Political polarization: The latest threat to workplace culture

Here’s an election prediction that’s easy to make: Feelings of polarization in our country will only deepen after Tuesday’s midterms. There will be questions about the integrity of the vote and reports of irregularities or even violence at polling places. With so many close races, half of us may be disappointed. Some of us may be angry.

Those feelings will undoubtedly seep into workplaces. We saw it in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, and again in the pandemic era, when masking and vaxxing were the issues du jour.

It’s unsurprising, really, when you consider that workplaces are a microcosm of our society, where we spend one-third of our lives (perhaps more, in the work-from-home era). As writer Annie Dillard famously said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Remember the good old days, when office conversations about politics (or religion or sex) were considered taboo?

Those days are long past.

With the ubiquity of social media — where opinions are openly expressed without consequence, no matter how outrageous or cruel — a gag order isn’t feasible. Employees will assuredly bring their thoughts, opinions and feelings on a whole range of issues to the workplace, including the outcome of our elections.

It’s new and uncharted territory for workplace leaders, who face a mighty task: creating an environment where these conversations can be constructive and even welcome, rather than disruptive and dreaded.

At the National Conflict Resolution Center, we are working with companies and leaders who recognize that political polarization can’t be ignored when it comes to workplace culture.

There are three things to do right now.

First, it’s important to understand the current landscape, beginning with a fundamental truth: that the majority of Americans believe more unites us than divides us and are eager to find common ground.

That conclusion came out of a yearlong project by More in Common, an organization that conducts research to identify and address the drivers of polarization. Their “Hidden Tribes of America” report, published in 2019, revealed seven distinct groups of Americans, based on their views and beliefs — groupings that had nothing to do with demographic measures like age, gender, ethnicity or education.

It’s a very different story than what’s depicted in media today — an America that’s split into two camps, locked in a fight and determined to crush the other.

More in Common collected the views of some 8,000 U.S. citizens. They determined that our most extreme tribes — two right, one left — represent one-third of the population but often dominate our national conversation.

The rest of us reside in the middle — a group of Americans that More in Common has labeled the “Exhausted Majority.” Members of these tribes are discouraged by our divisions but open to conversation and compromise. They want to return to the collaborative spirit that characterizes a healthy democracy.

It’s important context for workplace leaders who are navigating political polarization. The second (and more challenging) step is to take stock of our own biases, in order to lead inclusively and with neutrality.

We can easily slip into a behavior called “othering,” where we (consciously or not) treat a person differently because of who they are or the group they belong to — including their political persuasion. When we “other” someone, we see them as less skilled or intelligent and not worthy of our respect.

And we discount their points of view, instead looking for information that supports our own beliefs. That confirmation bias, as it’s called, is a cognitive shortcut that gets in the way of real understanding of a situation.

Workplace leaders need to model a different kind of behavior and be willing to engage with people having diverse thoughts and beliefs. At NCRC, we teach a technique called “humble inquiry” (a term coined by organizational development expert Edgar Schein), which is the art of drawing someone out, asking questions you don’t already know the answer to, and building a relationship based on interest and curiosity in the other person.

It’s foundational to a human-centered workplace, where employees feel a sense of belonging and safety — able to openly discuss difficult topics and disagree with each other (and even you). Creating this type of culture takes time. But it’s something workplace leaders should be doing now; after all, it’s hard to build relationships in the midst of a crisis.

Tuesday’s midterms will show, again, that Americans have real differences and real disagreements with each other. Those differences and disagreements will show up in our workplaces. Let’s embrace the conflict as an opportunity to talk — and to find a path forward.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com