In its 2024 report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked societal polarization as the third greatest global risk for leaders and organizations over the next two years. 2024 marks its second appearance in the WEF’s annual Global Risks Report — aimed at supporting decision-makers in balancing short and longer-term risks — and it’s rising through the ranks. But what does this mean for you? How could societal polarization be destabilizing your workplace (with or without your knowledge)?

The WEF defines societal polarization as “the loss of social capital and fracturing of communities leading to declining social stability, individual and collective well-being, and economic productivity.” An abstract concept when it lives on a list. Morgan Hamel — an expert in business ethics and ethical leadership — turns it concrete in her compelling keynote presentations on leadership in an increasingly polarized world.

Through sharing her deeply personal story of polarization, centred on her time as CEO of The Garment Inc., an online ethical fashion company, Morgan exemplifies why ignoring the risks polarization poses at work is increasingly problematic, while offering a prescriptive and powerful antidote to help leaders navigate this new era with greater skill and confidence.

The Risks of Societal Polarization in the Workplace

When speaking with Morgan, she outlined the many risks societal polarization can pose in the workplace (both internal and external). It ranges from challenges related to employee engagement/retention — with a recent Gartner study reporting that 26% of employees say the US election has had a moderate or big impact on their ability to do their jobs — to economic and reputational risk with Bud Lite and Disney both being recent examples of leaders struggling to navigate polarized topics. In both cases, their actions resulted in reputational damage and significant financial loss.

The good news? While societal polarization poses many risks, leaders can equip themselves to better handle our changing world and the radically divisive issues defining our times. The bad news? Traditional risk management approaches are not up to the challenge.

Why Traditional Risk Management is Ineffective

Traditional approaches to business ethics are problematic for three reasons, Morgan said:

1. They don’t take into account what behavioural ethics says about human behaviour — we aren’t as ethical as we think. The risk with this, Morgan said, is that employee/leadership ethics training over-focuses on code of conduct awareness without also explaining that the way our brains are wired make it difficult for us to even see ethical issues, let alone act on them, especially in stressful situations.  
2. They don’t acknowledge ideological resistance/polarization. Corporations often make strategic and/or branding decisions without fully understanding the operational reality of doing so. I.e., stakeholders may have differing views on what and how much corporations should do to address the social and environmental challenges of today.
3. They often employ “either/or” thinking to try to solve ethical dilemmas not recognizing that an over-emphasis on either ethics or profit is not sustainable in the long term, for example.

The next phase of navigating business ethics, Morgan said, requires an approach that acknowledges the reality of business ethics research, explicitly acknowledges polarization, and supplements an “either/or” approach to ethics with “both/and” thinking when appropriate.

So, what does that look like?

Building Trust: Combating Polarization in the Workplace

The first thing Morgan recommends leaders do is shift their mindset around ethics — it’s not simple and easy, it’s complex and sometimes difficult. This isn’t an easy switch for leaders, Morgan said. Traditionally, leaders want to exhibit strength and certainty, but research shows that those who demonstrate moral humility influence higher ethical behaviour within those around them.

“When we acknowledge that sometimes doing the right thing can be hard, and that each of us have had moments where we’ve both acted on and not acted on our values,” she said, “we open up space to strengthen our skills and improve. This is an approach that can be used with leaders and employees alike.”

Emphasizing Honest Communication

One of the biggest challenges related to building trust within your community of stakeholders, especially amidst this severe level of polarization we’re seeing today, Morgan said, is that we tend to think we are more ethical than we are.

In the corporate communication space, this is exemplified by big statements (often made by well-meaning people/corporations) that suggest corporations are willing to do more than they actually are, i.e., greenwashing or bluewashing. Stakeholders these days are savvy, and view statements like this with great scrutiny. If corporations or leader don’t follow through, this can erode trust and create significant risk if/when the discrepancy between words and actions is called out.

Three key things that organizations can do to ensure a higher degree of integrity in their communication are:

1. Support viewpoint diversity at the Board and C-Suite level, meaning that people with varying perspectives can share without fear of retaliation.
2. Understand the operational reality of implementing ESG commitments. Don’t make commitments that are not directly tied to corporate purpose AND that are properly understood and resourced.
3. Train communication teams on behavioural ethics. This includes how to avoid statements that could be perceived by the public as misleading, and how to replace those words with language that might not feel as good but is honest and true.

Employing the De-Polarization Method

With 10+ years of experience in corporate ethics and ethical entrepreneurship, plus a master’s degree in applied ethics, Morgan has created a prescriptive and powerful antidote to societal polarization called the De-Polarization Method. Her keynotes explore it in great detail, but the main components are as follows:

1. Ensure Board/C-Suite appreciates polarization risk.
2. Identify company-specific polarization risks.
3. Adopt a framework to guide which issues to take a stand on.
4. Update policies/communications/training where appropriate.
5. Prepare for “polarizing pushes”.

This method helps leader and teams approach polarization from a place of curiosity, clarity, and confidence vs. confusion and uncertainty, Morgan said.

Hire Morgan Hamel to Speak at Your Next Event

Morgan Hamel offers audiences a business-focused, ethics-rooted perspective on reputation management that doesn’t exist anywhere else. In her practical and actionable keynotes, she helps leaders and organizations learn to best navigate this new era of business ethics and reputational risk, diving deep into what ethical leadership looks like in an era of polarization, complexity, and change.

With trust in our politicians, institutions, corporate leaders at an all-time low, Morgan and her insights into ethical leadership can help your organization build trust and strengthen relationships with your employees, customers, suppliers, colleagues, and key stakeholders, even in unsettling times.

Contact us to learn more about Morgan and what she can bring to your next event.