Keeping Unconscious Bias Out of the Workplace

On January 11, 2022   /   Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Leadership, Post Pandemic Return to Work   /   Leave a comment
Keeping Unconscious Bias Out of the Workplace

Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, essentially is subconscious prejudices based on stereotypes or attitudes developed through upbringing, environment, and experiences.  Several types of unconscious bias exist in the workplace and in society such as affinity bias, beauty bias, racial bias, and gender bias.

A common prejudice, affinity bias, causes a person to closely identify with others who possess attributes similar to themselves.  For example, perhaps you have developed a friendship with a colleague who graduated from the same college as you.  Because of this relationship, they are the only person you consider to head up a new project instead of contemplating the qualifications of other candidates who may have equal qualifications.   This is a sign of what could be considered affinity bias.  

Beauty bias is when you subconsciously form certain beliefs or attitudes about people based on their physical attractiveness.  Let’s say a coworker:

  • Doesn’t have the “right color hair” or hairstyle
  • Doesn’t wear “the right makeup”
  • Doesn’t wear the “right designer clothing labels”
  • Wears casual attire everyday
  • Has a “different type of smile”
  • Doesn’t get professional manicures “on a regular basis”

In the instances listed above, subconsciously, one may think the coworker is unqualified to lead an important project because the results of their work might be unprofessional, unrefined, incomplete, and delayed.

Unconscious bias can lead to micro-aggressions in the workplace and mutate into harassment and/or racism.  It occurs during the hiring process as well as promotion reviews.  That said, employers can actively work to eliminate implicit bias.

Educating employees on the topic is an excellent start.  According to the Harvard Business Review, employee training should include the following practices:

  1. Empower employees to change.  Provide employees with tools/best practices to reframe their thinking in order to break stereotypes.
  2. Create empathy by providing opportunities to see and respect different perspectives.
  3. Encourage diverse interaction by nurturing curiosity in team projects.

Training should be accompanied by policies, procedures, and a corporate philosophy that talk about its harmful effects on clients, employees, vendors, visitors, and the company as a whole.  

Let us know your thoughts on reducing implicit bias in the workplace in the comments below.  

Go out there and make it a great day!

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Psychological Safety at Work

On December 15, 2021   /   Back to Work, Cancel Culture, Emotional Intelligence   /   Leave a comment
Psychological Safety at Work

Do your employees feel comfortable to share their ideas and concerns, or raise questions?  If you’re unable to answer that question with a confident and resounding “Yes!”, you may want to take a look at the level of psychological safety your workplace offers. 

According to Forbes, psychological safety at work is “a shared belief held by members of a company, department or team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”  Simply said, if employees feel psychologically safe at work, they feel free to express their genuine thoughts and opinions without fear of rejection, embarrassment, or reprisal.

Psychologically safe workplaces are important because they foster innovation, increase productivity and improve retention. Employees are more likely to share unique ideas if they feel safe to do so. If mistakes occur, they can be treated as a learning opportunity; unlike employees in psychologically unsafe workspaces where mistakes may be hidden due to job security concerns.  Not surprising, turnover is reduced because great teams flourish in psychologically safe work environments.  Employees want to work where they’re valued. Ultimately, being part of a great work environment is beneficial to the company, its consumers, and the community.

Improving psychological safety in the workplace requires dedication and must be a priority to management.  Begin by observing your team’s communication style. How are differing opinions handled? Ensure all ideas are heard by reassuring the team that honest feedback is welcomed.  Be sure to thank team members for their contributions.

Celebrate diverse thinking and show respect for all opinions.  Model how to provide constructive criticism without belittling others.

What steps are you taking to improve psychological safety in your workplace? Let us know in the comments below and remember…make it a great day!

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College Students: What You Should Know When Re-entering the Workplace

On May 19, 2021   /   College Students, Emotional Intelligence   /   Leave a comment
College Students: What You Should Know When Re-entering the Workplace

If you’ve been following our blog, you know we’ve devoted considerable attention to Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ for Emotional Quotient) over the last few months.  

Emotional intelligence refers to a person’s ability to understand and articulate his/her own feelings as well as the feelings of others.  Those with high EQ have good self-regulation skills and understand how to empathize with the challenges that other people face.

As the world slowly returns to in-person workplace employment and face-to-face meetings, activities, and events, we want to help working college students feel confident about advocating for their own needs and how to understand complicated social and workplace scenarios.

As college students, you have many academic and extracurricular demands on you all of the time.  That said, your busy stressful academic/work-life should not lead to the neglect of your emotional well-being.

