Having a small and diverse team seems great! You can get to know different cultures, make friends with people with different backgrounds and work closely together with the team. However, like probably almost everywhere, it’s impossible to work closely in peace without any drama or arguments – especially between coworkers. Every one of us has different opinions and experiences.
Speaking about that, one Reddit user shared a story from her team’s recent drama, asking for people’s advice online. So, it turns out that somebody from the very diverse and very small team keeps reporting everything that people say that isn’t politically correct to HR. The whole situation created tension in the office and made people confused.
More info:Reddit
If you are reporting anonymously, it doesn’t mean that nobody will find out about it, especially in a small team
Image credits:Austin Distel (not the actual photo)
Person shares that she works in a very diverse and small team, most of them have a good relationship but there are some who stir up trouble
Image credits:Andrii Barbarytskyi (not the actual photo)
However, they found out that somebody is reporting every thing that was said and wasn’t politically correct to HR
Image credits:Jopwell (not the actual photo)
These reports include things like the OP describing herself as a Jew, or discussion that Asian food sometimes is smelly
Image credits:u/BoronYttrium-
She shared that she probably knows who is making these reports, but it has created a lot of tension in the office and the team is lost as to what to do
OP also shared some examples of the reports, which include a black girl saying her own hair was nappy during a team meeting, another person referring to herself as super gay in a side conversation, sharing that she is a Jew or even saying that Asian food is smelly sometimes.
The author adds that she may know who is the person behind these reports, but the main issue is that it causes so much tension in the office that the coworkers feel like they can’t talk about anything without offending this one person.
Image credits:Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
Moreover,Bored Pandagot in touch with Jim Stroud, who has over a decade of experience in recruitment and sourcing and has consulted for companies such as Microsoft, Google, Siemens, and a host of startup companies. Additionally,Jim produces “The Recruiting Life” newsletterwhile beinga frequent speaker on the future of work.
He kindly agreed to share his insights about how companies can promote an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves, how to foster an inclusive workplace and how companies can establish and communicate policies that promote inclusivity.
So to begin with, in order to promote an environment where employees feel comfortable, Jim shares that it’s important to schedule listening sessions where employees can vent to someone in management about whatever bothers them. However, they will listen and offer no solutions and only after hearing everyone, management will consider policy and dictate that policy to HR to implement.
Now, speaking about steps that employees can take to foster a more inclusive workplace culture despite not being in a leadership position, Jim shares that the first option may be to take communication classes in conflict resolution as that will educate you on how to deescalate situations no matter gender, race, or cultural background. Another way may be to learn about various cultures but also treat people as individuals.
“When advertising jobs, include diversity-based job boards. Give all of your workers the chance to upskill their knowledge and promote those who score the highest on blind tests. Include everyone in the race to the top and model that behavior at the management level then allow it to filter into all of your business processes,” he shares.
Redditors discussed the whole situation with the author and shared their suggestions
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