Appetite From Hell

               For most working people, up to a third of the lifetime is spent in the workplace. Work environments influence us in some obvious ways such as the demands of the job itself or income from the job, and less obvious ways such as the unseen stress from the job or pressure from the company culture created. Unfortunately, sometimes employees feel as if they will be better suited elsewhere due to that stress or other factors. Some of the top reasons employees report leaving jobs is mistreatment and lack of respect alongside low pay and lack of upward mobility. An overall sociological approach to leadership is necessary to prevent situations where intended or unintended harm may have happened in an employee’s work experience not only for current company success and employee retention, but care for their long-term work experience.

The Importance of a Healthy Work Environment

Given that a significant number of employees leave due to mistreatment, factors going into mistreatment need to be explored when looking into creating better work environments. Mistreatment can be observed as actions that are cruel, unfair, or unjust toward an individual including forms of abuse, favoritism, discrimination, and more. Lack of respect would fall into the mistreatment category along with other layers of the employee experience, meaning a need for consideration. According to a cohort study on discrimination experience, those experiencing discrimination 4-8 times more likely to report mistreatment in the workplace (Fekedulegn et al., 2019), further meaning discrimination in the workplace needs to be explored.

Common Types of Discrimination in the Workplace, While Not All…

               Employees in various work environments often deal with different types of discrimination along the lines of gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, disability, age, a combination of multiple types, and more (Vargas et al., 2020). Certain actions of discrimination are more obvious than others though have the potential to be just as harmful. Racism may not always be directly about somebody’s skin color, but maybe in snarky comments about a choice of food they are unfamiliar with. Ageism may not always be perceived in comments, but in actions such as assumption that an employee is not up for a task due to their age. Sexism may not always be derogatory comments, but instead a compliment where an employee feels powerless to defend themselves in front of others. Ableism may not always be rude comments about a visible disability but could happen in a joke about an employee’s different pattern of thought, and not funny in the slightest.  These are just a few examples of more subtle but still damaging ways that discrimination can happen.

Discrimination Can Lead to Greater Mental Health Concerns

Imagine not having privilege as a defense and dealing with discrimination during childhood, only to grow up and continue experiencing the same discrimination in a space where often more time is spent than at home. Experiencing discrimination throughout the lifetime has been linked to higher rates of mental health concerns, according to a critical review of the subject matter (Vargas et al., 2020). Experiencing multiple types of discrimination has also been known to further amplify rates of long-term depression, anxiety, and poor health due to stress. Accountability for discriminatory actions is necessary not only for an employee’s happiness in the workplace day-to-day, but also for long-term health and happiness in personal lives. Buillding an inclusive environment will not only lead to happier employees in the workplace, but happier employees long-term, therefore higher employee engagement leading to higher retention rates and overall, more success in working toward a company’s goal.

A Few Steps to Creating an Inclusive Work Environment

Society still has a long way to go when it comes to reducing discrimination in the workplace and increasing accountability by doing so. An inclusive work environment should be an overall business or company goal to gain the best talent in employees when recruiting and maximize employee capability by allowing them to work to their fullest potential and capability. To do so, employee engagement needs to be maximized which involves satisfying basic needs of an employee such as autonomy and competence, as well as increasing job and personal resources; give an individual appropriate pay for their job, and basic respect as a human to increase employee satisfaction, production, and retention. The battle against discrimination to build a more inclusive environment is not one that will be won overnight, but one worth fighting for starting with a few things leaders can do.  

Acknowledging the Existence of Privilege

               A listening approach is necessary as a leader; a willingness to hear other perspectives, ability to recognize when the floor is somebody else’s to speak and be heard, and openness to another pattern or train of thought no matter how unfamiliar. When mediating or coaching employees, it is necessary to understand one’s own privilege, the existence of power, and have an awareness of choice of words or time and place when building a safe space for employees to speak and be heard. As an example, a comment or joke that may not seem offensive to one party may be offensive to another, and when the person making the joke has a higher position of power in the workplace, the employee is put in an uncomfortable situation where they feel disrespected. To prevent such measures, a professional approach from leadership is necessary at all times with a conscious mind about other perspectives and different walks of life.  

Taking a Sociological Approach in Leadership

               A sociological approach could easily be applied to any workplace situation or environment with positive results. This approach involves using sound theory and research beyond personal feeling to understand people, their situations, and society on a greater level. Taking a sociological approach in leadership would involve a willingness to learn from others and a receptiveness to feedback. We are not perfect, as leaders setting an example for a team of people, need to demonstrate a willingness to strive for better. A sociological approach in feedback would mean understanding another person’s perspective when addressing situations and needs rather than our own needs clouding the message being heard. This approach in a willingness to learn not only involves learning what is necessary to stay on top of industry standards and business needs, but also learning other perspectives that may further productivity and inspire new ideas.

Provide Accessible Ethics and Compliance Resources

               Many companies and businesses are making it a point to have some kind of system of accountability in the code of ethics whether by an ethics department or human resources manager and/or department. As leadership, it should always be encouraged to reach out to these resources if employees feel as if more resources are needed to meet their needs toward success and job satisfaction. It should also be encouraged by leadership to use these resources without fear of repercussion of doing so; retaliation toward employees is often grounds for dismissal from many businesses. These ethics or human resources departments exist as checks and balances between all areas of the business and are meant to hold all parties accountable for actions. Help should always be easily accessible and available in a space where more time is spent than at home.

What Can We Do to Continue Creating a Better Home Away from Home?

               Those few things to broaden perspectives as leaders are just a few short steps in a greater movement, but it takes action to get started, right? By acknowledging our privilege, taking a sociological approach, and providing better resources to employees for advocacy, the number of employees leaving a company due to mistreatment could be greatly reduced. On a larger scale, if more companies and businesses stayed true to building inclusive environments, incorporating these actions if they are not already, how much better would the mental health of society be if workplace environments were no longer toxic or discriminatory? If we spend more than a third of our time in the workplace and those stressors tend to affect us outside of work, would the overall stress level of most working humans be significantly by this more inclusive approach?

               I believe so.

References

Dhanda, U. (2015). Employee engagement: The Key Success Factor. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 3(5), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v3.i5.2015.3017

Fekedulegn, D., Alterman, T., Charles, L. E., Kershaw, K. N., Safford, M. M., Howard, V. J., & MacDonald, L. A. (2019). Prevalence of workplace discrimination and mistreatment in a national sample of older U.S. workers: The regards cohort study. SSM – Population Health, 8, 100444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100444

Mazzetti, G., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2022). The impact of engaging leadership on employee engagement and Team Effectiveness: A longitudinal, multi-level study on the mediating role of personal- and Team Resources. PLOS ONE, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269433

Parker, K. (2022, March 9). Majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 cite low pay, no opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/

One third of your life is spent at work. Gettysburg College. (2023). https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=79db7b34-630c-4f49-ad32-4ab9ea48e72b

Vargas, S. M., Huey, S. J., & Miranda, J. (2020). A critical review of current evidence on multiple types of discrimination and mental health. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(3), 374–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000441