Diversity In The Workplace - Blog #6 Due Wed May 29nd by midnight
Studies show that 52% of people perfer to work with people like themselves. This begs the question, "What about diversity in the workplace?" Since most of us cannot choose who we will have to communicate with at work, how do we navigate through the complexities of a multicultural workplace? The top 4 diversity issues that cause problems are:
1. Language Differences
2. Differences in Values and Etiquette
3. Tone of voice
4. "Clustering" (hanging out with others from similar backgrounds)
Post an example of how a difference in one of these areas has caused a misunderstanding due to diversity. Offer some suggestions on how you think communication between people from diverse backgrounds can relate better to each other.
When I was in high school, I worked at a violin shop owned by a strict, traditional Persian immigrant. He expected a lot out of his employees, however because English is not his first language, he often had a hard time communicating exactly what he wanted us to do. There was one time when he hired a young Chinese man who spoke no English, and we had to rely completely on nonverbal communication to explain how to clean and repair the instruments. It was difficult at first, but I think that we all learned better communication skills as a result of having such high diversity in a small shop (there was also a Hispanic, a Jewish guy, a few Mormons, a Jehova's Witness, and a native Italian). We all gained a better understanding and respect for each other's cultures. Even though every person was very unique and different from everyone else, we all got along very well and I got a lot of insight into different cultural beliefs and practices.
ReplyDeleteI have encountered the problem of etiquette the most during my lifetime. Language barriers and tone of voice is something that I have encountered but it’s the least of what I have seen. Having been in the military for so long and seen all walks of life and the diversity of cultures both from being overseas and from the melting pot that we are here as a nation, I can say I have pretty much seen everything and experienced everything when it comes to diversity in the workplace. The hardest thing to accept though in my opinion is bad etiquette. I won’t attach it to values because values are mostly things kept within and something that unless you purge a lot you get to find out. Besides, in my opinion it’s something that shouldn’t be judged. However, etiquette…well, when you have people who have no manners, are rude, or do not have the common sense to show the proper way of doing things it causes a problem. In today’s society I would say that the majority of people, especially people who are educated enough to hold a job know what right etiquette is. I have experienced various situations of lack of etiquette but the one thing that stand out the most to me is those people in the workplace who think its ok to pass gas as if they were in the privacy of their own restroom. I have gotten into so many arguments because of this. I find it rude and disrespectful. There’s no reason why I need to smell someone’s bodily gas. When I was an instructor, it never failed that one trainee thought he was at home and would pass gas in the middle of class or during a briefing. When that would happen I would make an example of the trainee by doing some “motivational” exercises and if I really wanted the trainee to pay for his lack of etiquette I would have the other 59 trainees pay for his rudeness by having them do “motivational” exercises. That one worked better. Piss off many and etiquette is learned quickly. It was a guaranteed system and wouldn’t happen again for the rest of training with that flight.
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ReplyDeleteI use to work at work at this place that had many types of different races and both genders. I saw how language effected many people in need of having help with their work tasks. Also how it caused some issues on not knowing if the person was upset cause their tone in their language was high or low and the person it was towards took it as a threat or not. Going to break and ordering some food, or on pay days how everyone always rushed to get the checks first by being sometimes rude with their manners caused some who didn't speak english as good as the next person frustration and in a way made them feel not wanted. Language is very strong to mot. It is one of the highest ways to communicate to one another. Without good tones we wouldn't know it the task at hand was an emergency or simply a minor thing that can wait to be done when the time was right. If confusion is blocking someones knowledge in another's wants or needs. And that person speaks something other then english. It can and probably will cause a issue between the two. Could even effect others just as well who sees the issue and feels too that the person came out on a wrong way of tone or aggressive. I think in all personally that knowing how to communicate better in all aspects would help anyone who has to work in areas dealing with this and other ways of communication.
