Views 5 ways to engage employees in civic action this election

Published 2 Min Read

It’s no secret that the 2020 election season is shaping up to be radically different than in years past. Pre-COVID, it was already one to watch, but with the pandemic still disrupting daily routines — from how people work and school their children to the ever-changing rules around openings and closures and safe ways of interacting — it’s easy to see why voters are feeling anxious about what might happen at the polls in November.

According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 67% of respondents believe that the pandemic will disrupt Americans’ ability to vote. And in addition to COVID, a host of issues, among them social justice and racial inequality, have ignited protests worldwide, making the stakes of this election especially high.

Many people, especially those who are hourly workers or are in low-income jobs, simply can’t afford to take the time off to wait in line at a polling station. These hours can add up to a meaningful sum of lost wages. According to a 2018 survey from the Society of Human Resource Management, only 44% of U.S. businesses offered workers paid time off to vote.

In 2018, a number of companies (now 1,100+) stepped up to change this with Time to Vote, a non-partisan, business-led initiative “to help ensure employees across America don’t have to choose between voting and earning a paycheck.”

Sona Khosla
Vice president of marketing

Sona Khosla is VP of marketing at Benevity, the leading global provider of corporate social responsibility and employee engagement software for some of the world’s most iconic brands.


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