There is less than a month until the US Presidential Election, the result of which will have a huge impact on the direction of the world’s most powerful country and its influence on global issues over the next four years and beyond.

With the Republicans and Democrats having highly polarised policies on many issues critical to companies and their employees, the private sector - and particularly large employers – can be highly influential.

In the US, there have been many reported examples of businesses attempting to influence the votes of employees, often citing the likely impact on the company if a particular candidate is successful.

Research from Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, an author and professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, found that between a quarter and a third of workers in the US report that they’ve had some kind of political communication from their employers, from emails telling them about important legislation or political candidates that are up for election, or rallies that workers are required to attend on company time.

Though companies tend to be more visibly proactive in their political engagement in the US than in the UK, and here it is more unusual for companies to actively express a view about which party they want to win an election, we do on occasions see business leaders throwing their weight behind a political party, as we did with a letter signed by 120 business leaders earlier this summer endorsing Labour.

Direct attempts to influence employees are more unusual, though we did see businesses actively addressing workers around the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum and 2016 EU Referendum. Many employers waded into these debates, including those such as JCB and BMW that specifically wrote to their UK workers to warn of the dangers of voting one way or the other in the Brexit Referendum. Given the clear and direct impact of these votes on industry and business operations, the increased volume from business was to be expected.

And while we don’t tend to see the same level of private sector engagement in elections on this side of the pond, US trends often follow on sooner or later in the UK. We also know that there is an increasing expectation from employees – especially younger generations - for their employers to engage with political issues, so looking at the implications of elections for internal communicators is a worthwhile exercise.

Wherever your geography, many of the same risks and principles apply.

Focus on respect

Encouraging political engagement and promoting voter participation is of course a positive thing, and there are many ways in which organisations can do so, from offering flexible working arrangements on election days to offering childcare support on the day.

But employers should always emphasise tolerance and respect for different views. By being sensitive to the diverse situations and views of their employees, and creating a working environment that is neutral, safe and inclusive, they’ll prevent potential disruption and upset to team members – and potentially customers.

The big issues in elections are often highly contentious, and the last thing a business wants is to cause office divisions and arguments. A survey in the US this summer after the 27th June debate between President Biden and former President Trump found that two thirds of US workers had suffered or seen others suffering poor treatment at work for their political views. That is the last kind of working environment a business wants to create.

Think about the employees, not just the business

If businesses do decide to take the unusual step of sharing their views with their teams, they should tread very carefully indeed. Often companies can naturally focus on the issues impacting them directly. Though there is clearly a strong correlation between the health and success of a company and its staff, trying to present information to employees based solely on these issues risks creating the perception of management sitting in their ivory tower, blissfully unaware of the real-life concerns of their workers.

Employees have issues in their lives that may – in their eyes - far outweigh what policies are for the good of the company. They may be much more concerned about healthcare, education, or social security policy than they are about Capital Gains Tax, Corporation Tax or trade tariffs. Any attempt to engage employees on political issues should be highly respectful of their wider concerns outside of work – not to mention the concerns of customers and other stakeholders.

Be careful about attempting to persuade staff

Companies are allowed to express their view on an election, but that doesn’t mean it is wise to do so, and attempts to openly influence staff carry real risks.

There is a significant imbalance of power between employers and their workers, and attempts to influence their voting intentions may make them feel pressurised or coerced. Businesses should be particularly careful not to make any suggestions that the expression of a view contrary to that of the employer would directly harm employees’ career prospects, job security or pay levels.

Though the UK is not as polarised as the US, many political issues can be hugely polarising, so attempts to push a certain viewpoint is likely to annoy a large section of the workforce, particularly in larger organisations with a more diverse employee base.

The future may well see businesses being more open on political issues, but just like talking politics around the dinner table can be fraught with risk, so it is for companies dipping their toes into any political debate, let alone an election. Internal communicators should urge extreme caution about mixing business with politics, and for those whose management teams are insistent, ensure very careful planning indeed.