As the world becomes more competitive, organizations are re-organizing their policies to facilitate a more cohesive and supportive workplace. One's workplace is where one spends the majority of their time, even more than their home. The culture at their workplaces has an impact on their mentality and progress. In short, the workplace becomes a “mini-world for employees”, where they interact and spend the majority of their time and in short, their lives. Thus, it is critical that employees feel at ease and supported at work, and corporations are doing everything possible to ensure that this occurs.
A large number of HR initiatives and policies are being developed to address and protect employees' mental well-being. The ultimate goal of all of these new moves is to instill a sense of belonging in the people and to let them know they matter. Along the same lines, one of the major initiatives in this direction is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The Covid Times has already stated the importance of addressing people's mental health at work, and that any problem on a personal level will eventually impact the performance of the individuals. As a result, DEI is a fantastic step in this direction.
The inception of the Idea
The concept of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (abbreviated as DEI) was first conceived in the 1960s in the United States. The nations were in complete unrest due to the division of people based on their appearance, color, race, religion; in short, their identity. The agenda of the move was supporting and respecting people of different gender/sexual orientations, religions, countries of origin, and other individualities as one. Enforcing these values into the working culture of various companies is a wise decision that meets a pressing need.
Why is DEI important for businesses and their culture?
Every business sets goals for itself and envisions milestones to reach. To do so, a company must have an engaged workforce at its core that belongs to and works for the company as if it owns a portion of it. It is essential to let your people gain the scope of equating responsibility with accountability and take ownership of their work. And the best way to instill this attitude in people is to let them know they are heard and that their contributions to the company's success are appreciated.
When a workforce is made up of people from various cultures and backgrounds, multiple brains are coming together with different ways of perceiving and devising plans to achieve a goal, which is a bonus! People will have an unwavering zeal to work selflessly because they will now consider the company their "own," and their outputs will reflect this. According to one observation, "racially diverse workplaces have the highest revenue growth."
Another major concern related to workplace is the gender bias. Most companies have seen their culture deteriorating because they could not enforce equality amongst their workforce. The inferiority is mostly faced by women wherein they are not treated equally to men. They are also not much equal to men in various companies even though the level of difficulty in the job is similar for every individual. This issue must be addressed with extreme delicacy and sensitivity. Also, the culture must be in a way that enables equal opportunities for all people, regardless of their gender. Also, the attitude of coworkers, management, and leadership must be equal toward all people.
How to practice DEI within office space?
So now that we have understood how DEI stands important within the workplace and the need to address it, let us now understand how one may incorporate it within the work culture.
1. A diverse and inclusive hiring and recruiting staff must be in place with maximum rationality and openness.
2. A robust mentorship program must be established, with monthly sessions to ensure that each individual's mental health is completely fine.
3. Even if a person is experiencing a personal or identity crisis at work, it can be addressed in private so that productivity is not hampered.
4. A program must be created that is regularly practiced with employees to not only be respected as individuals but also to respect others for their unique perspectives on life.
5. One must ensure that the advantages of such programs are explained and presented to employees.
6. Effective Employee Resource Groups must be created in the office to optimize the environment to a great and efficient level.
7. All employees must be the freedom to take ownership, & associate responsibility with accountability.
8. Events and activities must be organized that allow your workforce to feel connected to the organization.
By following the steps mentioned above, one can build a workplace that respects each individual equally and grows with united efforts and a resilient passion for the vision.
