A new survey by Cornerstone OnDemand reveals that 50% of adult U.S. respondents shared that they were interested in their employer setting aside working hours for them to study their ballot ahead of an election. 40% said their employers’ voting participation policies might make them want to continue with the firm.
Being educated about one’s ballot to make informed decisions during voting is a sign of socially conscious individuals. But do adults realize the importance of this, and do employers provide their employees with the right learning tools to facilitate this knowledge absorption?
A new survey by Cornerstone OnDemandOpens a new window has found that 80% of adults say that they typically spend less than two hours to learn about their ballot. It also reveals that almost 22% of adult U.S. respondents said they are either not sure or do not feel that they have enough information to cast their ballot in the upcoming general election in November. Still, they want and expect their employers to provide time off for learning and voting.
As young adults go ahead and vote this year, they will have several issues in mind regarding how their leaders have managed the pandemic, unemployment, racial inequities, and more. While their awareness levels of their country’s problems are likely to be high due to the media coverage, they might need to know more about their leaders and voting process.
Employers Play a Role in Information Sharing
As per the survey, 50% of employed adults shared that they were interested in their employer setting aside working hours to study their ballot ahead of an election. The employees, who form a large part of the workforce and are in the 18–34 age group, want their employers to provide paid time off to learn about their ballot, with 65% of respondents expressing support. Also, almost 40% of the respondents said their employers’ policies and practices about voting participation might make them want to continue with the firm.
As employees become more vocal about what they expect from their employers, they genuinely believe that employers are accountable for providing them with the requisite information in an unbiased but comprehensive manner.
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Steps Employers Are Taking
As the elections come close, organizations are already taking some steps to address their employees’ concerns.
There are new partnerships, such as the Time to VoteOpens a new window coalition, founded by major companies (700 in number) covering 2 million workers, which wants to increase voter participation in the U.S. elections. These organizations have pledged to grant their employees unpaid or paid time off (PTO) to vote on election day and involve them in election-related activities.
Some companies are giving paid leave to allow their employees to train as poll workers. This also helps hourly workers who may work non-traditional shift schedules.
Employers are sending emails and sharing details on how to register as well as vote online.
CNBC reportsOpens a new window that many large corporations such as Walmart and Levi’s are all part of this approach to give dedicated time off to their employees to vote. In addition, some companies spend time encouraging voter registrations. For example, Gap Inc. hosted workplace voter registration drives in 2018 to share information with their employees. They also emailed their customers to encourage participation.
It is also vital for companies to encourage their employees by offering childcare or even eldercare support to go ahead and vote. For example, WellStar employeesOpens a new window were given the benefit of taking their school-aged children to a licensed childcare center, or they could choose to have a licensed childcare provider come home for a small co-payment. This allowed working parents to vote without the concerns related to where to leave their children.
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With the election just a month away, it might be time for companies to increase their efforts toward educating their employees about the ballot by providing them with the right set of self-learning tools.