If there’s one emotion we all associate with an election, it’s anxiety. We’re all eager to see our chosen candidate win and afraid of what will happen if they don’t. In a high stakes election like the 2024 presidential race, these emotions are only heightened.
This, coupled with incivility and rudeness from others during an election cycle, may seem like a personal experience. However, new research showed that it is actually affecting workplaces in a big way.
A study found that stress and incivility caused by the election has cost employers billions of dollars.
As we have made our way through another presidential election in the United States, there has been plenty of stress and incivility to go around. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that this is costing employers quite a bit.
SHRM conducted a “Civility Index” to determine the effects of incivility on employers and found that it was costing them close to $2 billion each day.
“U.S. organizations collectively lose more than $1.2 billion in reduced productivity per day due to uncivil behaviors at work and $828 million per day due to absenteeism caused by incivility,” a report from SHRM based on the study’s findings said.
SHRM detailed just how difficult incivility can make it to be productive in the workplace. According to their report, each time an employee “experienced or witnessed” an instance of incivility, they lost 31 minutes of productivity.
Furthermore, incivility led to employees trying to avoid work altogether. Those who felt incivility firsthand spent 1.5 days away from work over the course of a month, while those who didn’t even experience it still took 0.61 days to try to avoid it.
In addition to the productivity lost because of incivility, stress was also a major issue.
It’s no surprise that stress would come up during an election cycle.
As SimplePractice’s director of clinical strategy, Lindsay Oberleitner, told SHRM, “With ongoing and increasing political tensions, the election season can have substantial impacts on employees’ mental health.”
This anxiety, experts say, is intentionally caused.
“It’s very conscious, it’s very calculated,” University of California Merced professor Anil Menon said.
The idea is that the more stress people feel surrounding an election, the more likely they are to participate in it. And, as those same people feel negative or positive emotions about certain candidates or policies, it affects the way they vote.
Employers can take steps to help their employees handle the election aftermath and keep losses to a minimum.
While this may be a masterstroke on the part of marketers, it does create a problem for the average person. But, Oberleitner pointed out that we can actually find solidarity in this.
“When shared experiences are occurring that raise experiences of stress and anxiety for most, acknowledging that stress is essential,” she said. Employers can facilitate this acknowledgment.
Nicholette Leanza, a therapist at LifeStance Health, noted, “Employers need to care because election stress can affect employee productivity and morale. Anxious employees are less effective, and chronic stress can lead to burnout. Plus, political tensions can disrupt teamwork.”
So, it’s not just money that’s on the line because of election-related stressors. It’s also each individual’s well-being.
There are steps that can be taken to mitigate this anxiety.
Psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Stein spoke with NPR’s Morning Edition regarding election-related stress.
“We need to be aware of when we reach that point, what we can do to help ourselves center, help ourselves get back to our wisdom,” he said.
Dr. Stein pointed out that it’s important to focus on your immediate surroundings, where everything feels more peaceful. It can also be helpful to learn from history and remember that “the world continues on.”
Unfortunately, despite these reminders, the stress and incivility persist. Employers will have to decide how to best handle how these things affect their employees moving forward so as to not lose even more time and money.
