About Workplace Diversity
Diversity can be broadly defined as
a difference between people. Whether those differences are cultural,
intellectual, or gender-related, employees in the business community share a
common goal of teaming together to ensure professional success. Diversity in
the workplace adds value to an organization by allowing workers to approach
their jobs from different perspectives. Many employers recognize the need for
workplace diversity and initiate strategies to maintain a diverse workforce.
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| A diverse workforce can add value to an organization |
Diversity
Concepts
Many organizations face challenges
in managing the needs and differences of a diverse workforce. Diversity not
only refers to cultural differences but also differences in physical and mental
capacity, gender, age, education, and work experience. When people from
different backgrounds interact with one another, misunderstandings and
conflicts are bound to occur. A company must be willing to acknowledge the
existence of diversity issues and implement practices that encourage workplace
diversification.
Diversity
Legislation
Diversity in the workplace has
gained considerable attention from policy-makers. Legislation such as the Civil
Rights Act and the American's with Disabilities Act were implemented and are
regularly amended to promote workplace diversity. As social issues such as
affirmative action, economic status, and international relations become the
forefront of the business community, political leaders remain mindful of the
varying needs of certain groups and create policies to protect them.
Recruitment
Practices
Employers must make the necessary
efforts to proactively recruit employees from different backgrounds. Recruitment
practices may include advertising for open positions on ethnic job boards or
indicating an â??Equal Opportunity Employmentâ? status on job postings. Many
employers are obligated to provide minorities and women employment preference
during the recruitment and hiring process.
Equal
Opportunity
The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing the laws that prohibit workplace
discrimination. All workers have the right to equal opportunities within the
workplace without regard to ethnic background, gender, or disability. Employers
are responsible for ensuring that all workers have equal access to benefits,
promotions, or any other employment standard offered through the organization.
Diversification
Strategies
Good practices for creating and
enhancing workplace diversity gives employers the opportunity to acquire
quality employees and maintain worker loyalty. Enhancing communication and
investing in cross-cultural training and development are essential in managing diversity
relations. Diversification in the workplace involves all employees and charges
management to carry out strategies that support employee differences.
WORKPLACE DIVERSITY BENEFITS
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| Diversity in the workplace allows companies to select the best available talent |
The workplace in America is becoming
more diverse all the time. This forces companies to consider more diverse
hiring practices so they are not viewed as discriminatory. Diversity can include
differences in gender, age, ethnic group and even those with disabilities.
There are several key benefits to a diverse workplace.
Best
Available Talent
Companies that hire from diverse
groups of people can hire workers from the best available pool of talent,
according to the article titled "Workforce Diversity: Changing the Way You
Do Business" at diversityworld.com. Older workers can bring experience and
a strong work ethic to a company. Workers from other countries, such as India,
China and Japan, often have an exceptional education, here or abroad, in
science and more technical fields. Whatever the case, companies that provide
equal opportunities to all workers can select, interview, screen and hire the
most educated and experienced workers.
More
Effective Execution
Companies that hire the best talent
from a diverse group of employees can operate more effectively than
less-diverse companies. The best available talent means a companies collective
education and experience are greater than most competitive companies. Also,
companies that hire more diverse employees tend to inspire their workers to
perform to the best of their ability, according to multiculturaladvantage.com.
In addition, more experienced and educated people tend to be better at
planning, time management, goal setting, work delegation and projects completed
on time.
Increased
Adaptability
Provided that a company promotes
sensitivity training, teaching workers of different backgrounds how to best
work together, workplace diversity can increase a company's adaptability to
activities in the market, according to multiculturaladvantage.com, an online
resource for diversity issues. Because consumers in America are becoming more
multicultural, companies with a diverse workforce can better develop solutions
to satisfy the needs and demands of their customers. For example, Japanese
employees in a marketing department can better identify and communicate the
problems and needs facing Japanese consumers. Therefore, they would be able to
contribute their ideas as far as possible marketing strategies to reach this
customer segment.
Broader
Range of Service
Another workplace diversity benefit
is a broader range of service. Small companies that have multicultural
employees can have better access to national and international markets through
certain employees. For example, Hispanic salespeople would be much more
effective in communicating with Hispanic business customers in markets, such as
San Antonio, which has a high percentage of Hispanics. Similarly, an employee
of Indian descent can help a small company better understand the dynamics of
consumers in India, if the firm plans to market products in that country.
How does Diversity affect Organizations?
The diversity that exist in the
workforce requires managers to be more sensitive to the differences that each
group brings to the work setting. For instance, managers may have to shift
their philosophy from treating everyone alike to recognizing individual
differences and responding to those differences in ways that will ensure
employee retention and greater productivity. They must be in a position to
recognize and deal with the different values, needs, interest, and expectations
of employees. They must avoid any practice or action that can be interpreted as
being sexist, racist, or offensive to any particular group; and, of course, at
the same time managers must not illegally discriminate against any employee.
Lastly, managers must find ways to assist employees in managing work / life
issues.
Mars, Incorporated Diversity Philosophy:
Distinctive voices working together
within a common culture is one of the ways we have described how we do business
at mars. We believe that the success of our business can be enhanced by having
a workforce made up of associates from many different backgrounds much as our
society and consumer base consist of a wide variety of individuals. We value
the talents and contributions of our diverse workforce in reaching toward our
future and in playing responsible leadership roles.
How can organizations help employees balance work / life
concepts?
The typical employee in the 1960s or
1970s showed up at the workplace Monday through Friday and did his or her job
in eight or nine hour chunks of time. The workplace and hours were clearly
specified, a given that no longer holds for a large segment of today’s
workforce. Employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work
and non work time has become blurred, creating personal conflicts and stress. A
number of forces contribute to blurring the lines between employee work and
personal lives. First, the creation of global organization means their world
never sleeps. At any time and on any day, for instance thousands of Daimler
Chrysler employees are working somewhere. The need to consult with colleagues
or customers or 10 time zones away means that many employees of global firms
are “on call 24 hours a day. The outsourcing of call centers to India has meant
a dramatic change in lifestyle for operators employed in these companies. Since
most of the work is outsourced from the USA and Europe, the operators have to
work night shifts. There is now increasing media attention on consequences of
these lifestyles, which not only eats into leisure and social or family time
but also leads to increased stress levels among employees. Second,
communication technology allows employees to do their work at home, in their
cars, or on the beach in Tahiti. This capability allows many people in
technical and professional jobs to do their work at any time and from any
place. Third, organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours. It’s
not unusual for employees to work more than 45 hours a week, and some work much
more than 50. Finally, fewer families have only a single breadwinner. Today’s
married employee is typically part of a dual career couple, which makes it
increasingly difficult for married employees to find the time to fulfill
commitments to home, spouse, children, parents, and friends.
More and more, employees recognize
that work is squeezing out their personal lives, and they’re happy about it.
For example, recent studies suggest that employees want jobs that give them
flexibility in their work schedules so they can better manage work life
conflicts. In addition, the next generation of employees is likely to have
similar concerns. A majority of college and university students say that
attaining a balance between personal life and work is a primary career goal.
They want “a life” as well as job. Organization that don’t help their people
achieve work / life balance will find it increasingly hard to attract and
retain the most capable and motivated employees.