Therefore, communities must clearly and consistently communicate what the values and social norms of the organization are. In a community or collective (e.g., organization, university, country, and professional society) inclusion and respect can be viewed as prerequisites for living and working together productively, successfully, and in a manner that can be sustained over the long term.Ĭivility is learned behavior and a skill set that involves choice and the recognition that we need to restrain our speech and behavior for the “greater good.” We can choose to say racist, homophobic, and just plain offensive things, or not. In the broadest sense, civility can be defined as demonstrating respect for ourselves and others. We live in a global knowledge economy that is highly diverse, highly interconnected, highly interrelated, and highly dependent upon the contributions of talented, diverse, and engaged individuals and teams. Conversely, much research and practice show that a diverse team-well managed-will yield superior results and that the individuals on a well-managed diverse team are more engaged and productive. It is difficult to contribute your talent and energy to achieving organizational goals if you feel excluded, disrespected and devalued as a human being. One potential impact of such a reputation is a decline in organizational performance resulting from low morale and a disengaged workforce. However, an organization can place itself at a competitive disadvantage relative to the acquisition and retention of talent if it develops a reputation as having an intolerant and hostile work environment. Successful organizations seek to become a destination for talent and focus on removing barriers to success. People drive organizational growth and success by leveraging their unique talents and capabilities. If your boss really values and puts a large emphasis on diversity and inclusive excellence, then they will welcome your input and consider it in the hiring decision. If a coworker has a history of saying racist, homophobic, and just plain offensive things, and the individual is being considered for a position in your office that has more responsibility and power over things like hiring and firing, I would argue that the individual is a poor fit for the culture of your organization, and you have an ethical obligation to speak up and inform your boss. If you have exhausted the above approaches and the behavior continues, you may want to consider going outside the organization and reporting the situation to the appropriate local, state, and federal agencies. For example, Penn State offers the Ethics and Compliance Hotline 1-80 or online. Your report should result in an incident investigation and/or some type of intervention.Īn alternative to reporting the incident to Human Resources, you can report the incident using an internal organizational hotline. If “Giving Voice” to your values fails to stop the offensive speech or behavior or you aren’t comfortable discussing this with the individual, reporting the incident to Human Resources should be your next step. Raising awareness and educating some individuals that their speech and/or behavior is offensive and negatively affects your ability to be effective and productive at work may result in a change and a cessation of the offensive speech and behavior. While this may be an uncomfortable conversation to have, it can be effective. “Giving Voice” to your values involves engaging the individual in a constructive dialogue. Ignoring the incident will ensure that the offensive behavior by the individual will continue and perhaps spread to others. You can go outside the organization and report the incident to local, state, and federal agencies.You can report the incident using an organizational hotline.You can report the incident to Human Resources.You can “give voice” to your values and inform the individual that you are offended and request that they stop.When you encounter a coworker or supervisor that says racist, homophobic, and just plain offensive things, you have a choice to make: Furthermore, if it is determined in a court of law that it results in a hostile work environment, it can result in significant financial risks to the organization. ![]() It can have an adverse impact on trust, employee engagement, and workforce creativity and innovation. In addition to being illegal, it is unethical and can have an insidious impact on organizational culture, workforce productivity, and organizational sustainability. Discrimination in the workplace is a common occurrence. Before addressing the question posed, let us discuss what you can do when you encounter discrimination in the workplace.
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