ReplyDeleteThe top 4 diversity issues that cause problems are: Language Differences, Differences in Values and Etiquette, Tone of voice, and "Clustering" (hanging out with others from similar backgrounds. i personally have encountered the problem of etiquette the most during my lifetime. i am not that familuar with Language barriers. clustering and tone of voice mainly because i have not encountered them too often. i have been fortuante to work in environments where langage was not an issue mainly due to the environmnet was profomately cacasain. the people surrounding me mainly all spoke engllish as their first langhuage. clustering to me might have been present i think think it is in a slight bit anywhere you are even in thw class room. i sat by people i thought looked simular or were women that looked like they would maybe be into the same things i am such as clothing choices being simular. but clustering is not that much of a concern to me. i am professional and respectful. which brings me to the person work etiquette being the most important of these. i worked at this restaurant in Berghiem, tx and in particular the people their were extremely drama filled and always wanting a confortation for every single little thing. this giirl i worked with sarah she absultely hated me all over that this guy there showed interest in me and i didnt throw myself at him infront our bosses fellow coworkers and especially in front of customers. but she did every chance she got. plus even when he asked if she would smoke with him in the back (not cigerettes) i swear every person that workeed there did as well, but when he asked me one time i said no and he responded with : i figured yuo wouldnt you are not that kind of person, your better than that." i found that to be one of my most respectable rememberable complimnets i have recievved. she hated that by me being honorable and following the rules and having proper respectable work etiquette actually was more attractive than any one acting like a weak poor etiquette tramp. i didnt particualrly care if he liked me or not, it wasnt the point but i was there to do a job and make money through school not to flirt and fall in to drama. it is important to be someone of honor and ive always been told you can tell a lot about a person through their hand shake and the way they carry themselves and present themselves to others. well that is what gets someone to come out ahead others in the end.
ReplyDeleteMy first year working at the pool that I lifeguard at, I was exposed for the first time to what different tones come off as while in a workplace. One of the head lifeguards would always have a very unpleasant tone whenever she talked to me or my coworkers, making her come off as being very rude and shut off. Being new there, I took her tone personally, and started feeling like she was deliberately talking to me like that simply because she didn't like me working there. It took about three weeks before I said something about it during one of our breaks, and she had told me that she wasn't aware of her tone at all. Apparently, with the way that she was brought up, she had developed that way of talking, not even aware of how it came off to others around her. This will be my third year at the pool, and ever since clearing things up, I've found that her tone doesn't even phase me anymore. I guess it was just hard going into a work place and having someone naturally talk to me in a tone where when growing up, was always taught to me to be negative. The differences in our upbringing and background affected us negatively at first, until we learned more about different upbringings, and learned to appreciate and learn from it.
ReplyDeleteI lived my homeland 15 years ago. I'm not sure if what I'm going to describe had any changes over there during these years.
ReplyDeleteIn the US the dress code for the office employees is very streaked, I’d say. Skirt has to cover your knees and no cleavage. In other words you have to look professionally. In Europe and especially former USSR it’s a totally different story if business isn’t intentional. You can wear a mini skirt and cleavage is welcome. Everything must underline your best “qualities.” You have to sell yourself as high as possible. Nobody really thinks why women are doing it. I think because middle class is very thin there. The secretariat is usually picket from lower then middle class. In order to make more money and to become closer to the top, very often, you have to slip with your boss. I’ve never worked in the office when I lived there, but this is a stereotype. I started to work in the US as a cashier on the military base, not even in the office. In about a month a manager is approached me and said: “One of our customers complained that you are not dressed professionally.” I couldn't understand why, because, I was wearing almost a maxi skirt and a top with long sleeves. No cleavage, but … everything was very tight. Now, I think, I would refer to some sort of discrimination, but back then I really couldn’t put 2 sentences together fast enough. So, I lost the battle.
I think on the one hand professional look is good; on the other hand life becomes boring☺
BTW, I totally agree with Carlos.
