Political polarization takes a toll on corporate culture: Study

“When we talk about organizational culture, part of it relates to the narratives that we tell about the organization, and HR certainly can play a role in crafting those narratives,” says Kate Rowbotham. 

The assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., believes that consistency and authenticity are key elements to maintain an organization’s cultural messaging and practices when external political pressures may be putting them at risk. 

A recent study in the US examined companies during periods of high political polarization and found that they tended to reduce their corporate culture messaging and de-emphasized their messaging depending on the political alignment of the U.S. president. The study on "Corporate Culture Messaging and National Politics" in the Journal of Financial and Qualitative Analysis also found that companies that weren’t politically aligned reduced their cultural messaging on “innovation, quality, and respect” and that when political polarization increases, executives scale back official communication that could be interpreted as having a political alignment.  

This year has also seen several corporations in the U.S. scale back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to the current administration’s distaste for such programs. Those companies may feel it’s prudent to follow political trends, but does scaling back cultural messaging and practices have consequences for talent strategies? 

The danger for HR leaders in such circumstances is the risk that strategic communication drifts into inauthenticity, which can erode trust among both employees and external stakeholders, according to Rowbotham. 

Political rhetoric in Canada

While the research is U.S.-focused, Rowbotham believes that Canadian organizations aren’t immune. 

“I think we’ve seen some things in Canada, with our election cycle and even with the recent [federal] budget, some of the conversations and the rhetoric that comes out,” she says. “It plays out differently in different companies, but certainly the climate is ripe for seeing some of that in Canada.” 

A practical approach for HR in interpreting any potential threats to their cultural messaging and practices is to establish regular checkpoints — both internal and external — to gauge emerging political trends and their potential impact on the organization, says Rowbotham, adding that things like increased turnover and burnout can be indicators that external pressures are affecting company culture and morale. 

“[It's about] being media aware, being media savvy, and understanding the direction that things are going in,” she says. “The other checkpoint goes to where your employees are at and the conversations that your employees are having — there’s research that links increased political polarization to incivility among employees, which leads to stress, burnout, and increased turnover.” 

Authentic, consistent cultural messaging 

A challenge for HR is balancing the need for authentic culture within their organization with the push to respond to external political pressures – whether the pressure comes from the top of the organization or externally, says Rowbotham. 

“It’s something that companies always need to be thinking about, not just for your existing employees and your customers, but also for potential employees,” she says. “Is the mission of the company something with which an employee feels safe? Sometimes we talk about missions as like safe harbours — it’s something that that employees can feel a part of.” 

There can be pros and cons to being clear about a company’s values, depending on where they fall. A 2024 poll by Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll found that two-thirds of Canadian job-seekers want to work for a company that’s comfortable speaking out on issues that matter to them, with DEI the top issue listed. However, a similar amount said there’s more of a risk than a benefit to companies taking a stance on political issues for attracting top talent.  

HR’s increasing partnership with executive-level leadership can give it a role in shaping how leadership communicates and responds to political pressures. Rowbotham thinks that influence can ensure a consistency and authenticity of internal messaging that can make employees feel more secure about their workplace, regardless of external political pressures. 

“People can be very pragmatic within an organization to understand that different political environments or other concerns might demand different responses, but employees and customers still recognize what the company is and what it's about,” she says. “It doesn't have to be necessarily anything lofty, but the company in its culture and in its mission should still be clear in what it stands for," she says.

Conflict management and monitoring the workplace 

In a polarized political climate, it could be good strategy for organizations to take steps to mitigate the risks of divisiveness and maintain a cohesive culture. Awareness and conflict management training can play a role, as can even restricting the discussion of politics at work if there’s a risk of too much divisiveness, according to Rowbotham. 

“These are things that seep into the workplace, so it’s important to realize that it affects people and, if things are becoming increasingly polarized, it could lead to difficult conversations in the workplace,” she says. “Give people the tools they need to handle those things — thinking about conflict and having difficult conversations, and also about the mission or the culture of the organization that are unifying, that people can align behind.” 

HR’s role includes helping to craft, model, and monitor culture messaging, and that includes being clear to leadership about supporting the organizational culture from the top while tracking the cultural health of the workforce. 

“Conveying and supporting the culture and the mission includes encouraging senior leadership to do that — reminding senior leaders that they're setting the tone,” says Rowbotham. “What are the signals that we're seeing and are stress and burnout playing out in different ways that we haven't seen before? Keeping track of that and understanding it in the context of a more politicized environment. 

“A big part of that is understanding what's going on in the world and how that affects the organization.” 

Organizational resilience and integrity 

Rowbotham believes that HR leaders are best placed to ensure consistency and clarity in culture messaging for organizations, especially when political polarization is increasing externally. 

“With consistent communication and messaging, people can see what the organization is, and while there's a strategic aspect that may adjust the message externally versus internally, HR can really help with a clear understanding of this is who we are, this is what we value, this is what matters to us, and being really clear about that,” she says. “And then sure that those values and what matters to the organization is showing up when decisions are being made.”