Did you know that the human brain receives approximately 11 million pieces of information every second? Since our brains can only consciously process about 40 pieces of information, it’s in our nature to rely on automatic thinking and mental shortcuts, which are built upon our previous experiences. While these shortcuts save us time and energy, they can also lead to unconscious biases and prejudices that can profoundly impact workplaces.
Bias in the workplace refers to forming opinions about others without sufficient information, influenced by stereotypes, previous experiences, and gut instincts. They can occur in every aspect of the company, from the selection and hiring process to the management.
Hiring process: For example, if an employer or HR sees a gap in a candidate’s employment history, they may assume that the person is unwilling to find work. In some cases, this may be true, but it may be that the candidate had a health problem or some other personal issue. This is an Attribution bias, which can lead to wrong selection and passing over quality candidates.
Decision-making process: Making decisions can be affected by Conformity bias, which is the pressure we feel to conform to the norms and values of the groups we belong to. Employees might align their opinions with the majority or superiors, stifling creativity and innovation.
Promotion: For example, a manager does not make the promotion decision based on objective criteria such as employee performance, but based on his bias towards certain people e.g., he promotes the person he likes more because they have the same hobby. This is an example of Affinity Bias, which makes it difficult to see the potential in someone or to provide the same benefits to someone whose traits or values do not align with our own. When promotions rely on subjective factors like personal preferences, hardworking employees may feel unmotivated, undervalued, and discriminated against.
These are just a few examples but many biases take place in the workplace.
How Biases Affect The Workplace?
39% of respondents said they experience bias frequently, at least once a month, and 68% said that witnessing or experiencing bias harmed their productivity. A study evaluated 3,570 respondents found that of those who reported experiencing workplace biases, 33% feel alienated, 34% withhold ideas and solutions, and 80% would not refer people to their employer. Biases in the workplace can have many negative consequences such as employee dissatisfaction, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and turnover, homogeneity of people and ideas, unfair treatment of employees, financial losses, mobbing, and legal problems.
Tips for addressing Biases in your Workplace
Although biases often go unnoticed, their negative impact on hiring, decision-making, and employee advancement should not be ignored. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid biases influencing decision-making and behavior in the workplace. Here are some tips:
- Awareness
In the words of Thomas Carlyle, “The greatest of all mistakes is to become unaware of one.” By becoming aware of unconscious biases, companies are halfway to creating a fair and positive work environment.
- Learning Culture
Provide accessible information about biases (you can create your own mini handbook, web page, or blog about workplace biases). Regular group discussions can facilitate learning from one another’s experiences. Focus on a culture of learning rather than blaming!
- Unconscious Bias Training
Engage professionals to help identify and combat biases. The third part is more objective and can help your managers and employees feel less defensive and more receptive to change. You may also incorporate bias training into an onboarding process to make sure new hires are informed.
- Objectify the Hiring Process
Make sure your hiring team has adequate training on the best hiring practices. It’s also very important they use objective tests like personality and ability tests alongside interviews. In conducting interviews, a collaborative approach is essential, as interviews led by a single individual can lack diverse perspectives. Interviews shouldn’t be led by one person only and they must be done by people who are already trained and experienced for that, rather than office managers or unqualified personnel. Post-interview surveys are also very important: ask your candidates for feedback to improve and refine the overall interview experience!
- Diverse Decision-Making
Incorporate varied decision-making methods, such as anonymous surveys or group discussions to promote diverse perspectives and to avoid Conformity bias.
- Analyze Bias Presence
Monitor demographics, pay, and promotions to spot emerging biases. Employee surveys, feedback, and exit interviews can also gather valuable data.
- Build Diversity and Inclusion
Diverse groups tend to be more committed and have better decision-making and problem-solving skills. A diverse workforce enhances creativity, productivity, and commitment to the company.
Conclusion
Although unconscious biases cannot be eliminated, by following the above tips you can reduce the chances of them becoming a problem and leading to discriminatory behavior. The most important thing is to realize that we are all prone to biases, and then regularly try to prevent them from influencing decisions, behaviors, and procedures within the company. Recognizing and dealing with biases and prejudices is not only a step towards a fairer work environment but also towards the long-term success of an organization.
Author: Marija Malenčić
