My recent blog posts have focused on issues connected to our newly available ‘Practical Guide to Making Redundancies’ but this week is National Inclusion Week and, along with so much press coverage about some shocking events this year around the world linked to diversity and inclusion it seems a fitting subject for today’s post.
In my experience the situation in the UK is perhaps not as bad as some in the press would have us believe. People and companies I have dealt with tend to want to do the right thing and ensure that they behave in a supportive and ‘acceptable’ way that does not discriminate against or offend people.
But where is the bar for what is ‘acceptable’ or not whilst at work?
The news at present seems full of stories about our ‘woke’ society and how offence may be taken relatively easily these days, suggesting a very high bar for what you can or cannot safely say or do whilst at work. Personally I don’t think some of the reports are overly helpful regarding this important issue and can actually lead to individuals railing against what they see as being daft, as opposed to being the catalyst to discuss what the real issues are and which behaviours need to change in the real world.
My view is that whereas there are clearly things that need to change, it requires continued evolution rather than revolution.
There have been several reports recently that MPs are being required to attend ‘unconscious bias’ training so they don’t act in a way, or say things, that may offend. My first reaction to this was positive as, although as a country and society we have made huge strides in this respect in recent decades there is still some way to go before we can honestly say that we always value each individual for their true potential and unconscious bias training , done in the right way, can be very informative and lead to people changing their behaviour for the better.
However, having read the reports that in the training MPs are being instructed not to use words such as ‘lady’ and ‘pensioner’, is that a step too far? Does it raise the bar too high? If asked I will give the traditional politician’s response – ‘you may say so but I couldn’t possibly comment’!
Clearly, companies need to take diversity and inclusion very seriously and ensure that their culture is a healthy one where each individual is valued for the unique contribution they can make irrespective of their race, sex, background etc. but I cannot imagine too many females being genuinely insulted by being called a ‘lady’, or employees being offended by retired people being termed as ‘pensioners’.
So I come back to my original question, where is the bar in terms of acceptable language used, culture and banter in the workplace? On one hand you do not want a sterile work environment where people feel they can’t say anything for fear of being called racist, but on the other you would not want employees feeling harassed whilst at work as the banter has gone too far.
Clearly it is not straightforward, and one size doesn’t fit all. Context is hugely important as each company culture is unique, having grown and developed over time with myriad influences on individual behaviour from the owners’ management style, through the sector the company operates in, the location, and the mix of staff in terms of race, age, sex etc. What is acceptable in one area or sector may be different elsewhere e.g. a building site compared to an accountancy practice so the answer is that it depends on the culture the company wants to develop. Once that is established, management can work towards ensuring that people behave in a way that upholds the required standards.
To help companies navigate this minefield and embrace the diversity within their organisations 186hr have developed a half day course called ‘dignity and respect in the workplace’. It is fairly unique in that the end result and outcomes of the course have not been predetermined, it depends on the company’s culture, how you wish to develop and what behaviours that requires. As stated above, one size does not fit all.
The course is based around several important Employment Tribunal cases. We explain the complaint that was raised to the Tribunal and the Tribunal’s findings. This then leads to the most important parts of the course where we discuss what those outcomes mean for your company and how, if at all, you need to tweak your culture and management of such situations to ensure people behave as you wish and not in a way that may offend others, thus avoiding the company being taken to a Tribunal for discrimination.
Generally the vicarious liability law in the UK means that employers are liable for the actions of their employees so it is important they act in the way the company requires.
If any teams, groups or your employees in general need to develop their behaviour we agree how this should be done in a way that is specific and relevant to your company without having to discipline half your workforce! But we also stress that this isn’t something to be scared of, it is helping the company to evolve into one that befits modern British society and matches the values of the younger generation coming through who will be your senior managers of tomorrow.
This is our most popular course and companies often start by rolling it out to the management team to agree the general parameters of the culture and behaviours they wish to develop, before rolling it out to the rest of their employees.
Where there have been behavioural issues in the past, the course can be used as a ‘line in the sand’ so you are not held back by that previous behaviour. In other words we explain to delegates that now they have been trained, irrespective of what has happened in the past this is how the company expects them to behave from now on whilst at work.
Finally, it’s important to remember that if there is a misplaced comment then it is extremely rare for it to lead to an individual being so offended that they go to Tribunal. The course will enable you to manage this in a sensible, fair and professional manner if this happens and use it to continue to evolve and adapt – like all good companies do if they wish to prosper. Although I should add a caveat here and state the obvious – clearly a serious breach needs to lead to swift action that is proportionate and 186hr can help you with that also.
For further details please get in touch.