If there’s one emotion we all associate with a choice, it’s anxiety. We are all anxious to see our chosen candidate win and fear what will happen if they don’t. In a high-stakes election like the 2024 presidential race, these emotions are only heightened.

This, along with the incivility and rudeness of others during an election cycle, can seem like a personal experience. However, new research has shown that it actually affects jobs in a big way.

One study found that election stress and incivility cost employers billions of dollars.

As we made our way through another United States presidential election, there was plenty of stress and incivility. 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 nearly $2 billion every day.

“U.S. organizations collectively lose more than $1.2 billion in reduced productivity per day due to uncivil workplace behaviors and $828 million per day in absenteeism caused by incivility.” said a report from SHRM based on the study’s findings.

SHRM detailed how difficult incivility can make it to be productive at work. According to their report, every time an employee “experienced or witnessed” an incident of incivility, they lost 31 minutes of productivity.

In addition, incivility has led employees to try to avoid work altogether. Those who directly experienced incivility spent 1.5 days away from work over the course of a month, while those who never even experienced it took 0.61 days to try to avoid it.

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In addition to lost productivity due to incivility, stress was also a major problem.

It is not surprising that stress would arise during an election cycle.

As SimplePractice’s Director of Clinical Strategy, Lindsay Oberleitner, SHRM said“With political tensions continuing and rising, election season can have a substantial impact on employee mental health.”

This anxiety, experts say, is caused on purpose.

“He’s very aware, he’s very calculated,” University of California Merced professor Anil Menon said.

The idea is that the more stressed people feel around an election, the more likely they are to participate in it. And because the same people feel negative or positive emotions about certain candidates or policies, this affects how they vote.

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Employers can take steps to help their employees manage the consequences of choices and keep losses to a minimum.

While this may be a headache for marketers, it creates a problem for the average person. But Oberleitner pointed out that we can actually find solidarity in this.

“When common experiences occur that increase experiences of stress and anxiety for most, recognizing that stress is essential,” she said. Employers can facilitate this recognition.

Nicholette Leanza, therapist at LifeStance Health, noted, “Employers need to care because election stress can affect employee productivity and morale. Anxious employees are less efficient and chronic stress can lead to burnout. In addition, political tensions can disrupt teamwork.”

So it’s not just money that’s at stake because of election stressors. It is also the well-being of each individual.

There are steps that can be taken to alleviate this anxiety.

Psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Stein spoke to NPR’s Morning Edition regarding election stress.

“We have to be aware of when we get to that point, what we can do to help us focus, to help us come back to our wisdom,” he said.

Dr. Stein emphasized that it’s important to focus on your immediate surroundings, where everything feels calmer. It can also be helpful to learn from history and remember that “the world goes on.”

Unfortunately, despite these reminders, stress and incivility persist. Employers will need to decide how best to manage how these things affect their employees, so they don’t waste even more time and money.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango covering entertainment, news and human interest topics.