While I have definitely encountered problems in a workplace due to differences in values and etiquette, tone of voice and “clustering”, the diversity issue that has caused the most problems for me personally would be language differences. We live in a country where English is not always someone’s first language due to the fact that there are so many different cultures and races here. This can often cause issues when trying to understand and communicate effectively between both parties within a workplace. An experience where I had to overcome the diversity issue of language differences in a workplace was when I worked at my church as a college intern in the children’s department last summer. One of the things I had to do in that position was teach a class of kids during the week of Vacation Bible School. The other teacher was the mother of one of the kids in the class and she had an accent and wasn’t as familiar with English. I often had a tough time understanding her and her understanding me, whether it be because of her accent or because of the difference in our primary languages. It often lead to some confusing conversations. Aside from this, we made it through the week of VBS without any huge problems and the kids had fun too.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have not had much experience in the work field due to focusing full time on my education, but the job I had before was working part-time at Valero as a baker’s assistant and cashier. Luckily, I have not had trouble with language barrier since my co-workers spoke English and at times Spanish, which was okay because I understood what they were saying. However, there were problems with clustering and etiquette. Most of my co-workers were much older and I couldn’t connect with them as well as they connected with each other, but I still maintained professionalism and worked together with them to get the job done. During their shifts, they would always complain and trash talk the store manager using profane language in front of customers and the cameras, which I believe was disrespectful and bad etiquette not only to the customers but the manager. During the time I worked at Valero, there were constantly new employees quitting because they didn’t want to do their job. I remember a particular incident while I was working my shift while the manager was there, and my co-worker was asked by the manager to dust the shelves and mop the floor. He shouted, “F@#k this!,” took of his work shirt, grabbed a soda, and stood in line with the customers leaving the register unmanned during a rush hour, quitting on the spot. Both instances were very disrespectful and exemplified a lack of etiquette and a use of the wrong tone of voice and language.
ReplyDeleteWorking at dining facility with a manger of a different language and the manger tells you to prepare a dish in the native tongue. All the co-workers of the same background understand what needs to be done and starts to work the workers that are of a different background are confused and clarification on what is expected of them. In order to resolve this issue the manger should speak in the dominant language of the country or state they are in. the manger should also try to explain to the majority and minority in their native tongue if possible. Unfortunately no matter how hard the manger tries to relay his message it can still be misconstrued due to the language barrier. Language barriers are not only verbal they can be email and hand written. Any form of communication can have language barrier issues. I think it is important in today’s society for us to try to learn more than one language since the United States has become so diverse.
ReplyDeleteWorking in a place with diversity can not only be a challenge, it can also be a benefit towards someone’s experience. Working at my dads store, is multicultural. My dad, “being the old boss”, has the old school way of doing work. He is straight to the point and wants a job done. His tone of voice is a serious majority of the time. We get different kinds of people in the store every day. I took “formal” spanish in high school but it wasn’t any help towards my work place. The employees, including myself, are all different from each other. We all have different interests and hobbies, however we do get along at work. Working at a jewelry store, the employees have different attitudes. When one employee answers the phone, I can tell she has no patients. She seems irritated when a customer is asking too many questions. Another employee always is ecstatic at our workplace. He loves his job and is experienced in every aspect of it, just like my father. They are like that because they have been doing it so long. I am still a newbie and I have a lot of business and spanish to learn.
ReplyDeleteI worked at a Valero about a year ago and I believe that some employees whom i worked with also had lack of etiquette. I've never really experienced any of the other diversity issues mentioned, in the work place. There was one lady in particular who stood out the most, which lacked etiquette because everyone knew her as the lady who slept with many of the customers. I guess the Valero wh***. She would also bring her 3 daughters to work with her and they would be running around screaming in the store and right in front of the customers she would be yelling at them to stop running and to be quiet. She would even leave during her shift and leave the person who she was working with there by themselves and practically the entire time she would be outside on her phone and smoking her cigarettes. The only time she would go in and help is when she saw my line very long. I experienced this with her plenty of times. The manager knew about this but he never did anything about it. He also was not the best manager either. The area manager there to that particular Valero would never check the videos to see if everyone did their jobs right, so that's why she always got away with the things she was doing. Until we got a new area manager was when things turned around because she was a very strict woman. This woman saw what this lady was doing by watching the videos because she would constantly check them to see if everyone did their jobs right. By her watching the videos she saw what she was doing and she would always get after her and write her up. One day the area manager showed up at the store, she always showed up unannounced, but that day she saw that I had a very long line and went and told her something and the lady yelled at the area manager, arguing with her. A while after that incident she ended up quitting. Going through that is what made me want to quit. I ended up leaving that job after they hired new employees and they seriously were the worst and i did not want to take that any longer. I did my job the right way and i was the one who had to deal with these employees who would rather slack than do their job.
