Advantages of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace August 8, 2018 by Sonia Johnson Cultural diversity in the workplace occurs when a company hires employees from a variety of backgrounds, race, gender, age, or religion. A diverse working culture benefits companies in countless ways. It can contribute to an organization’s efficiency and create a competitive advantage. Here are some benefits of a workplace that hires teams with cultural diversity in mind: Cultural Diversity leads to Higher Morale When diversity is managed well, and employees are subject to cross-cultural or diversity and inclusion training, the result is that all people feel validated and considered important no matter their differences. Giving employees the opportunity to work with people who bring different skills and views to the table helps them recognize that everyone is important for different reasons. Feeling valued improves the morale of each worker and promotes positivity in the workplace. Cultural Diversity gives you Different Perspectives When people from different backgrounds and cultures work together, they are exposed to varying viewpoints and ideas. This helps people become accustomed to hearing and sharing different perspectives and presenting their ideas. Allowing culturally diverse employees to brainstorm brings a wide variety of solutions to the table. Solutions based upon different experiences and schools of thought. With more ideas to choose from, the chances of finding the best possible final solution is improved. Cultural Diversity has a Global Impact In an increasingly globalized economy, workforces that are culturally diverse can help companies expand their business in. Being able to communicate effectively in different parts of the world is a key benefit, as well as knowing how to create relationships and understand the cultural nuances and differences in doing business in foreign countries. With a workforce that understands these concepts, you create the opportunity to effectively develop your business in a global market. Cultural Diversity increases your Community Relations Many communities are becoming increasingly culturally diverse. It’s important that companies recognize this and mimic the communities that they serve. Companies need to be able to communicate effectively with customers and understand their needs, no matter the customer’s language or culture. Having people on staff who have the background and skills to do so are vital to an organization. Communities and customers also prefer to engage with those that employ people who are similar to them. For this reason, hiring and managing diverse cultures is an advantage in a competitive market space. Culturally diverse workers are one of the greatest assets your business can have. Although workplace diversity comes with some challenges, the benefits more than outweigh the difficulties you may encounter, especially with the use of proper management techniques and training.
7 Types of Toxic Bosses— Tips for understanding and dealing with a boss who keeps you down. May 5, 2018 by Sonia Johnson In a riff on the word “frenemy,” the word “bossemy” was developed to describe this complicated form of workplace relationship in which the person who greatly influences your success seems to have sabotage on the brain. Here are 7 types of bossemies that can make work more stressful than it needs to be. Bossemy #1: Office Royalty Nothing is too good and nothing is good enough for this boss. “Office royalty” narcissistically and genuinely believe that they deserve deferential treatment and blind adoration from others, whether they are leading the company or just stepping onto the corporate ladder. If you report directly to office royalty, objectively and accurately evaluate this person’s “global and local influence” on your own career success. Remember, though, that no one should be expected to ‘bow and scrape’ to anyone beyond the normal limits of respectful, professional behavior. Doing your job well is encouraged, but being expected to provide strawberries and cream is a little over the top. Bossemy #2: The Diva This boss is willing to work a team full speed non-stop, but quickly step up to bask in the praise that the team, itself, rightfully deserved. Divas often demand obsequious obedience from staff who may respond in a wide variety of ways. Some may bask in the limelight if favored with a smile; others may ask, “How high?” if asked to jump; others may yawn, scratch their heads, and wonder what all the fuss is about; and still other may feel resentment at the arrogant audacity of a diva. When the diva is truly top dog, it can be especially frustrating if there is no choice but to meet the diva’s needs or satisfy her whims to keep from rocking the boat too strongly. Patience at work, patient friends with whom you can kvetch, and the ability to keep a firm work/life balance are all helpful in dealing with the work place divas you encounter. Bossemy #3: The Stealth Bomber Stealth bombers are dangerous bosses as they can spot weaknesses, plan attacks, and exact retribution and revenge for even imagined slights. If you report to this type of boss, keep your eyes on the prize and your work ethic clear. If your boss tries to set up in-fighting within a team, don’t allow yourself to be drawn into the ring. Show your colleagues respect, give your best on the job, and find ways to build up team morale and group cohesion outside of the workplace, if possible. When a team is united, it is a lot more difficult for stealth bombers to isolate one member to target for a strike. If you are a target of a stealth bombing boss, make sure you keep solid documentation of any related incidents as well as your solid performance. Bossemy #4: The Whiner Working alongside a whiner is wearing on the nerves, working for a whiner is even worse. If your supervisor is making you miserable with