Building Diverse Workplace Relationships

Workplace culture and diversity

Creating an inclusive environment within the workplace is fundamental to maintaining workplace diversity.

Cultural diversity in the workplace is a result of practices, values, traditions or beliefs of employees based on race, age, ethnicity, religion or gender.

Employers must be seen to be celebrating their employees’ diversity to avoid workplace issues, like awkwardness and hostility.

WATCH

The following 11-minute video explains how diversity makes teams more innovative:

Cultural differences in Australian workplaces

The following are examples of the cultural differences that may occur in Australian workplaces:

• Language differences
• Cultural practices
• Different behavioural expectations
• Different practices regarding verbal and non-verbal communication
• Different views on leadership, authority, time, personal space, co-operation, competition, modesty and attention.

Encouraging diversity in the workplace

Diversity should be encouraged across an organisation wherever possible.

The following approaches can help support you with how to do this: (Click on each approach to read further details about them)

WATCH

In the following 9-minute video, the presenter demonstrates through simulations what it means for an organisation to be "colour blind" or to engage in various inclusivity practices:

Building a diverse work team

• Give everyone equal access to employment opportunities and apply the merit principle to all employment-related decisions and opportunities.
• Recognise that each employee has individual skills and contributions to make.
• Provide training to help employees work effectively with a range of people and hold them accountable for doing so.
• Know and adhere to your organisation’s policy and programs on diversity-related matters.
• Investigate any complaints carefully, according to your organisation’s policy, and provide clear information about where employees can seek assistance.
• Deal quickly and firmly with anyone who does not treat fellow employees, customers or suppliers fairly and respectfully.

Types of discrimination in the workplace

Unlawful workplace discrimination occurs when an employer takes adverse action against a person who is an employee or prospective employee because of the following attributes: race, nationality or skin colour, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

There are many different types of discrimination in the workplace, as well as many factors that impact our perceptions and biases towards others. Some of these we will be aware of, and some of them will be subconscious, informing our behaviour without us even realising.

Discrimination at work is usually defined within four (4) categories, as it follows:

• Overt: Overt discrimination occurs when one individual or organisation publicly shows disrespect, exclusion or intolerance toward an individual or group with certain physical attributes, religious or political viewpoints.
• Covert: Covert discrimination occurs when one individual or organisation privately or discretely displays disrespect, exclusion or intolerance toward an individual or group.
• Direct: Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably in the workplace because of a protected characteristic such as their race, gender or religion.
• Indirect: Indirect discrimination occurs when a workplace policy or procedure applies to everybody, but it puts those who have a protected characteristic at a disadvantage.

  Due to the procedures and policies, the employees who are at a disadvantage due to their protected characteristics are not being singled out, they are just being held under the same rules and regulations as anyone else in the organisation.

Anti-discrimination laws in Australia

Over the past 30 years, the Commonwealth Government, and state and territory governments have introduced laws to help protect people from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

The following laws operate at a federal level, and the Australian Human Rights Commission has statutory responsibilities under them:

• Age Discrimination Act 2004
• Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
• Fair Work Act 2009

Click on the following map to see the laws that operate at a state and territory level:

WATCH

The following 17-minute video explains how diversity and inclusion be implemented in practice:

When we trust someone, we have confidence in them and in their honesty and integrity. We believe that they will do the things they say they will. Trust is created through actions, not words. As a manager or leader in an organisation, you cannot just say that you ‘trust’ a particular employee or team, you need your daily actions to demonstrate you have trust in the work team.

As well as your ability to demonstrate your trust in the team, you need to have that trust flow the rest of the work team when they interact with one another.

How do you build trust with colleagues and teams?

Everyone knows that building trust is pivotal in any relationship at work or elsewhere, but how can we actively facilitate the process?

Here are some ways we can build trust with colleagues and teams:

The do’s and don’ts of building trust

Trust between people within an organisation can be lost in an instant.

Rebuilding trust is not always an easy process. What this really highlights is how important it is to maintain trust with one another once you have it.

The most important thing to do in order to rebuild trust is to take ownership of the mistake or issue. You need to clearly articulate that you understand why your employees have lost trust in you and work to rebuild it again.

The following table highlights some of the key do’s and don’ts of building trust at work:

Five (5) components for maintaining trust

Maintaining trust is something all leaders and managers need to work at to ensure they do not lose trust and respect from their teams.

If you are a good manager, this will not be too hard. In fact, it should come naturally as you work hard to deliver a successful team relationship with colleagues.

