Every person has their own story. You will never find or work with another human being with the exact same values, culture, religion, ethnicity, or background as you.
The world has expanded and exploded into hundreds of thousands of different cultures and identities that shape people’s lives.
As colleagues, and human beings in general, it is our responsibility to accept that other people experience life differently than we do.
We work and live in a world where cultures collide every day. We aren’t just working with our neighbors anymore, we are working alongside others from various parts of the world and have international leaders leading teams together!
However, we are there to do a job and every person in the workplace is equal and valued.
If cultural insensitivity exists, (ignorance of other cultures or even refusing to accept that others are different) this can put a damper on productivity, communication, teamwork, and success.
That is something we DON’T want happening in the workplace.
Let’s discuss a few ways to improve cultural sensitivity at work and improve your overall workplace environment!
Table of Contents
Allow For Discussion
The best way to know about your team and the people you work with every day is to allow for discussion of backgrounds and cultures!
People can’t accept what they don’t know even exists! Sometimes it just takes a little learning about each other to eliminate any cultural misunderstandings that may be present.
Allow your team to discuss their differences in an open and safe environment so others can learn about each other.
If people of various cultures, backgrounds or religions are open to it, they can answer (appropriate) questions from their coworkers that directly relate to the work environment!
You’ll quickly notice that the environment shifts and a feeling of clarity, acceptance, and communication flows through the room.
Celebrate ALL
Here in the U.S. we follow Christian holidays, National holidays, and other important days to dictate our work schedules. Well in today’s modern world, that doesn’t work for everyone. People with different cultures, religions, and ethnicities celebrate holidays meaningful to them, and those don’t always correlate to the same days we take off every year.
Allow for the acknowledgment of all celebrations and holidays and open the door for your team to choose the holidays they have off.
This is actually beneficial for your business because some may not celebrate the same holiday and choose to work that day. That means you’ll have someone in the office to catch anything that might come up!
Be Mindful Of The Time
If you are headquartered in the U.S. and have employees based in Ireland, Mexico, India, or anywhere else outside of the U.S. time zones, you must be aware of different work times for your employees
Some of your staff may be working exactly opposite of your schedule because that is when they have normal operating hours in their country.
There are some who choose to adapt to whatever hours the company holds, but allowing your employees to work when they are most available and comfortable can go a long way!
Team meetings and other important meetings can be segmented into different times to help everyone make it and not be disrupted during off hours.
Continued Learning
Cultural sensitivity training and policies can help people identify when they may be doing something that is deemed inappropriate. Jokes, sarcasm and other statements made to a person might seem harmless at first, but deep down it breeds ignorance and insensitivity.
If those actions continue it can become worse and worse until a person or people on the team feel uncomfortable, unwelcome and unwanted. This is NOT something you want to happen.
Everyone has a place and through cultural sensitivity training and executive coaching your staff can learn:
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Inquisitiveness/curiosity
- Managing conflict
- Building trust
- Authentic communication
And much more.
Want To Improve Cultural Sensitivity At Work? Work With MVision Consulting Today!
It’s time to bridge the gap between your team and bring everyone together in an equal and comfortable way!
All your employees should feel as valued as the others no matter what their religion, culture, or ethnicity.
Dr. Marc Camras, owner and founder of MVision Consulting has worked with teams from all over the world in terms of leadership, diversity, strategic thinking, and more.
If you’re interested in learning more about what MVision Consulting can do to help your team thrive and level up its mission to succeed, schedule a discovery call today!