ReplyDeleteI've only had one job but I have definitely seen some of those on the list at the workplace! I'm still at my current job and have been there for over a year and I still continue to see those things sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first got hired the ones that I noticed were clustering,and differences in values and etiquette.
I noticed these because a lot of my co workers were older than me I was one of the youngest I was 18 at the time so it was a bit difficult for me to connect with some of the people there but obviously I was professional since it was work and not a social place necessarily.
I definitely think differences in values and etiquette can create a problem, if you don't have the same goals at work and the same work ethic as someone else, it can definitely do damage at work. I work in the women's department at my job so if I was to get stuck with someone who has a terrible work ethic (which I have been stuck with) it can be VERY difficult to get the job done. In that department you HAVE to work as a TEAM to get everything done so you definitely DO need to get along with whoever you're working with. There's been times where I've worked with people who were nice as people, but when it came to actual working it would be a nightmare for me. I'm a very quick and diligent person so if someone can't keep up with me it really throws me off. I don't like getting told twice or even more than that to do something especially if it comes to my job, I feel embarrassed if someone tells me more than once! There would be people who I've worked with that they really don't care with would blow my mind in disbelief because I would feel like i'm in this alone. So I think different values and etiquette is one of the most important things that can affect work.
Although there are 4 diversity issues the one I have noticed the most is clustering due to he fact that I am a social person and I enjoy interacting with all different kinds of people, cultures, and interest. When clustering occurs it prevents me from associating with others because it's as if they place a barrier, with others they are comfortable or can associate with and keep you out. For example while in the Navy this happened a lot with people from the Philippines, they tended to keep in there own crew and this included the higher ranking personal as well. They were not the type to assist you, have your back, or quick to throw you under the bus in any situation if you were not Philippino which in the Navy is crucial for a fellow sailor to look out for one another; it made the work etiquette not a suitable environment to work or associate in. The few Philippino's that were not in the "Philippino Mafia" as we would call it and were actually approachable would tell me how similar our cultures and beliefs were primarily because of or Spaniard decadents. Which made me think that if others just took the time to get to know each other they may get a big surprise as to how much more you may have in common than you think with others. This is why I understand that if you take the time not to judge others, hear them out and listen with an open mind you may learn something about yourself that you had no idea about or even better yet gain an interest in an issue that you were not aware of. There are so many people in the world that you can learn for, you just have to give that person and yourself the opportunity to do so.
ReplyDeleteFor me the language difference has to the biggest issue. At carmax there are a couple of people that you can tell that english was not their first language. So at times it is really hard to understand them. We use radios a lot at work to communicate to each other and the people that don't speak english so well are really hard to understand. For example, there was this guy calling on the radio that he can not find the car he looking for and his accent was so strong that nobody could understand what he was saying. We were just looking around at each other like what the heck is he saying? You could tell that he was getting frustrated since we couldn't understand him. And finally a different voice came on the radio telling us what car he was looking for. That language difference is the hardest one for me while at work just do the fact that we are always talking on the radios, but with this language difference it does make it harder for us to communicate at work to each other.
