Opinion: Check your biases at the office door

There is much discussion in the media and the workplace about diversity, equity and inclusion. It describes a collection of sought-after behaviors that provide for fairness in our hiring processes, supervision and promotion of employees. It seeks to provide equal opportunities and support for employees in protected classes. Each of us is in at least one: age (over 40), race, country of origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, veterans’ status, religious or political beliefs, disabilities, health conditions and pregnancy. That’s just a few.

DEI training programs seek to build awareness about past discriminatory practices, level the playing field of employment and promotion, and increase the creativity, problem-solving and success of the organization, by bringing in different people who offer different viewpoints.

Part of the DEI training discussion includes the realities of our biases and the assumptions we make about each other. Those are often based on sweeping generalizations or a negative encounter with someone who certainly does not represent the larger population of that particular group. These biases often come from our environment, our exposure to what we learn to think about people different from us by our parents, family, friends, school interactions or workplaces. They are often defined as confirmation biases, where our negative encounters with people in any of the protected classes lead us to generalize and thereby confirm, “that’s how those people are.” We all have our biases and part of DEI awareness-building is to change our thinking about how we perceive others. This takes effort, but the resulting changes in our perceptions can lead us to a better understanding, fairer treatment, patience, empathy and acceptance.

We know that biases exist in our personal and professional lives. It has been illegal for many decades for companies to use biases to discriminate against people during hiring, and how they are supervised or promoted. It’s unethical and can subject an organization to a civil suit. The problem with bias is that it can be subtle. When it’s about skin color or gender, it’s obviously wrong; when it’s about bias connected to perceptions of performance, it can be as harmful but less obvious. Consider if you have seen, experienced or, worse, used any of these forms of perceptional bias:

• Age bias. Says: This employee is too old or too young to do this new type of work or to figure out this complex technical equipment or process this type of information. They are too old to learn new things or too young to know how to operate the way we do here or to figure it out. The assumption is that this is a permanent condition, that they won’t be able to learn it.
• Experience bias. Says: This employee lacks the life or work experience to do what we are asking. They haven’t done this job or this type of work and don’t have the technical expertise, know-how or “time in grade.” The assumption is because they haven’t done it before elsewhere, they won’t have the capacity to learn it here.
• Appearance bias. Says: This employee doesn’t look like what we want our lawyers, bankers, accountants, salespeople, retail counter staff, front-of-house restaurant staff, trainers, security guards or teachers to look like. This bias is often based on seeing people only by what they look like – especially if it involves how they express their creativity with hairstyles, tattoos, piercings or clothing choices.
• Motivation bias. Says: This employee doesn’t seem to care. They are kind of a loner, don’t jump into group projects, have a lousy attitude, seem to be standoffish and don’t seem to want to take on new challenges. This assumption may not consider the employee is introverted, prefers to work alone and may be burned out because they have not been praised, supported, challenged, heard or fairly managed.
• Success bias. Says: What we predict about an employee’s success in the organization often occurs because we manage them to that expectation. “He’s probably not going to do very well” comes true, as does, “She’s going to do very well here.” This bias comes because of a preconceived notion of predicted success. Some managers and supervisors can make this one come true by what they do or don’t do for their employees, right at the start.

Recognizing workplace biases is half the issue. The other half requires a commitment to see they are eliminated and that we hire, promote and manage all employees fairly, ethically and equally. The adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” means we should stop perception bias, set high performance and behavioral standards, provide opportunities for all employees to prove themselves, and coach them toward a level of success that satisfies them and the organization.

Steve Albrecht is a Springfield-based human resources trainer, security consultant and employee coach. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.