Encourages cooling off periods. While I don’t recommend banning political conversations in the workplace, a temporary break can help. Advise employees to give each other space and time to process their feelings after the election. Make it clear that they have the right to self-expression, but it’s too early now. Allow some time to cool down, regardless of whether their candidate won or lost.

Promote respect and empathy. Encourage employees to respect each other’s political views, even if they disagree. First, remind them how democracy works, giving everyone a voice and respecting the outcome of the election. Someone will win, someone will lose, and we must be willing to accept the wishes of the entire electorate. Second, it’s not forever. The person is elected for four years, right? So continued fighting serves no one. Another election is coming up in four years. Have some empathy for the other side. Encourage employees to think about how they would feel if the results were reversed.

Promote a culture of inclusion. Emphasize the value of diversity in the workplace, including diversity of political thought. If our workplace cultures are going to embrace diversity, we need to embrace the whole spectrum, not just the elements we align ourselves with. So beyond race, gender, national origin or age, we must embrace diversity of political perspective and political affiliation – meaning your employees have the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for. We must respect their vote and it is essential that we operate with dignity and respect and embrace our differences.

I will add this: Remind employees to be aware of your policy. on social media if you have one. Most employers view employees as representatives of their brand, whether they are on the clock or not. So, keeping quiet at work but being loud on social media in your free time could also backfire.