Daniel Goleman’s ground-breaking work in the 1990s explained the importance of EQ and defined its framework in terms of these five components:

  1. Self-awareness
  2. Self-regulation
  3. Motivation
  4. Empathy
  5. Social skills

Take an emotional intelligence test to help you reach your EQ goals.  Here’s a self-awareness exercise that you can conduct in your private time:

Set an alarm for various points during the day.  When the alarm goes off, stop what you’re doing and take an introspective look at how you’re feeling emotionally.  Do you feel anxious about an upcoming exam?  Do you feel that your current  status of life is lacking?   Are you comparing your circumstances to someone else’s?  Your anxiety may show up as physical irritation, a headache, or a sense of insecurity.  Perhaps you noticed you’ve been distracted from your academic or work assignments.

Meditation helps to improve your intuition and is an effective stress management tool.

Let us know in the comments section of this post if you took an introspective EQ test and if you like.  Above all, make it a great day!

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High Schoolers: An Important Note About Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

On April 21, 2021   /   Emotional Intelligence, Generation Z, High School Students   /   Leave a comment
High Schoolers: An Important Note About Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

As a high school student, you may be experiencing tremendous pressures to succeed…in academics, community activities, social activities, and more.  All of these factors culminate into the idea of becoming a successful adult with accountability.  While it is considered unfair by many, it is a fact that one of the measurements of successful adulthood is earning power in the workforce.

According to Workforce.com, highly emotionally intelligent individuals earn an average of $29,000 more per year than those who seemingly lack a socially acceptable degree of emotional intelligence (EQ).  Here are a couple of reasons they earn more:

1) They tend to manage their emotions with a level of grace and control in personal and professional circumstances.  Let’s be honest.  Emotional outbursts are frowned upon in most school and professional settings–it reflects a lack of self-control.  Using self-awareness and self-management, emotionally intelligent individuals are able to manage their emotions and thus project an image of stability and maturity. 

2) Given the fact that they understand how to manage self-control, they tend to be effective communicators.  They are thought leaders who don’t mind casting vulnerabilities aside.  They fearlessly share intriguing ideas with peers, mentors, teachers, and parents.  They successfully lead old, young, men, and women to greater heights and brighter paths.  

If you have the ability to put others at ease, it speaks volumes about your ability to inspire trust and to cultivate relationships.  These are but a couple of examples of what a respected and admired leader look like.  Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a powerful component of success.  Use it wisely.

Go forth and make it a great day !!

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5 Facts High Schoolers Should Know About Email Etiquette

On March 10, 2021   /   Building Trust, Emotional Intelligence, Helping Youth, High School Students, How to Communicate With Customers   /   Leave a comment
5 Facts High Schoolers Should Know About Email Etiquette

Photo Courtesy of Pixaby

More than ever, companies are experimenting with new communication modalities. That said, as employees, especially Generation Z, are accustomed to communicating in real-time collaborative environments similar to those found within social media.  Applications such as Yammer and Slack use social technologies to allow employees to share information internally.  However, despite the emergence of new workplace communication applications email still reigns supreme.  A survey conducted by the Public Relations Society of America found that 95% of companies use email as their primary mode of internal communication.

Here are five rules to live by:

  1. Use “Reply all” thoughtfully. Consider whether everyone on the list will benefit from your response.  Take time to edit the recipient list to avoid  inundating people with emails that don’t pertain to them.  Nothing eats more time than reading unnecessary emails (not to mention the aggravation of it all).
  2. Check your tone.  Never compose an email when you’re upset because it’s too easy to include harsh words and phraseology that you will likely regret later.  Also, brevity can be a friend or foe…a sent message can be misconstrued as abrupt or not taken seriously enough.  Before sending, put yourself in the recipient’s position and read your message aloud.  Does it convey what you intended?   Remember to include “please” and “thank you”.  They are courtesies that will take you miles with the reader.
  3. Avoid fancy fonts.  Use easy to read fonts such as Arial, or Times New Roman.  It’s best to use size 11 or 12 point types.
  4. To prevent accidentally sending an incomplete email, insert the recipient address(es) just before you’re ready to send the message.  That way you will catch typos and missing attachments.
  5. Every communication is not email compatible.  If you require a quick response, make a phone call.  Also, keep in mind that sensitive subjects such as job performance may be best suited for a face-to-face conversation.

When it’s all said and done, email is still an effective mode of communication and we must understand how to manage its usefulness and power.  Young new hires should review this short video and add it to their Soft Skills arsenal.

For more information about email and telephone etiquette,  type “business etiquette” in the blog search box on our website, www.elite-customer.com.

And now…go out there and make it a great day !!

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