Workplace discrimination is a huge problem that can ruin the employee’s day and life, trigger their anxiety and bad mood, and of course, result in procrastinating, skipping tasks, and ignoring the work. It may come in different forms, like harassment from the chief or other person that is above you in the structure. Surely, the coworkers or a particular person can also bully someone else, or a whole group of people to go against another group of people.
A lot of people decide not to talk about that problem with anyone because sometimes the bully is protected or the manager’s favorite or they are longer in the company. Those who have a choice decide to leave, sometimes even for a lower salary, but some people proceed to suffer because that’s the only income they have in the household.
Workplace discrimination is a lot to take on. People may see the victim’s pain as an overreaction or willfully ignore that anything terrible is happening. It happens really often, and everyone can become a victim. Sometimes even the employees can discriminate against their manager, which rarely happens, but there are some cases of situations like that.
Instead of allowing this to happen, it’s essential to find a solution. Whether you’re looking for something more drastic or you want a quick fix to move past this mess, these are the top solutions to combat workplace discrimination.
Retraining
Train your employees that they have to be respectful of one another from the get-go. This means hiring employees who don’t have any history of harassment or issues with coworkers and then ensuring every step of onboarding takes action to weed out any behaviors that may cause workplace problems.
When discrimination happens in the office, retrain everyone so that they’ll work together and avoid making this mistake again. Make it clear that retaliation isn’t allowed and that they have to learn to work together well and without bias: or they have no place in your company. Although some may complain about retraining, it may help as a reason for them to stop each other from this behavior or for them to call it out when it happens. Help the employees realize that there’s no room for discrimination in your company.
You may think that choosing to hire only those who behave well is a form of discrimination too, but on the other hand, you are trying your best to protect the people who already work for you. Everyone deserves a chance, but after they fix the previous issues and set to behave nicely at the office. So, it’s your decision to make, but probably it will always be better to try to keep the company as productive and efficient as it can be, without having someone ruin the whole thing for you and make your crucial people leave.
Firing Problematic Workers
Some workers aren’t the right fit for your business: and it’s good to admit that. For example, if one of your business’s employees keeps harassing or bullying their coworkers, they aren’t going to work out. So instead, let them go. Workers who cause issues for their coworkers are high-risk and aren’t a good option for any office. Although you should investigate the problem first, if it seems like they’re the root of the issue, it’s a good idea to let them go so that your company can move on from this.
It’s always better to take your time and investigate the whole situation because sometimes those who discriminate can put the guilt on someone else, who is doing pretty well. Probably you don’t expect that from adult people who are doing their best to earn money and live comfortably, but nothing ever should surprise you. A lot of them are ready to do disgusting things if they see they have serious competition with someone who is more skilled and talented.
Setting Goals and Plans Against Discrimination
A company should always aim to be discrimination-free, and that goal doesn’t stop just because accusations got pushed against it. Instead, this should be taken as a push to do better. Companies trying to fight against these accusations and avoid discrimination cases should lay out a plan for how they’ll fix it.
Whether it’s to hire more diversely in the following months, or if it’s to review the promotion and training protocol that the company has followed: check every detail. Although employees may get exhausted if you roll out a lot of information at once, setting small and gradual goals is the best way to achieve growth.
Restructuring the Company
Sometimes the issue with a company comes from its roots. That could mean that the CEO has to step down or that HR has to be reorganized or changed, but consider where the source of the problem is. For example, if the only people getting promotions are one specific type of person, look into why the other applicants were passed over. Have supervisors and managers keep notes on what led them to make a decision.
The most important thing at this point is to be sure that you aren’t the one who is discriminating. Surely, sometimes it’s pretty difficult to recognize our toxic behavior and stop it on time until someone else noticed that for us. And if you do that, you have to change yourself, especially if you are someone who has a really important role or position in that company.
No one wants someone to ruin their day. We all go to work so we can earn money for living, and afford comfortable things, vacations, clothes, or raising a family. No one says it’s easy. But, it doesn’t need to be difficult too. If you spot someone who is hurting the coworkers, you can tell that person that you see everything, or even fire them.
Workplace discrimination can kill a worker’s productivity and stop employees from doing their jobs well. Give them the chance to succeed by creating a level playing field. That’s the only way you can be sure the things will work properly, and no one will ever go home being hurt at work. We all fight against the discrimination and all of its shapes and forms. So, stand up against the bullies, because no one has right to make you feel bad and unimportant at work.