Maintaining trust can be remembered by focusing on these five (5) core components:

1. Competence
2. Consistency
3. Integrity
4. Loyalty
5. Openness

Three (3) ways to build trust at work

Building trust at work will become a personal thing that you develop as a manager. Although all of the above skills that we have discussed will help you, you will use your own personality and approach to actually build trust with your teams.

There are three (3) different ways many managers approach building trust at work. Not all of them work for all teams or organisations.

Read through the three (3) ways below and reflect on which ones you have experienced as well as which you think you demonstrate when building trust:

Three (3) crucial elements for trust

It is time to draw together everything we have discussed so far and explore the three critical elements for trust.

They are:

Positive interactions at work increase good feelings, increase morale and improve work satisfaction. Negative interactions can create confusion, anxiety, tension and uncertainty, which adversely affect work efficiency and company productivity. As a manager or leader, do not leave workplace interactions to chance. Understand how they impact your teams and how you can help to create a culture of positive interactions.

Effective communication occurs when a message is sent and received accurately. In every aspect of life (both professional and personal), effective communication is important to success and happiness. It is also really important for positive workplace interactions.

When you communicate well with your team, it helps to eliminate misunderstandings and can encourage a healthy and peaceful work environment. Efficient and open communication with your team will also let you get work done quickly and professionally.

WATCH

The following 3-minute video talks about active listening:

Here are some strategies to communicate effectively with your team: (Click on the strategies to read more about them.)

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The following 10-minute video argues how and why verbal behaviours, rather than non-verbal behaviours, are most critical in today's digital society:

Using personality measurement tools for positive workplace interactions

Every team has a unified goal or mission along with structures and processes that make it work. The accomplishment of a team is dependent on mutual teamwork and backing. It should be visible that the strength of one style may be the weakness of another.

As a manager or leader, it is important to understand the various personalities of the individuals within your teams. Understanding different personality types allows you to better understand how some people like to work, be recognised and interact with others, including you. It can help you make successful decisions about who does what work or project, who they work with and how you ask them to take on new tasks.

Recognition of each other’s styles assists you to welcome the promise of each individual and how they can not only add to the achievement of the team but also make work much more fun!

 You can improve the interactions with your team members if you are aware of your own (and their) interpersonal styles. The following table shows the four (4) main interpersonal styles and actions you can take to improve your interactions, depending on your style:

Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI)

By helping people understand themselves, Myers and Briggs believed that they could help people select occupations that were best suited to their personality types and lead healthier happier lives.

The MBTI is a questionnaire made up of four indicators.

These indicators provide a broad sense of a person’s personality, depending on which indicators they associate with the most.

It is a tool designed to help individuals understand their personalities including:

• Their likes and dislikes
• Their strengths and weaknesses
• Possible career preferences
• Compatibility with other people

The four (4) indicators are:

1. Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)
2. Sensing (S) – Intuition (N)
3. Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)
4. Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

The DISC behavioural model

DISC is a self-assessment tool that measures how an individual prefers to interact with others. DISC creates a common language and self-awareness to better understand ourselves and others.

The DISC Behavioural Model is similar to the MBTI in that it is made up of four core behavioural dimensions.

These are:

1. D = Dominant
2. I = Influential
3. S = Stability
4. C = Conscientious

Every person has a distinctive communication style, a way in which they interact and exchange information with others.

Knowledge about identifying various communication styles and how they affect dealings with friends, family, acquaintances, workmates and other people you interrelate with is critical if you are looking to cultivate efficient and assertive communication skills.

The four (4) core communication styles

We will now focus our attention on what each style means and how it is communicated:

1. Aggressive
2. Assertive
3. Passive
4. Passive aggressive

Aggressive communication

1. Expressing feelings, needs and ideas at the expense of others and ignoring others’ rights in order to support your own
2. Defensive or hostile when confronted by others
3. Often alienates and hurts others
4. Can help meet your needs quickly

Assertive communication

1. Direct, truthful communication of views
2. Appreciating the views of others while also asserting your own
3. May not be beneficial when working with individuals who endanger your personal safety
4. People often misconstrue assertive behaviour as hostile.

Passive communication

1. Not conveying feelings or needs, disregarding your own personal rights and letting others do the same.
2. Give Way to others for decision-making in order to escape tension or disagreement
3. Often leads to misinterpretation, built-up anger or bitterness
4. Might be a safer communication option when a disagreement may spiral to violence

Passive-aggressive communication (less common)

1. Seeming passive on the surface, but subtly acting out fury
2. Exercising power over others by using sarcasm and indirect communication or dodging the conversation
3. Inadequate consideration for the rights or views of others.

