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Make Sure You Don’t Get Accused Of Racism

Make Sure You Don’t Get Accused Of Racism

Racism or racial discrimination at the workplace can be observed when the company’s behaviour is altered based on race or ethnicity. It is thus experienced or witnessed by employees in different forms such as harassment, indirect and direct discrimination or victimisation. Research indicates that racism is tremendously increasing with almost a third of employees experiencing racism in their distinctive jobs.

Read our article on Discrimination In The Workplace.

Observable Factors That Show Existence Of Racism In The Workplace

Stereotyping

The organisational management must watch out for instances of stereotyping, which can provide a basis for racial discrimination to transpire. Essentially, stereotyping is harmful because it portrays controversial generalisations and can attribute to all staff members of the company and thus cause ignorance. For instance, individuals should be observant to the language used, topics upheld by other employees, and if other members or the management team are making derogatory remarks about specific elements of an individual’s culture and customs.

Experiencing Hostility In The Workplace

Hostility can mostly be experienced through verbal critics. For instance, a black-English woman can be criticised for being aggressive; a Muslim person can be slated for not taking alcohol during social events or an Indian may be mocked based on their accent. Therefore it is essential for the managers within a company to be very observant on these key aspect and discipline accordingly. Often victimised persons in the workplace can be subject to accusations of being out-of-place. Consequently, persons experiencing racism tend to have difficulties in socialising with other members of the firm or getting along in terms of working as a team due to hostility.

Overcritical Aspects Of Racism

This form of racism is experienced when the managers are unfair in criticising the staff. For example, the manager can be observed putting too much pressure on a particular individual or specific group of the same culture. It is a way of practising racial discrimination at the workplace, especially based on their performance. It can significantly demotivate the workers from working because they may lose the confidence in their ability to manage their assigned roles.

Importance Of The Elimination Of Racism In The Workplace

Eliminating racism establishes a culture of integration. It can be achieved through creating an environment that allows for the employees to feel they adequately belong to the society.

It eliminates bad publicity of the company. Other than for ethics reasons, it is important to fight racism in order to build a popular image. Further, racism at work wastes time and money in dealing with tribunal hearings.

Racism in the workplace is affecting a huge number of employees, therefore, limiting their ability to participate in the workplace fully. Eliminating it is of importance for the Government and society, and company management have to play a substantial role in fighting racism in the workplace.

When writing a job ad, we recommend starting with a job template to help ensure discrimination doesn’t creep into your hiring process.

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