibit discrimination against employees for election-related speech or party affiliation. Multi-state employers need to craft custom policies in order to satisfy the various laws that apply to them. Don’t forget to account for one of the major exceptions to an employer’s ability to restrict speech and expression at work: the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects an employee’s ability to discuss wages, hours, and working conditions. For example, under the NLRA, an employee’s workplace speech is likely protected when urging peers to vote for a candidate who supports higher wages or improvements to working conditions.
Employees might misconstrue the protections they enjoy under the First Amendment. While the First Amendment prevents the government from restricting free speech, it does not protect individual expression of political views in private workplaces. In fact, the First Amendment does not protect any type of speech in a private workplace. Private employers are generally allowed to set rules about what speech is acceptable at work, and employers can fire at-will employees for any or no reason—potentially including an employee’s political views—except a reason or basis specifically prohibited by federal, state or local law. Discrimination based on political activity is often lawful, unless it violates one of the federal, state or local laws that protects an employee’s political speech or activity in the workplace (see #2 above).
Some experts recommend avoiding a discussion of politics during employee training, but others recognize the need to inform employees what constitutes workplace harassment versus political disagreement. Consider educating employees about how to avoid blatantly hateful rhetoric or political expressions that border on hostile or discriminatory speech. Share why this type of speech is unproductive and unacceptable at work, whether it borders on illegal discrimination, creates a toxic work environment, or cultivates a workplace culture of exclusion that stunts contribution, creativity and collaboration. Provide real-life examples for employees to learn from, preparing them to manage or avoid the most polarizing political issues, which have the highest potential of instigating disruptive conflict. Teach employees to recognize and shut down the types of political expression that could be interpreted as harassment or baiting. Also educate employees about the potential consequences of sharing political opinions online. Posting on personal social media accounts outside of work hours could still put an employee’s reputation—and that of their organization—at risk in the eyes of a colleague or client. Share these simple tips to help your team navigate political small talk, and help individuals weigh the consequences of chiming in.
Extreme partisanship leads many Americans to demonize one another based on political affiliations alone. Provide opportunities for team members to cooperate and learn about each other as colleagues rather than political opponents. Showcase individual team members for their contributions to your organization’s mission, helping colleagues recognize each other as allies and as multidimensional—not just politically motivated—people. Every effort to inject empathy and mutual respect back into the workplace will have a positive effect on the outcomes of political discourse.
If your employees demonstrate a passion for politics or care for causes that shape their country, then engage them in specific civic pursuits appropriate for the workplace. Ask for volunteers to design non-partisan internal communications about voter registration and upcoming elections. Provide volunteering opportunities that allow employees to serve causes they care about while cooperating with colleagues and building morale. Especially if employees are disappointed about restrictions of political speech or political paraphernalia in the workplace, offering alternative avenues for civic service will satisfy employee needs while keeping the peace at work.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
“BBYO’s engagement of the Center to conduct a risk assessment was one of the most valuable processes undertaken over the past five years. Numerous programmatic and procedural changes were recommended and have since been implemented. Additionally, dozens (literally) of insurance coverage gaps were identified that would never have been without the work of the Center. This assessment led to a broker bidding process that resulted in BBYO’s selection of a new broker that we have been extremely satisfied with. I unconditionally recommend the Center for their consultative services.
“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
“The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has been an outstanding partner for us. They are attentive to our needs, and work hard to successfully meet our requests for information. Being an Affiliate member gave us access to so many time- and money-saving resources that it easily paid for itself! Nonprofit Risk Management Center is truly a valued partner of The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and we are continuously able to optimize staff time with the support given by their team.”
“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
Great American Insurance Group’s Specialty Human Services is committed to protecting those who improve your communities. The Center team has committed to delivering dynamic risk management solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations. These organizations have many and varied risk issues, hence the need for specialized coverage and expert knowledge for their protection. We’ve had Melanie speak on several occasions to employees and our agents. She is always on point and delivers such great value. Thank you for the terrific partnership and allowing our nonprofits to focus on their mission!