his own misery, you may need to learn how to practice “smiling meditation” or “eyes-open/ears-closed meditation” when he is on a roll of lamentations. As an employee, knowing the triggers and doing what you can, if anything, to protect your boss from them is helpful. No matter how crazy a boss can make you, remember that your boss is still your boss. Doing what you can to contribute to operational success makes everyone look good. Bossemy #5: The Pleaser You are much more likely to work beside than for a pleaser, as pleasers are unlikely to move too far up the chain of command. Pleasers seldom send out signals of having management skills, as they seem to spend their time trying to please the managers to whom they report. If you report to a pleaser, you may find yourself working long hours towards impossibly optimistic deadlines as your boss tries to please upper level management by agreeing to unrealistic demands. Maybe you can initiate a “heart-to-heart” with the boss sharing your concerns about failing to deliver on impractical promises. Pleasers typically like to please both their own bosses as well as their staff members, so your feedback may actually be taken to heart. Bossemy #6: The Scandalmonger Most everyone likes to be “in the know” on the job. Unfortunately, your “inside connection” may be more of a scandalmonger than a trustworthy confidante. If your boss is your “go-to-guy,” this can present a double-edged sword. If your boss shares inside information about impending organizational changes, it can be professionally helpful. Knowing what is coming down the pike can help you plan for career moves that propel you closer to your overarching professional goals. However, some bosses pump employees for updates on what is happening at their level or, perhaps even more risky for employees, in their lives. You may feel torn between being candid or cautious with your boss. Choose the path that protects your own long-term investments over those of others or of the organization. Remember that your boss may have the latest newsflash about the company, but may be spilling the scoop on someone’s secrets that were shared in confidence. If you have shared your own personal updates, the news the boss is sharing with others may very well be your own. Bossemy #7: The Outright Bully In the workplace, bullying may be practiced differently depending on the bully’s gender. Women frequently use much more “defensible” or “subliminal” methods of bullying colleagues. They know how to be mean in such a way that men might not even recognize a bully-shot was fired. Facial expressions, glares, passive aggressive actions, and back-handed compliments are examples of how women will bully their co-workers. Men may use office pranks, verbal harassment, and other more overt behaviors. Dealing with workplace bullies can be an exhausting job and can lead to physical as well as emotional stress. Unfortunately, the power hierarchy may facilitate the bullying of employees by supervisors who are prone to this behavior. Women are at an especial disadvantage, as few women are trained to confront those who harm them and this makes them easy targets for their tormentors. If you feel you are being bullied, immediately begin documenting what is happening between you and the bully. Because many bullies have seldom been confronted about their behavior – from childhood into adulthood – calling them on the behavior may lead to a resolution. Left unchecked, bullies typically don’t stop on their own – they may move from target to target, but the bullying tends to continue. If you feel that sexual harassment is even a small part of the bullying from the onset, immediately file a complaint with your human resources department. The Five O’Clock Whistle We typically spend more waking hours with the people with whom we work than with our families, loved ones, or friends. When you are on the job, remember that it is just a job. No job should be the measure of your worth and no job should come before your own well-being. Because you cannot change anyone’s behavior but your own, focus on doing what you can to build up your own self-esteem, professionalism, and commitment to success. This is a lot more healthy than dreaming of ways to retaliate against a boss. In summary, when dealing with a toxic boss, be sure to thoroughly document what is happening. Next, consider a face-to-face meeting with your boss to discuss your concerns — keep your cool and stay objective, if a meeting occurs. If this doesn’t work out, contact your HR department to seek resolution. And if the situation is beyond repair, your commitment to your own professional growth will benefit your search for a new job, if needed. Culled From Psychology Today Authored by Suzanne Degges White PhD
How To Deal With Difficult People September 6, 2017 by Sonia Johnson Some people go to extraordinary lengths to be difficult. Think of the diva actress whose on-set needs can never be met or the boss who keeps moving the goal posts. The difficult person elevates the deliberate provocation to an art form. The underlying message is often, “Unless you agree with me and go along, you’ll regret it.” One clue that a person is attempting to intimidate or manipulate you is the use of unpredictable, or protean, behavior—acts that are random and seemingly out of the blue. A dictator keeps his minions guessing—and scared. Some forms of despotism are much subtler: Duke Ellington was known for provoking heated rivalries and feuds among his bandmates in the belief that such strife would make the music hotter. Erratic behavior is a powerful weapon because it defies accurate prediction. Often, the behavior comes as a surprise even to the person generating it. Flying into a rage or staring you down and dismissing you summarily are common strategies to keep you off-kilter. Unpredictable actions serve the purpose of confusing potential