While we try to forget our embarrassing past, racial discrimination in the workplace still remains an issue. Even though there are strict laws against racial discrimination in the workplace, many times they fail to protect the victims.
For starters, proving racial discrimination in the workplace is not an easy thing to do. It can be very hard to define a barrier between mild humor and harsh racist jokes in the workplace.
Harmful effects of racial discrimination in the workplace:
- Stressed employees.
- Harassment claims.
- High work pressure.
- Lack of manager trust in organization.
- High employee turnover.
- High workplace absenteeism.
- Low employee productivity.
Racism in the workplace can take many different forms and some can be more subtle than others. Given below are some signs of racial discrimination in the workplace:
- Holding down promotions for racial minorities.
- Harsh racist comments in the workplace.
- Sharing of racist pictures and memes.
- Racial segregation in sitting arrangements.
- Not hiring people from racial minorities.
Once you are certain of racial discrimination in the workplace, the next step is to know how to deal with it. All the stories of racial discrimination in the workplace end badly. Your employees wouldn’t know the first thing about how to respond to racist comments at work. They always end up acting in a justified, but unprofessional capacity. In other cases, they just leave the organization without taking any action. You as a manager need to step in and help them out.
How to prevent racial discrimination in the workplace
- Educate your employees on the benefits of racial diversity.
- Be on the lookout for racism in the workplace.
- Hire people from different races to maintain diversity.
- Implement YourSafeHub in your organization for employee grievance management and reporting purposes. It’s a secure and anonymous communication channel that protects your employees with the power of anonymity.
