Chief Learning Officer & Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness at Cornerstone.
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From the Covid-19 pandemic to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, both individuals and the companies that employ them are in the process of looking inward and finding ways to bring more humanity into the workplace. The 2020 U.S. election has offered another opportunity for reflection, this time in how employers and employees approach voting ahead of Election Day.
In the 2016 general election, about 14% of registered voters didn’t vote because of busy schedules or work conflicts. Exercising the right to vote often gets hamstrung by work obligations, so this year, many companies have given employees time off to vote. Already over 1,000 American companies, including Apple, Twitter, Coca Cola and Nike, have made this commitment, but some are still reluctant to do so, wary of a hyper-partisan environment that might politicize the decision.
But this decision isn’t about companies and their political leanings, it’s about people. Employees today want to work for companies that engage on political and social issues. They want to bring their entire authentic selves to work — and they perform better when they can. They want to work for companies that care about them, offering things like work-life balance and flexible hours (a fact only exacerbated by the pandemic).
When helping to architect my company’s own #EducateYourVote policy, therefore, we made sure to keep employees in mind. Beyond simply announcing we were giving our team time off ahead of the election to learn about their ballots, we also seized the opportunity to increase empathy, inclusivity and authenticity in the workplace.
Giving Time Off To Vote Promotes Empathy, Inclusivity
In the same way that companies offer paid time for everything from doctor appointments to jury duty, they should give employees paid time off to exercise their civic right to vote. But in today’s hyper-politicized landscape, these offerings can easily be seen as partisan.
To avoid this association, companies can make sure that all of their messaging materials, conversations and meetings surrounding a company’s civic engagement efforts remind employees that these initiatives were made to help them exercise their opinions.
Rather than providing information and opinions about the candidates, give employees information about how to locate their polling station or deadlines for sending in their mail-in ballots. Or connect the program to the complicated nature of this year’s elections and frame every email, announcement or team meeting related to your company’s “get out the vote” initiative around giving employees the flexibility to participate in it.
Many employees might not be able to go to the polls this year. Immunocompromised employees and working parents might need to take time out of their work schedules to go vote during non-peak hours. This year, giving employees time off to vote is an empathetic and inclusionary decision. It’s about making sure that everyone, especially those who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, has the opportunity to vote.
Keeping these efforts non-partisan can also help workplaces get one step closer to becoming truly inclusive. In order to become a safe space for everyone to gather, you’ll need a range of perspectives — political, cultural and otherwise. This is something that many industries still struggle with today.
Authenticity Drives Impact
In order to have maximum impact, civic engagement programs need to feel authentic to the organization. Otherwise, giving employees the day off to vote could fall flat or come across as a PR play.
At Cornerstone, for example, we encouraged our American employees to take at least two hours of paid time off several weeks ahead of the election to educate themselves on their ballots. These recent offerings will apply to all future elections, domestically and internationally. Our employees are also encouraged to take as much as off as they need on Election Day. Since so much of our business is focused on employee learning and development, it felt antithetical to our core values. We wanted to encourage employees to take time to first learn about the many issues on their ballot before they vote.
When Coca Cola announced its plans to give employees Election Day off, the beverage conglomerate released public statements saying that this decision was made after receiving feedback about “how we can live up to our company’s mission to refresh the world and make a difference and help impact important issues in our country.”
A recent study examined the voter engagement programs of eight companies, including Twitter, Spotify and Target, leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. According to their analysis, and based on conversations with the leaders of these companies, the key to success for each program was staying on-brand. Knowing your audience and what resonates with them is not only crucial to running a successful business, but it’s a tenet that should be applied to voter engagement tactics as well.
Offering employees time off to vote ahead of or on Election Day is just the latest step in a larger movement in business to prioritize the needs of their stakeholders over the interests of shareholders. Civic engagement programs — initiatives that give employees time off to vote or volunteer at local polling sites — are putting the best interests of not only employees, but also their communities, first. This year we’ve learned, many times over, about the need for more authenticity, empathy and inclusivity in the workplace. Let’s not lose that clarity. Let’s keep moving toward a more human, people-first approach to business.
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