Interrupting workplace bias

It’s no secret that we all carry some bias within us, generally unconscious bias. Turning up to your social basketball game and seeing your playing a team of 60 year old mums, “oh we’ve got this in the bag” your teammate says. In fact, you really did not have it in the bag and you lost 42 - 15. This is an example of ageism bias in play. Unconsciously thinking a certain way about a person or group based on certain attitudes and stereotypes.

Luckily, the above example doesn’t really hurt anyone, however there are scenarios, especially within the workplace that can have seriously impactful effects on people. From recruitment to promotion, bias in the workplace is continuously an issue that plays into the lack of workplace diversity and toxicity. This is why there is an increasingly growing focus on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in the workplace.

So how can we make sure that the person of colour gets the same opportunities as the person next to them? The 65 year old that has dedicated the last 30 years to the company, gets the same growth opportunities as the 25 year old now doing the same job?

We love what Stacey A Gordon suggests in this LinkedIn article. We need to understand that we are all biased, and work together to be more conscious of these thoughts and the actions we take because of them. Another article by Harvard Business Review suggests that bias cannot be eliminated, although it can be interrupted and outlines steps to help achieve this.

This is always easier said than done, as outlined by Thomas Fox, a Corporate Compliance Expert in the US

“When you have someone as high up as the head of HR or someone as high up as the head of UK operations saying really inappropriate things in such a public way, that really speaks out to a broken or toxic culture”.  

Bias interruption needs to come from the top down, which is difficult when the ‘top’ is the main contributor to a toxic culture filled with bias. So, how do you know if bias is a problem within your workplace? Listen to your employees.