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One would have thought this could have gone without saying, but apparently not. There are reports of employers threatening if not actually firing someone because they voted for the candidate not of the boss’s choice. Watch this video:

https://youtu.be/gbNOWl7w83Y

I know crazy, huh?

The U.S. election this year resulted in Donald Trump taking the win contrary to what many people were led to believe through the media and polls. For those who believed the polls are most likely sitting in a world of shock and upset right now.

Trust me, I understand disappointment when election results don’t turn out the way we hoped. But employers who voted one way taking it out on employees who voted another is a big, no let’s say “yuge” mistake.

Here are two key reasons why:

Social Media Derailment

Remember that little thing called Social Media? As in this video in this article there is a repetitive call for it to go “viral”. A video that goes “viral” is a social phenomenon that makes it spread far and wide for weeks, months and maybe years to come. A bad incident caught on video and it is posted and gone “viral” is something that can completely damage a business’ ability to generate revenue let along attract top talent. It is hard if not impossible to recover from a bad reputation.

It is savvy business leaders who know how to leverage social media to attract customers. Staying away from employment decisions based on ridiculous things that have nothing to do with an employee’s ability to take care of customers is a good idea and will keep your HR professionals from cringing.

Talent Attraction and Retention

Year after year we hear of reports that businesses, CEO’s, leadership are struggling to find ways to attract and retain skilled talent. Let us not forget that over 60 million people voted for President-Elect Donald Trump as they also did for Secretary Hillary Clinton.

That math would suggest that firing someone because they didn’t vote the way you think they should, you stand to alienate over 60 million people either way. With those odds, how easy do you think it is to attract top talent?

Don’t think firing people because how they voted ill alienate people? The key to workplace happiness is not money, its autonomy.

A highly engaged employee is one who feels they have control over their destiny. Leaders would be wise to start loosening the reins on employees and express confidence in others’ abilities to make good decisions, regardless of decisions made in the voting booth.

If you have depressed employees in the workplace consider these 5 productive techniques to help them return to a productive and happy status:

  1. Make your workplace a great place to work: Are all employees treated with respect?
  2. Set up resources for those suffering from depression: Offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) support if your company has that resource available.
  3. Freshen up the office with new live plants, bring your pet to work day, or healthy food day.
  4. Find ways to bring the sun inside. Either allow your employees to have a sun (outdoor) break, or bring in tropical themed decorations and/or open up and clean those old dusty windows.
  5. Get your staff out to help others such as serving in food lines or participating in charity drives. Focusing on other's needs have a way of making our own sorrows seems small.

 

Also check out our article on Workplace Civility here: https://hrcsuite.com/workplace-civility/

 

 

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Tresha Moreland

Tresha Moreland is a 30-year organizational effectiveness and strategic workforce planning expert. She partners with business leaders to develop workplace strategies that achieve best-in-class results. She has held key organizational leadership roles in multiple industries such as manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Tresha is the founder and principal consultant of HR C-Suite, LLC (www.hrcsuite.com). HR C-Suite is a results-based HR strategy resource dedicated to connecting HR with business results. She has received a master’s degree in human resource management (MS) and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). She has also earned a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Six Sigma Black Belt Professional (SSBBP) Certification. She is also recognized as a Fellow with the American College Healthcare Executives with a FACHE designation.

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