ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

DA1- SOCIAL DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE

Meaning- Our socioeconomic background can negatively or positively impact our
opportunities in life. Creating a socially diverse workforce is about removing barriers and
creating social mobility. “Diversity in the workplace is defined as a trait of company culture
wherein the workforce composition includes employees of different genders, age, sexual
orientation, religions, languages, abilities, professional backgrounds, socioeconomic
backgrounds, and educational backgrounds.”Enabling diversity in the workplace simply
means making an effort to employ a broad cross-section of people from different
demographics.
Types of workplace diversity
1.Internal Diversity Types in the Workplace
Internal Diversity Types are Diversity types that are related to a person that they are born
into, they are things that none of us can change (most of the cases). The definition of
Internal is “relating or belonging to or existing within the person” according to Merriam-
Wester Dictionary.
The types of diversity that belong to Internal includes, but not limited to:

 Race
 Age
 National Origin
 Ethnicity such as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color)
 Cultural Diversity
 Gender
 Sexual Appearance
 Physical Ability
 Mental Ability
All of the above internal diversity factors are something you are born with (age in a way
too), that you can’t change even if you want to.
2.External Diversity Types in the Workplace
External means “situated outside, apart, or beyond”, in the context of Diversity, it means
things that are related to a person but the characteristics are not born with the person but
can be heavily influenced and controlled by us. Such diversity types are something that
defines you as a person, that you or someone very close to you can help you to change or
develop.
The types of Diversity belong to External include, but are not limited to:

 Interests
 Education
  Appearance
 Citizenship
 Geographic Location
 Family Status
 Spiritual / Religion
 Relationship Status
 Socioeconomics Status
 National Origin
 Experiences
All of the above External diversity types are closely related to a person yet we are able to
influence or change it by acting externally.
3. Organizational Workplace Diversity within the workplace
Regardless you are working in a private, non-profit, public sector; or you work for free. You
are in an organization. The organization can be consist of 2 people, or 300,000 people, as
long as it has more than one person, there is some sort of organizational diversity.
The types of diversity that belong to Organizational includes but are not limited to:

 Job Function
 Management Status
 Work Location
 Department
 Seniority
 Union Affiliation
All of the above Organization Diversity Types belong to an organization, and we will discuss
them in more detail later.
4.World Views
Each of us has more life outside of the workplace. We travel, we have our beliefs, we
embrace our culture, we have knowledge of the different types of history, we have different
political beliefs and agendas.
Examples of different “world view” types of diversity are:

