Trump vs. Harris: How Workers Think the Election Will Impact Their Paycheck
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Weighty issues like foreign wars and domestic social policy are all on the ballot next month, but many Americans will think about their jobs when they enter the voting booth on Nov. 5.
A new study from FlexJobs found that 1 in 3 people expect the election results to impact their jobs, for better or worse.
The remote, from-home and flexible jobs platform surveyed 3,000 U.S.-based professionals. Many just want the election to be over because the political tension of campaign season is causing professional tension and anxiety in the run-up to November. Most of the rest don’t expect the election outcome to affect their careers or paychecks one way or the other, but 32% do — and their concerns might be relevant to your employment plans and prospects when a new president takes office in January.
Political Stress Is a Workplace Strain
Perhaps most telling, the study found that more than 1 in 5 employees — 22% — say the current political climate is causing an elevated stress level at work. That means the campaign itself is straining many workplaces before the election even plays out. Once it does, employees are most concerned about how the outcome could impact the following aspects of their careers.
- Increased expenses due to political instability or inflation
- Difficulty finding new employment
- Loss of income, benefits or hours
- Salary stagnation or reduced earning potential
- Greater workplace discrimination or bias
- Changing company culture or values
- A sense of isolation or disconnection from colleagues
- Changes in work-life balance or well-being
- Forced career changes
Most Don’t Expect the Election To Impact Their Careers
About 68% of the FlexJobs survey’s respondents don’t expect the election to affect their jobs regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris emerges victorious.
Most of the 32% who think the outcome will have a “significant impact” on their careers are optimistic. Nineteen percent expect the impact to be positive while 13% expect it to affect them negatively.
Women are more likely than men to anticipate an election-influenced change to their careers by a margin of 70% to 64%, but among those who expected an impact, men were slightly more likely to be pessimistic in expecting a change for the worse.
The biggest worry among both men and women is a struggle to find new employment, followed by higher stress at work, salary stagnation and loss of income, benefits or hours.
Company Politics Steer Employment Decisions
The FlexJobs report also found a direct connection between a company’s political stances and its ability to attract and retain talent, with 6 out of 10 respondents saying a company’s political positions influence their decision about working for that company.
Twenty-five percent say a company’s political stances are a factor in their job search, but not the most important one. Another 22% say it’s a minor factor but not a deal-breaker, and 13% say a company’s political positions are a major deciding factor in whether they’re willing to work for that company.
On this topic, men and women agreed in nearly identical proportions.
Interestingly, considering the national political environment, 71% of respondents say they would work or consider working for a company that supports practices and policies they disagree with, provided the job pays well and offers personal and professional fulfillment.
However, roughly 3 in 10 said they would “absolutely not” work for a company whose policies or practices did not align with their values, with women being most likely to reject an offer from a company whose politics don’t align with their own.
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