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Determine and avoid the most common workplace cultural problems. Discover important tactics for creating a respectful and unified corporate culture.
Cultural diversity in the workplace has several advantages, such as improved problem-solving skills, increased productivity, and creative ideas. However, these advantages are only available to an organization if problems connected to culture are recognized, eliminated, and avoided.
Understanding the difficulties of diversity and the elements that frequently lead to cultural problems in the workplace is the first step, after which preventative measures should be put in place. Remember that managing cultural diversity is a process that requires ongoing observation, assessment, and modification.
In addition to discussing some of the best practices for promoting positive cross-cultural relationships among coworkers, this article will offer helpful information to assist you in raising cultural awareness in the workplace.
View the diversity and inclusion training curriculum offered by EasyLlama. Our HR-expert-written courses will assist you in fostering a more welcoming and courteous work environment.
Different Types of Cultural Disparities at Work
These are a few of the most prevalent cultural differences that might lead to problems at work.
Faith
Many people’s identities are fundamentally shaped by their religion, which can influence attitudes, goals, and conduct at work. Conflict between coworkers or even religious prejudice may result from differing morals and beliefs.
To guarantee that everyone respects one another’s views while maintaining a fair standard of behavior for clients and consumers, your company must have policies and religious accommodations.
Race and ethnicity
The word “ethnicity” describes being a member of a social group that identifies with one another through shared characteristics such as origin, language, heritage, and identity. Jewish, Irish, Cambodian, and Hispanic are common instances of ethnicity. Each has distinct mannerisms, communication styles, and patterns of conduct.
Depending on their ethnicity, people may act in ways that seem normal or unremarkable to them, but to their coworkers, they may come across as impolite, strange, or improper. Respectfully addressing the matter and making sure that everyone’s boundaries are respected are crucial.
Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation-related workplace problems are also frequent. Employee disengagement results from the harassment, animosity, discriminatory jokes, and improper questions LGBTQ groups frequently face. Actually, a lot of employees conceal their names out of concern about prejudice.
There are laws in existence in many U.S. states that shield workers from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. To provide a secure and encouraging work environment for LGBTQ community members, employers should continue to give top priority to putting further preventive measures into place.
Learning
Another aspect of a person’s history that influences how well they fit in at work is their educational attainment. Divergent educational backgrounds result in varying strategies for handling issues and circumstances at work. Conflicts may arise between staff members who are working on the same tasks but using different approaches depending on their individual educational backgrounds.
Generation
Employees may also have diverse perspectives, attitudes, and ideas about professionalism and business depending on their generation. For instance, older generations are more devoted to their employers since they typically have long-term professional ambitions.
However, Millennials are more likely to seek out possibilities for advancement and value work-life balance, which makes them more likely to transfer to a different firm or higher positions.
What are some workplace cultural issues?
Let’s learn more about the kinds of problems that might occur between coworkers and inside an organization due to cultural differences. Here are a few instances.
Cultural Conduct
Chloe, a recent immigrant from Singapore, is beginning work in New York as a newspaper editor. After a few weeks, she feels as though she doesn’t belong and observes that her coworkers are not interacting with her very often. She makes the decision to discuss it with her manager in order to get his opinion.
Because she avoids making eye contact when she speaks to her coworkers, they assume she is unfriendly or dislikes them. Everyone else finds it awkward to speak with Chloe because of this. She acts in this way because, in Singaporean society, making direct eye contact can be interpreted as disrespectful or hostile, particularly among Muslims or Hindus.
Employees comprehend her conduct and become more at ease with their differences after learning about her culture.
Educational Conflict Omar, a recent marketing graduate, recently began working at a nearby agency. Along with two other staff members who have been with the agency for a few years, he begins working on a new project.
When he raises this issue with his coworkers, they respond, “That’s just not how we do it here.” He soon discovers that his thoughts and observations are not being taken into account. He is aware that marketing tactics are always evolving, and he might contribute novel and innovative ideas, yet he is consistently shut down.
Omar may soon get unmotivated and may begin searching for other positions where he feels he can make a greater contribution.
How can employers avoid cultural conflicts?
One of the most important aspects of your long-term efforts to make your workplace more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming is preventing cultural difficulties. Here are four ways to assist your staff in being cognizant of and respectful of their cultural beliefs while overcoming cultural barriers at work.
