Introduction
At the moment, in the work of organizations, one of the concerns that managers should pay attention to is the creation of a comfortable and healthy environment. This allows the forming of a workplace that provides the company with effective results and a competitive, capable place in the market. Teamwork management becomes an essential aspect for the organization, which will also affect the introduction of employee engagement and retention. However, problems such as discrimination may arise in the workplace, which becomes the central topic of this research work. In the context of diversity and inclusion, this may arise as a result of misunderstandings, prejudices and stereotypes among people of different nationalities and cultures. Thus, this work provides a study of such a social issue as discrimination and the challenges and benefits that it has on the diverse workforce.
Discrimination as a Social issue
This work examines one of the most urgent and severe problem of the modern workplace – discrimination. It concerns the people of marginalized or, in particular multicultural groups, which arise when forming a team. In more detail, this scientific work examines racial discrimination, which is in an indispensable relationship with the concepts of diversity and inclusion. It manifests itself in an unfair or prejudicial attitude towards people who represent different races, cultures and nationalities that differ from the dominant one (Hebl et al., 2020). Studies emphasize that “discrimination can impede career mobility, opportunities for organizational leadership, and workforce satisfaction and enjoyment” (Whitaker, 2019, p. 2). It has many negative consequences both for the relationship between employees and for the entire performance of the company.
Messages in Support of the Social Issue
The main message that should be highlighted in this social problem is the need to introduce measures to help strengthen diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The main example that most often occurs is the disparaging attitude towards representatives of the black population from the white dominant. Due to the fact that slavery occupies an essential part of the history of the United States of America, it still has echoes in modern society. Thus, discrimination manifests itself in negative attitudes, neglect, restriction of functions performed on minor tasks, and deprivation of career growth.
Opposition
Despite the urgency of the problem of discrimination, there is an opinion that becomes opposed to this social issue. The key concern is the fact that people are in denial of its relevance, which leads to a deterioration of the situation. Moreover, the recognition of discrimination as a non-existent or frivolous problem is noted in those workplaces where there are no practices for the introduction and dissemination of the concepts of diversity and inclusion. In addition, sources contribute by stating that “although narratives of race relations in the US are constantly in flux, the underlying belief in meritocracy continuously holds space for contradictory white ideologies” (Kolber, 2017, p. 1). Thus, the need to spread awareness about the importance of respect for all cultures and races to limit discrimination and improve team performance.
Global Impact the Social Issue
Discrimination is a global problem that affects all countries including the United States of America. This is due to the fact that in the process of using diversity and inclusion policies and strategies, employers are interested in hiring talented workers from different countries. Because of this, there is a clash of people who, in addition to external signs, also differ in cultures, beliefs and worldviews, which can provoke conflicts, misunderstandings and biased attitudes. Thus, it can be said that racial discrimination has the same character in all countries. Abroad, this issue is addressed in many workplaces in similar ways due to the large scale of the problem. International organizations work together to establish common rules and norms, based on which legislative acts and strategies are formed in companies to get rid of the social phenomenon of discrimination.
Challenges for the Workplace
As mentioned earlier, discrimination in the workplace has many negative consequences for the organization. Hence, among them, there is a personnel leaving the company, which can cost companies dearly due to the waste of financial and time resources for hiring new employees. Moreover, it is possible to manifest a biased negative attitude, which may lead to the appearance of bullying in the workplace. In addition, one of the challenges that the social issue under study causes is an increased level of stress. The consequences of this factor can be professional burnout and general problems with the psychological health of employees, which can also motivate dismissal from the organization. One of the main problems that my colleagues and I faced in the work experience was a misunderstanding that arose when hiring a new employee. Due to the fact that there was an established practice in the company to promote diversity, some employees still expressed discriminatory attitudes. To solve this problem, team building measures were introduced to consolidate the team.
The Spread of Awareness
The dissemination of awareness is presented as the main fundamental step that organizations should take to establish the concepts of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It helps to impart knowledge to as many workers and managers as possible. The main benefit of this phenomenon for the workplace is the dissemination of the concept of diversity, reducing the level of stress in the workplace. In addition, it will allow for the development of such concepts as involvement and rooting of employee involvement, at the same time developing retention policies. Awareness becomes the main tool that fights discrimination in society and helps to limit the number of occurrence of this problem in all spheres of human life.
Steps to Implement
To solve the problem of discrimination in the workplace, various companies apply strategies that suit them or try to develop their own that will be more suitable for them. Hence, first of all, as already mentioned, it is important to spread awareness. This measure can be carried out with the help of various essential to spread awareness. They should be aimed at team building and providing knowledge about different cultures. Moreover, in order to limit possible negative aspects of the workplace, it is important to conduct a study of the level of employee satisfaction.
Breakthrough Moment
For me, the greatest breakthrough moment in researching my selected social issue was getting acquainted with such a large number of written works on the chosen topic. First of all, the sources on the topic become inquiring. This circumstance occurred due to the fact that how many of the smallest details and consequences have been studied with regard to this area. However, in practice, not all companies decide to introduce inclusion and diversity into their practice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this presentation was engaged in the study of such a social issue as racial discrimination in the workplace. Despite significant advancements of a person in various fields of activity, many still face the discussed problem in their daily life. Moreover, there are individuals who hold the opposite opinion that discrimination does not really exist. The work also analyzed possible negative consequences of this problem, such as burnout, dismissal or high-stress levels. Thus, this presentation makes a contribution to the development of the future in the field of conducting such sources.
References
Hebl, M., Cheng, S. K., & Ng, L. C. (2020). Modern discrimination in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7, 257-282.
Kolber, J. (2017). Having it both ways: White denial of racial salience while claiming oppression. Sociology Compass, 11(2), 1-9.
Whitaker, T. R. (2019). Banging on a locked door: The persistent role of racial discrimination in the workplace. Social Work in Public Health, 34(1), 22-27.