The workplace is not immune from the rising volume of rhetoric from the presidential campaign.
After a May survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that political volatility was affecting some workplaces, SHRM repeated survey questions in October to determine whether Campaign 2016 was continuing to have an impact.
“As we approach Election Day, tension from the presidential election has spilled into the workplace,” said Evren Esen, SHRM’s director of workforce analytics.
“More than one-half of organizations indicated that there is greater political volatility in the workplace in this presidential election compared to others,” she reported. “This was double the percentage that said there was greater volatility in May of this year.”
SHRM surveyed randomly selected HR professionals across the country.
When asked to elaborate, 70% of respondents said employees were more concerned (candidates seem unfit; overall dissatisfaction) regarding the candidates than in previous election years. Sixty percent said employees were more vocal about their opinions. Fifty-five percent said employees believed that presidential candidates were more polarizing than in previous years, and 5% of respondents said employees at their organizations have violated policies on political activities at work.
More key insights are highlighted in the infographic below. For more information on this survey, visit the SHRM website.