 Cultural events
 Politics
 History knowledge
Benefits of workplace diversity
1: Variety of different perspectives
Diversity in the workplace ensures a variety of different perspectives.
Since it means that employees will have different characteristics and backgrounds, they are
also more likely to have a variety of different skills and experiences.
Consequently, employees in a company with higher workplace diversity will have access to a
variety of different perspectives, which is highly beneficial when it comes to planning and
executing a business strategy.
2: Increased creativity
In addition to having a variety of different perspectives from people with different
backgrounds, the exposure to a such variety leads to increased creativity.
When you put together people who see the same thing in different ways, you are more
likely to get a melting pot of fresh, new ideas, thus improving the creativity of your
workforce.
3: Higher innovation
Diversity in the workplace leads to higher innovation rate.
In a diverse workplace, employees are exposed to multiple perspectives and worldviews.
When these various perspectives combine, they often come together in novel ways, opening
doors to innovation.
4: Faster problem-solving
Companies with higher workplace diversity solve problems faster.
Employees from diverse backgrounds have different experiences and views, which is why
they are able to will bring diverse solutions to the table. Thus, the best solution can be
chosen sooner, which leads to faster problem-solving.
5: Better decision making
Workplace diversity leads to better decision making results.
When employees with different backgrounds and perspectives come together, they come
up with more solutions, which leads to the more informed and improved decision-making
processes and results.
6: Increased profits
Companies with greater workplace diversity achieve greater profits.
Companies with a diverse workforce make better decisions faster, which gives them a
serious advantage over their competitors. As a result, companies with diversity in the
workplace achieve better business results and reap more profit.
7: Higher employee engagement
Workplace diversity leads to higher employee engagement.
The link between workplace diversity and employee engagement is pretty straightforward -
when employees feel included, they are more engaged.
8: Reduced employee turnover
Workplace diversity is beneficial for employee retention.
Companies with a diverse workforce are generally more inclusive of different individual
characteristics and perspectives. As a result, companies with greater diversity in the
workplace have lower turnover rates. By creating commitment to diversity and employees
create a sense of belonging to the company and are less likely to leave.
9: Better company reputation
Companies that are dedicated to building and promoting diversity in the workplace are seen
as good, more human and socially responsible organizations which ultimately creates a
better reputation for the brand.
10: Improved hiring results
Diversity in the workplace boosts a company’s employer brand and presents a company as a
more desirable place to work. Workplace diversity is an especially beneficial asset for
attracting top talent from diverse talent pools.
Barriers to workplace diversity
1. Selective Mentoring
Sometimes leaders unknowingly tend to invest their interest in someone else’s career
development when they see it in their colleagues. As a result, forming informal mentoring
relationships becomes challenging when there are differences amongst colleagues.
Informal mentoring is a personal and selective approach, where a senior chooses to guide a
junior. Here, trust and inherent is imperative, and the senior leader must care about their
juniors’ success. On the other hand, formal mentoring holds good intentions, as they rely on
trust and shared interest.
2. Responding to Mistakes Inconsistently
When there are prejudices and discrimination in the workplace, mentors treat mistakes
differently. For example, if someone privileged has given a late submission, it becomes the
printer’s fault as it was not working. But when someone from a minority group makes a
mistake, it becomes a personal flaw. Such unequal responses to mistakes are a barrier to
diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
3. Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying involves yelling, abusive emails, harassment, and character assassination
of a person especially belonging to a gender, racial, ethnic, sexual minority, and much more.
Bullies usually target people they think are not good enough to work with them, and this is
because of prejudice and social stigmas. Managers must end bullying at work as it can
destroy the company culture and levels of employee engagement.
4. Insensitivity
Managers might subtly ignore jokes, stereotypical comments, hate slurs, or homophobic
remarks, but ignorance is no bliss in this matter. This can hamper your workplace culture,
and victims might feel isolated and triggered. Insensitivity towards such issues is a barrier to
diversity and inclusion, and it becomes a source of workplace stress, employee burnout, and
low self-esteem.
In the end, insensitivity can lead a company towards employment lawsuits. A manager who
is insensitive to complaints is as guilty as the person who commits the offense.
5. Biased Perception
People behave according to their beliefs, which shapes how they like to see the world,
including their perceptions about people. When you have a preconceived notion about a set
of employees that they would underperform or fail, eventually, they will not succeed
because you’re creating a barrier to their success. As a leader, you must not judge any
employee based on their identity or background, and you must treat everyone equally and
recognize them duly.
Solutions to diversity issues.
Managers in the workplace should utilize their education and their experience to help them
better integrate diversity in their workplace. There are many ways managers can help
increase diversity and improve work culture in their offices.

 Develop organizational policy.

Those educated in business management can work to create policies that make sense for
their organization to increase diversity. Having clear policies in place for diversity issues and
situations will make it clear to employees what the expectations are.
Proper policies on training and management expectations are also vital to fostering a
diverse organizational culture. When new employees, and managers alike understand what
the requirements and expectations are regarding diversity, everyone will be on the same
page.

 Continuous diversity training.

Continual training on diversity is beneficial to help everyone get reminders about
appropriate behavior. Well-educated human resource managers can help educate new and
current employees on diversity and respect. The right training and education can emphasize
the proper communication, company policies, and culture of respect necessary to create an
inclusive work culture.

 Emphasize respect.
Respect is a crucial element of success in any company. Business leaders should be well-
equipped to ensure the comfort and safety of all of their employees, and conversely, to
correct employees who engage in disrespectful behaviors. Managers who expect respect for
themselves, and between employees, have better success building a positive, productive
culture. When people in an organization are passive about disrespect, it causes unrest
within the entire organization.
When it comes to workplace diversity, the policy should be that there is room for everyone.
Different backgrounds and experiences can greatly improve your organization and ensure
that your office is an environment of respect and success.