ReplyDeleteSince English is my second language, I completely understand what it’s like to have to try and communicate with someone who doesn’t speak your language. When I was younger, I was placed in English as a Second Language classes since I just couldn’t communicate with my teacher or my peers. I could understand them (to a point), but I couldn't actually pronounce any English words correctly, to the point where you couldn’t even guess at what I wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that being in ESL made it easier for me to make friends, since we all were going through the same thing, but have any of you ever tried speaking to someone with absolutely no common ground? It’s really hard to play games when your classmates only speak Chinese and French and understand just as little English as you do.
A somewhat more recent example was when I joined the American Sign Language club in middle school. Just a month after I joined, one of my deaf classmates who knew I was in the club came up to me and tried to communicate with me in sign language. With only 3 or 4 meetings under my belt, I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. Long story short, we basically played charades until one of the teachers supervising us took pity on me and grab an interpreter.
Thinking back on the memory, I’m actually amazed at how good we were at communicating with each other completely nonverbally.
I've come across a lot of people who get really frustrated and even angry when people can’t speak English correctly. I think that if we learned how to be patient and more understanding towards the difficulty of essentially learning and completely new culture, we can eventually learn how to communicate with each other easier- communication isn't solely based around words.
I believe that our geolocation greatly increases the number of factors that act as communication barriers with our piers, specifically cultural barriers, such as: language, religion, traditions, etc. In addition to America's worldwide reputation as the "land of opportunity', our near proximity to Mexico, as well as its neighboring countries, allow our city, state, and country to become a large "melting pot" of races, history, and culture. Moreover, the introduction of new languages and customs into our society forces proper and equal incorporation of their value system into the workplace, often creating problems of miscommunication in the work place. Simple gestures, phrases, or specific words may trigger an undesired response from a co-worker, or what's more, prevent the development of a proper channel of communication between the boss and his/her employees. Some barriers appear to be insignificant, and even inexistent; for example, in the Spanish language one may refer to a person as "tu" (you, informal) or "usted," (you, formal) usually used when speaking to a superior or an elder. Though it may seem insignificant to many people, it is a big barrier to overcome when communicating in the English language; I personally had a difficulty addressing my teachers when I began speaking English because I believed that I was addressing them out of disrespect, rather than appreciation and admiration. Additionally, I believe that, unintentionally, our society tends to gather in micro-societies determined by race, color, race, or overall similarities; thus, even with the implementation of programs like "affirmative action," whose purpose is to incorporate various races into the work force, populations would still be segregated by color or race. Take a high school cafeteria as an example: though people of all races and backgrounds attend the school, the people will automatically segregate themselves into smaller sub-groups determinism by similarities-those who play sports, those from the same country, those with the same interests/hobbies, etc. The most viable solution regarding the proper development of intercultural relationships lies within the individual mindset; that is, once we consider ourself to be part of a greater picture whom are existent for the common good of society, rather than individuals forming part of a sub-cultural group, we will be able to overlook our differences and, thus, our barriers, which will in turn allow us to enhance our communication with others.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, awareness and concern for other people's cultural and social barriers may facilitate communication between culturally diverse individuals.
DeleteOf course this can be relating to the military because of the multi national cultures together. Yes we were all trained to be an soldier’s but we still are very different from each other in the ways that we were brought up in our own culture. When I became am infantry man and got to my unit we had to get together on a daily basis and be ok with each other no matter what, I had a soldier under me that was from some place in thailand and he always would say things wrong well in a soft voice or such things when he really needed to speak up and talk or yell. This caused a big problem for our squads because of are mission was a firing squad so we needed to talk loud all the time. I was sitting with him one day and we were talking about home and he was still talking really quiet till we talked about are grandfather. His eyes got every big and his facial expressions could have said a thousand words they sure would have. I then told him why do you not talk like this when were out on patrol or something like this and he than explained to me that if they are not in a manger spot or something of such thing and that if its not a person age then they talk low and continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I really think that two different diverse people can really get to no what the other is trying to say is by maybe doing what it together and keep on doing the same thing for memory skills. I think when speaking a certain way like my fiancé and I talk to each other cultures would wood be shocked because of our main values and the tone we speak with are facial expression.
