Good morning!
After an assassination attempt on presidential candidate Donald Trump this weekend, an anxious election season has become even more frightening, and employees around the country are on edge.
There are all kinds of different ways that business leaders can respond to the latest events, and the general temperature of the country right now. There are plenty of good arguments for companies to stay out of any kind of political engagement altogether, as they weigh the risks and rewards of stepping into the fray.
But there are also reasons that company and HR leaders should engage with employees about politics right now, if only to share messages of reassurance. Global leaders have been quick to renounce any act of political violence, and some CEOs like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon are sending internal memos encouraging workers to engage in “constructive dialogue.”
If your workplace is reeling, this might be a good time to say something as a way to settle nerves and refocus workers to get through the months ahead.
“Some employers could use it as a tool to say, ‘We need to dial back how hot our rhetoric is in this company and in the workforce,” Sam Schwartz-Fenwick, an employment lawyer at Seyfarth Shaw, told my colleague Lila MacLellan.
If you do want to engage with employees about the most recent events, there are some ideas to keep in mind.
Don’t talk, just listen. That could include creating a forum for employees to share their feelings, or sitting down in individual one-on-ones with your direct reports. “The impulse is to think ‘I’m the leader, I have to say something,’” says William Ury, author of the classic book about negotiations, Getting To Yes. “But really what a leader does is they listen first.”
Consider a formal policy. We’re still months away from the presidential election in November, so it’s good to get clear on how you want the workplace to engage with politics. Some companies like Meta and Coinbase have taken a hard line that mostly bans political discussion. But that’s not the right move for many other workplaces. The key is to be consistent.
Or let employees create their own rules. Business leaders can also empower workers to create their own rules, and therefore have buy-in with whatever the company decides. “Ask: ‘How should we do this?’” Ury says, adding it’s “a chance for the community to come together and develop a norm for something that everyone wants.”
Think about the “third side.” If top company brass does weigh in, they should think about speaking from the “third side.” That means taking a stand against violence rather than supporting one political party over the other. “Leaders can stand up for the democratic system,” says Ury.
You can read the full story here.
Azure Gilman
azure.gilman@fortune.com
Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines.
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A new report shows that Gen Z is growing less interested in working for tech companies like Amazon and Google following years of mass layoffs in the industry. Quartz
A Senate investigation concluded that Amazon warehouse worker injuries spike during Prime Day and major holidays, due to understaffing and intense strain on staffers. Washington Post
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Self preservation. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is cutting costs, eliminating some roles, and capping its headcount as the industry struggles with supply chain issues. —Prarthana Prakash
WFH defeat. A government employee union in Philadelphia attempted to block the mayor’s return to office mandate, but a judge ruled that the city could enforce the directive. —Bruce Shipkowski, AP
Change of tune. Following the recent boom of Tesla shares, the company is now looking to hire around 800 new staffers despite Elon Musk’s rash round of layoffs just three months ago. —Kara Carlson, Bloomberg
Trump talks. Jamie Dimon wrote to JPMorgan staffers that they should “stand firmly together against any acts of hate, intimidation or violence” following Trump’s attempted assassination and come together through “constructive dialogue.” —Orianna Rosa Royle