Effective communication

Effective communication is a process between senders and receivers including the transmission of messages and decoding of messages during the exchange process.

Effective communication involves:

• Thinking
• Speaking
• Non-verbal
• Listening skills

Understanding communication barriers

There are many reasons why interpersonal communications may fail. In many communications, the message (what is said) may not be received exactly the way the sender intended. It is, therefore, important that the communicator seeks feedback to check that their message is clearly understood.

When messages are not received clearly, it could be the result of communication barriers.

Communication barriers fall under five (5) main categories:

1. Physical barriers

Communication is generally easier over shorter distances as more communication channels are available.

An example of a physical barrier to communication is the geographic distance between the sender and receiver(s).

The ideal communication is face-to-face (either in the traditional sense or remotely/online).

2. Attitude barriers

Attitudinal barriers to communication may result from personality conflicts, poor management and resistance to change or a lack of motivation.

To be an effective receiver of messages you should attempt to overcome your own attitudinal barriers to help ensure more effective communication.

3. Psychological barriers

The psychological state of the communicators will influence how the message is sent, received and perceived.

People with low self-esteem may be less assertive and, therefore, may not feel comfortable communicating. They may feel shy or embarrassed about saying how they really feel.

4. Systemic barriers

Systematic barriers to communication may exist in structures and organisations where there are inefficient or inappropriate information systems and communication channels, or where there is a lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities for communication.

In such organisations, people may be unclear of their role in the communication process and, therefore, not know what is expected of them.

5. Language barriers

Language and linguistic ability may act as a barrier to communication.

Even when communicating in the same language, the terminology used in a message may act as a barrier if it is not fully understood by the receiver(s).

Regional colloquialisms and expressions may be misinterpreted or considered offensive.

A conflict is a struggle between people, which may be physical or between conflicting ideas. Conflicts can either be within one person or they can involve several people or groups.

Conflict can occur between two individuals, between a manager and an employee, between a customer and an employee, between team members, between an individual and a group, between groups in the same organisation or between organisations.

Workplace conflict is bad for business because it can lead to downturns in productivity and increases in absenteeism. On an individual level, workplace conflict is stressful and unpleasant.

Common causes of workplace conflict

Workplace conflict is inevitable when employees of various backgrounds and different work styles are brought together for a shared business purpose.

Conflict needs be managed and resolved diplomatically and appropriately as much as possible to minimise workplace disruptions and stress.

The five (5) stages of conflict

Conflict can occur in various layers and stages.

It can also be referred to as a process because it begins with the incident and ends with discomfort, misunderstanding, tension and the crisis or ‘fallout’ as the conflict comes to a conclusion.

• Stage 1: The latent stage. Individuals are not yet aware of conflict
• Stage 2: The perceived stage. Individuals become aware that a conflict exists
• Stage 3: The felt stage. Individuals begin to experience stress and anxiety as a result of the conflict
• Stage 4: The manifest stage. This is when the conflict is open and can be observed by others
• Stage 5: The aftermath stage. This is the outcome of conflict, whether that is resolution or dissolution

When colleagues work collectively, they may have clashing objectives and workstyles. If you know how to manage conflict and how to cooperate with challenging people, you can spin this potentially damaging force into an opportunity for innovation and enhanced productivity.

Managing conflict at work can be classified under two (2) headings:

Four (4) approaches to conflict management

How people generally handle conflict falls into four (4) approaches:

As you can imagine, some of these approaches work better than others, especially in the workplace. Read through each approach below and think about which approach would be suitable in what type of scenario (if any) within your organisation.

Although there is a place for each of these approaches to resolving conflict, collaborating and compromising are the approaches most likely to create long-lasting solutions as they result in win-win outcomes.

Successfully resolving workplace conflicts entails that your employees can get to work, saving you time, money and office relationships. Neglecting to work out conflict effectively and proficiently can be an enormous burden on the staff and organisation.

Workplace conflict can lead to diminished engagement and output, heightened stress, illness, presentism, absenteeism and elevated turnover.

Effectively resolving workplace conflict can eradicate or lessen many of these effects.

Resolving conflicts in the workplace can be difficult, particularly when the conflict is intricate and the matters are sensitive.

WATCH

The following 8-minute video explains how to deal with a conflict at work:

Answer the following multiple-choice questions to check your understanding: