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 Cultural Diversity in the Workplace - Spring 1992 PROBLEM: A recent report called Workforce 2000 revealed that between the years 1985-2000, 85% of the people who enter the American workforce will be white females, immigrants and minorities of both sexes; only 15% of new hires will be white males. What this means is the American workplace is rapidly becoming very different and you'll need to deal with many issues that didn't come up when the workforce was more homogeneous. Businesses have begun to institute "diversity" programs to discover how they can capitalize on the distinctive talents of the diverse new groups in the workplace. Diversity, as it is being defined, encompasses everything from race, culture, sex and religion to age, weight, disabilities and sexual orientation. In other words, it includes all the ways in which people are different from each other. As a business owner or manager who's dealing with diverse groups of people in the workplace, you'll need to:
SOLUTION: To accomplish these goals, you'll need to set up some form of diversity program or training within your organization. One of the main purposes of this type of program should be to teach your employees how to understand and value the differences in other employees. It should give them a forum to air their concerns and a way to ask for what they need to thrive in your company's culture. It should also provide them with mentors who can teach them how they can get promoted within your organization. Many businesses have been doing what I've just mentioned with good results. Yet I believe that these diversity programs are leaving out one key variable that must be addressed: forgiveness. Until both you and your people learn how to let go of the old resentments, anger and pain you all carry around from the past, it will be very difficult for any of you to truly understand and value people who are different from you in the present. EXAMPLE: In 1988 a woman in a wheelchair asked for certain physical changes in the laboratory she was working in that would make it easier for her to do her job (e.g., benches, ramps, lower shelves, etc.). When management complied, other employees in the lab said they resented the "special treatment" she was being given. They also said that the new construction was disrupting things and inconveniencing them. Morale and teamwork was being affected by these negative feelings. The CEO retained my services to talk with all parties involved and help them come to some common ground. After talking with everyone individually, I set up a meeting in which the woman and her coworkers were able to state their needs and listen to each other. Each employee was encouraged to share their past victimization with the emphasis on forgiving themselves and others. RESULTS: Once they acknowledged and had taken responsibility for their own victimization, they were able to realize how difficult things had been for the woman they had been blaming. This process of forgiveness allowed the tension to dissipate and morale and teamwork quickly improved. SUMMARY: Explicitly dealing with the differences in your workforce can have a real payoff in more ways than one. By doing so, you can make better use of your people's special skills, reduce your turnover, avoid many interpersonal problems and increase the quality of their teamwork. |
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