Make Sure You Communicate Effectively
Effective communication is crucial in every workplace, but it becomes much more crucial when leading multicultural teams. When attempting to communicate effectively, a number of issues can come into play, such as a language barrier or disparate communication styles.
In the end, you want to ensure that everyone feels valued, heard, and considered. Learning which channels or communication styles are most effective for your staff is a good place to start. Veteran team members may find instant messaging tools difficult to use, while younger team members may prefer them to phone calls or emails. Try to be as adaptable as you can with this.
It’s also important to remember that not everyone speaks English as their first language. Because idioms, slang, and acronyms don’t translate to other cultures, you should be aware of this and refrain from using them. Important images and information, like temporary instructions or shelf labels, should also be translated into the languages that are most widely used inside the company.
Put Policies and Reporting Procedures into Practice
Unresolved cultural difference-related concerns have the potential to rapidly grow into far more serious issues like harassment and discriminatory behavior. It is your duty as an employer to give every worker the resources they need to report and investigate any incidents.
A zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment should be part of your anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. All employees, from front-line staff to managers, must be covered by your policies, which should also specify the penalties for breaking the rules.
During the onboarding process, be sure to convey these to every employee verbally and in writing.
Increase Knowledge About Microaggressions
Everyday, tiny, unintended (and occasionally deliberate) actions or remarks that have a detrimental impact on an individual or group are known as microaggressions. Because of their sexual orientation, gender, color, or religion, marginalized groups frequently experience microaggressions.
Unfortunately, even the individual utilizing microaggressions may not be aware that what they are saying is offensive, making them difficult to spot. Though they may seem like compliments, remarks like “You are so articulate” or “You’re so smart for a woman!” (said to a colleague of color) actually imply that a person or group is not regarded as equal.
You should think about holding training sessions to increase employee knowledge of these microaggressions in your workplace, regardless of whether you are aware of them or not. Supervisors and managers in particular need to comprehend the idea of microaggressions and know how to spot and deal with them.
Gain Cultural Proficiency
Working with culturally diverse teams requires the capacity to engage and communicate with people from other cultures. This is known as cultural competency.
Along with the many other advantages of cultural competency, invest the time and energy to train your staff to improve productivity and foster a more positive work atmosphere. To begin, these are a few of the recommended practices.
Training for Sensitivity
Making people self-aware of their biases and cultivating empathy for others are the main goals of this type of training. Understanding coworkers’ backgrounds, communication preferences, and cultural differences can help employees learn how to treat others with respect.
You must do in-depth group sessions where staff members from diverse backgrounds express their thoughts on a range of subjects in order to execute sensitivity training. These sessions can be utilized as a regular exercise to learn about other people’s viewpoints and approaches to various situations.
During sensitivity training sessions, you can also encourage staff members to discuss any particular problems that exist within the team. The conversation might center on resolving disagreements between two team members, for instance, if they are not getting along.
Training on Diversity and Inclusion
One of the best ways to enhance workplace culture and lower the likelihood of harassment or discrimination occurrences in your company is to educate your staff on diversity and inclusion. The goal is to provide knowledge that will enhance people’s interactions with others from diverse backgrounds.
Employees will gain knowledge about discrimination, communication techniques, disability, dispute resolution, and unconscious prejudice during diversity and inclusion training.
Check out our comparison of free diversity training resources for the workplace.
Events and Cultural Communication
Regularly hosting various cultural events is a fantastic method to educate everyone about other people’s customs. Common spaces, such as the lounge or cafeteria, can be used to host small events that highlight various forms of art and culture.
Another effective strategy for encouraging cross-cultural interaction among staff members is to have a potluck luncheon. Everybody shares a little bit about themselves by bringing along foods from their heritage or culture.
It’s also a terrific idea to have an internal communication tool or online platform to train about inclusion and encourage diversity. Make sure your staff members are informed about global news, diversity trends, and general cultural knowledge.
Solutions For Training To Improve Workplace Culture
Education is the best place to start if you are managing a culturally diverse company and want to encourage positive interactions among employees. We offer just what you need right here at EasyLlama!
We are a leading online training platform for compliance, offering continuous instruction on a range of subjects, such as diversity, inclusion, and sexual harassment. You can be sure that your business will be in compliance and stay out of needless trouble because our courses meet and go beyond all federal and state regulations.
You can assign supervisor and non-supervisor content for individualized learning, manage several departments, and monitor each student’s progress in a course using our platform. To keep your staff interested, we present material in short, interactive modules with an emphasis on real-world situations.