One of the biggest issues I tend to see with the diversity of communication with people is the Tone of Voice. This is so easily misinterpreted when coming in contact with individuals that may be of a different background and therefore obtain an accent of some sort, or even perhaps just have a different type of attitude than you. More often than not, people don’t mean to express disrespect or attitude to others but by their tone of voice it may come off that way. Unless you have established a relationship or one on one known basis with that person then you may not be able to determine whether or not they are being rude or polite or if there were any ill motives or intent behind their tone of voice. This is usually followed and further explained through their nonverbal and body language actions. In order to continue with the flow of things, you must be able to adapt to these various diversities with multiple kinds of people you’ll come into contact with, have an open mind and try not to be so critical and judgmental.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest issues I tend to see with the diversity of communication with people is the Tone of Voice. This is so easily misinterpreted when coming in contact with individuals that may be of a different background and therefore obtain an accent of some sort, or even perhaps just have a different type of attitude than you. More often than not, people don’t mean to express disrespect or attitude to others but by their tone of voice it may come off that way. Unless you have established a relationship or one on one known basis with that person then you may not be able to determine whether or not they are being rude or polite or if there were any ill motives or intent behind their tone of voice. This is usually followed and further explained through their nonverbal and body language actions. In order to continue with the flow of things, you must be able to adapt to these various diversities with multiple kinds of people you’ll come into contact with, have an open mind and try not to be so critical and judgmental.
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ReplyDeleteConsidering the differences of culture among coworkers, it is normals for people to come across disagreements with coworkers. People are not created to think exactly the same, but its important to develop the adequate skills and mindset to work with other people who don't share the same values and etiquette. I have encountered several problems with people due to their arrogant mind set.I understand people grow up with different values, but its important to treat everyone with respect. Considering, my job requires me to share equal power as a supervisor with another person, sometimes the difference in values and etiquette create disagreements. In my case , the other supervisor believes he is in control of everything and everyone ,considering we both share equal power. It has become a problem due to the lack of respect towards me and the unwillingness to work as a team.Although diffeince in values and etiquette is the cause of problems in my workplace, I believe all four issues can contribute to differences in your workplace.
One of my coworkers was very open about herself, she liked to tell people about her weekends, her boyfriends and so on, but the problem was that she’d tell customers theses things too. I didn’t particularly get along with her because I was taught to not give everything away when you first meet someone, leave some of your self a mystery; also there are different ways to act around certain people and in different situations. For instance you may act really bubbly at home and tell your friends and family about everything you felt or did when you went to a party, but you wouldn’t tell that to a complete stranger when your at work. Unfortunately the difference between our values caused her to think that I didn’t like her, which caused her to retaliate by not cooperating when we worked together. In the end though I did learn that even if you don’t agree with how people conduct themselves, you should still try to find a middle ground, especially if they work with you because that miscommunication could cause problems.
ReplyDeleteThe job where I’m currently employed at is a pretty diverse environment, part of the reason being that we’re such a fast paced, high energy place with late hours that require a lot of help. When I first started working there a year ago, I had this small worry in the back of my mind that I wouldn’t get along or fit in with any of my coworkers; as trivial as it sounds I suppose it can be a pretty common worry for anyone to have especially if it is their first real job like it was for me. The diversity of my workplace can be seen as both positive and negative, although sometimes it seems to lean more towards one or the other, especially if it’s a stressful busy weekend night and something as small as bad etiquette can set off a trigger. Because there’s such a wide range of varying personalities, races, and walks of life between my coworkers, it helps keep things interesting and I generally think it’s easy for most of us to get along, but it’s inevitable that the differences can also sometimes bring drama, cattiness and gossip as well. However, I find that one of the main problems seem to be between the managers and us. The relationship between us as coworkers and the managers can be seen as more of a friendly, buddy buddy one but many of my coworkers still sometimes rave on about how much they dislike some particular manager due to their differences and certain tones of voice that they interpret as insulting and condescending.
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