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Unfortunately, deliberate discrimination is still a problem in today's workplace. Far more pervasive, however, is the kind of discrimination that results, not from bias or sexism, but from inadvertent errors. These cases involve individuals being denied opportunity because of misunderstandings, lack of knowledge of cultural differences and ignorance of diverse communication style and values.
Inadvertent unfairness begins at the interviewing stage. How many Asian-born and Asian American applicants, I wonder, have not been hired solely because they did not make sufficient eye contact with the interviewer? In mainstream American culture, lack of eye contact is interpreted as a sign of insecurity, lack of confidence and, most commonly, dishonesty. It is little wonder that the interviewer is reluctant to take on an employee who, he believes, possesses these characteristics.
Is the manager who draws this conclusion a racist, a bigot or someone who deliberately discriminates? Hardly. That manager may just be ignorant of the fact that some Asian applicants avoid eye contact to show respect, a piece of culturally specific body language that has nothing to do with dishonesty, inattentiveness or lack of confidence. The end result, however, is the same as if the interviewer were the most dangerous bigot: A qualified, valuable employee is lost.
And what of the applicant who, because of personality or culture, is uncomfortable with self-praise? Women are, broadly speaking, less apt than men to praise themselves during an interview. Women tend to spread around the credit and tone down statements of individual achievement. It is all too easy for an interviewer to misinterpret what is merely a different communication style as lack of confidence or as evidence of insufficient qualifications.
Another Cause
DEAR COACH: I'm generally an easy-to-please guy, so long as the people who work for me do things the way I think they should be done. Well, last year we hired a new young woman, Jill, a recent graduate from the local university with a major in psychology. Ever since she joined the marketing team in our small clothing manufacturing company last spring, she's been after me to pay attention to how people are feeling and to try to understand what customers really want when they come to the retail outlet attached to the company.
This time she's gone too far. She has read a book about a bunch of guys in a fish market in Seattle and how they make employees and customers happy by slinging fish through the air. She says it's short and I should read it, but it's hard for me to keep from walking over to her cubicle and just telling her to take her fish stories and leave. So of course I won't read it, but I'm curious about what you think of my predicament and the fact that today's young employees think they can just walk up to the boss and suggest outlandish things.
-- WARREN
DEAR WARREN: I'm sorry to have to say that Jill is on the right track here. She's talking about the book Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results, a 107-page volume that might just revolutionize how your company works. You don't have to read the book if you don't want to, because the best thing to do would be to have Jill go to fishphilosophy.com and order a video from ChartHouse Learning Co. to show to everyone in the company. Then you can ask her to lead some small group discussions on how to apply it to your company's approach to employees and customers.
I did that at the office I manage when a staff member came back from a management seminar with a request to have the whole team watch this video. In the two months since we all watched it and talked about it, I've seen great bursts of creativity and outreach to our customers. The message of the book (and video) is simple. It's all about the four things you must do at work, no matter where you're employed:
- Choose your attitude.
- Play.
- Make their day.
- Be present.