Navigating Post-Election Emotions at Work: How to Support Your Colleagues and Foster Empathy

Last night was a shock to many. But based on the numbers, was a great victory for more. And now it’s November 9th and we all move forward regardless of your politics.

People like to think we can, or even should, separate our home and work life. However dangerous it is to “talk politics at work” – today we cannot avoid it. This election was more personal than many and people are struggling with the results.

To go into work today and not accept the emotional experience people are going through is to ignore their humanity. It’s not a switch we can turn on or off. And the more organization’s own that, the stronger they become.

Regardless of who you voted for consider any of the following to help make today as good as it can be in your office:

• Demonstrate empathy.
• Acknowledge with your words that this was a challenging election and you understand not everyone is happy.
• Remind people that we must we respect each other’s emotional experience.
• Recognize your colleagues’ body language and give them the space or attention that you’re able to provide.
• Honor (don’t ignore) people’s emotions and provide some release if you can. Go for a walk, share a funny video, spend time with an activity you love.

Whoever your candidate of choice was, the biggest piece is to have empathy for those around you. Don’t gloat or despair. Rather, be present. We need to be mindful of how fragile we humans are and know we are equally resilient.

This election has been hard on all of us. Whoever you voted for, be kind to each other today.