usurpers and avoiding responsibility. Your boss freaks out, throws things and yells. Some might call him irrational. But the irrationality gives him a leg up. Erratic behavior served adaptive ends in our past, and it still does. Just as a minnow might cut a zigzagging path to avoid being snapped up by a larger fish, the boss alternately screams and stonewalls to avoid having her motives laid bare. Protean behavior evolved to prevent people from being psyched out. That’s not to say that fickle acts are always openly hostile and aggressive. The difficult person can just as easily be solicitous or seductive: Think of femme fatales from biblical Judith to Mata Hari. Unpredictable behavior is at heart about deception, and it’s just as likely to be unconscious as conscious. If such behavior comes from a boss or a spouse, you’ve got some tricky choices to make. There are several problems confronting you at once, since you’re juggling competing goals. Your ego tells you to stick up for yourself, but you want to avoid an unnecessary argument. Usually we can’t resist getting riled up in our own defense. The ease with which we fall into dueling dyads is a remnant of a “culture of honor” that most of our ancestors needed to adopt. Our neural circuitry equips us to immediately jump to our own defense. The Neanderthink urge to rectify an injustice kicks in automatically, lest we accept abject defeat. The immediacy of the “me versus you” and “us versus them” reaction hinders a more intelligent and considered response. We usually regret having charged into battle—or at least we wonder what we were thinking. And that’s just it: We weren’t thinking. An emotional reaction bypasses thoughtful deliberation. No rational person today would engage in an argument with a random person on the street. But if someone bumps into us, blocks our way or otherwise wants to hassle us, our immediate inclination is to freeze, fight or flee. Similarly, our immediate response to the verbal slights or manipulative barbs of a difficult person is often to fight back. Your immediate reaction is, “I can’t stand this crazy, insulting behavior.” We too quickly jump to our own defense when we feel insulted. We do so because we have evolved a hypervigilant concern for our standing among peers. This focus on status makes sense as a play for dominance and power, qualities that translate into real mating options. The need to retain status is an example of Neanderthink. This knee-jerk demand for status can push us to get outraged and to lose focus on larger goals, such as keeping your job or your mate. We want to prove that we are correct—but doing it angrily and intolerantly can hinder your major objectives. Dominance at every turn is good, but not a necessity. Still, we’re so captivated by displays of dominance that we pay boxers millions of dollars to watch them square off and even pay to see professional wrestlers play-act a power struggle. This is not to say that everyone has the immediate urge to lash out in self-defense. Some people freeze when confronted with criticism, telling themselves, “I must not be criticized” or “I must be above criticism.” Temporary paralysis in response to a physical threat may once have kept you alive; but freezing in the face of a verbal onslaught won’t help you make your case. To cope with a difficult person, you need to learn to question your automatic defensive philosophies, such as “I will not be treated that way; I won’t let you get away with this” and “My reputation is on the line if I fail.” Resisting the trap set by difficult people is easier if you’re aware of your vulnerability to getting hurt and then feeling angry. That tendency is a vestige of Neanderthink, because there was a time when your status was more closely linked to life or death than it is today. Better to check your fight, flight or freeze reactions and refuse to be a part of a duel in which you’re an inadvertent participant. Sure, you need to stand up for yourself, but do so without demanding that you be above criticism at all costs. Remind yourself of your long-range goals: saving time, energy, hassle and maybe even your own hide. Staying Rational When Confronting the Difficult Person If you’re required to respond to an irrational attack, ask the antagonist what exactly he is upset about, in order to show that you are interested in communicating rather than in arguing. The burden of responsibility is now back on the antagonist. After the unreasonable salvo, go ahead and agree with a kernel of truth in the complaint. You’ll overcome your own Neanderthink impulse to jump into the fray by looking for that one small fact about which the critic is correct—and then agreeing with that single point. Your boss calls you a screw-up. Ask, “In what way did I screw up?” If she says, “You just are a screw up,” agree with one discreet example (if it is accurate), but correct her overgeneralization. You can more easily and tactfully defend yourself once the emotional heat has abated. Say your boss says, “Again, you’re totally screwing up.” You can defend without a defensive tone: “It is true that I made a mistake, and I appreciate constructive feedback to minimize errors in the future.” Stand up for yourself by reiterating the specific error, but refuse to be incorrectly labeled a screw-up. Offer to the difficult person your best guess as to what he or she is feeling, and ask for feedback. “It sounds like you’re angry right now, and I’m sorry about that.” This demonstrates a willingness to understand the difficult person’s frustration without blame or defensiveness. Resist the urge to fight to win the argument. Listening and asking questions leads others to their own better conclusions. This process is known as the Socratic method. Although it didn’t ultimately help Socrates, today’s laws are a bit more enlightened—so it might help you. This Article was written by Dr. Nando Pelusi