Racism in the workplace
According to research by TUC 70% of ethnic minority respondents said they had experienced racial discrimination harassment at work in the five years leading up to 2016 and another study by them in 2022 found that more than 120,000 workers from ethnic minority backgrounds have quit their jobs because of racism in the workplace. The fact remains that racism is sadly still rife in the workplace and is prevalent in practically every industry, from legal to banking, from football clubs to the NHS, and from retail to hospitality.
Social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #StopAsianHate have been brought under the spotlight again in recent years to highlight the amount of racism these and other ethnic minority groups are facing. However, it hasn’t done much to stop these high figures both in and out of work.
So how can you prevent it from happening whilst also supporting your ethnic minority colleagues if they do experience it? Read on for our advice…
Reporting racism in the workplace with Culture Shift
Our research into problematic behaviour at work among ethnic minority employees shows:
And importantly, 63% say they would be much more likely to report an instance of bullying/harassment if their workplace had an anonymous platform to do so. With diversity and inclusion being at the forefront of organisations’ people strategies more and more, it is imperative that all employees understand its importance and play their part, not just those from ethnic minority or other marginalised groups.
Culture Shift’s anonymous reporting platform and the support it offers both organisations and their employees can be invaluable to helping employers track, analyse, understand and take action from reports they receive to get a truer picture of their workplace’s culture. For employees it gives them a safe and secure route to report behaviours they experience or witness that they may feel more comfortable using rather than traditional methods of reporting, which can present several barriers to them.
As well as being able to report incidents, Report + Support gives people the opportunity to read support articles that help them understand behaviours they have experienced but were not sure whether it either constitutes racism or is serious enough to report. It should be noted that for the latter, our system can be for reports on any types of behaviour or misconduct such as micro-aggressions or incivilities, not necessarily overt levels of racism or xenophobia.
Dealing with racism in the workplace
When you receive reports through our system, dealing with them can be a daunting thought for many. With our Community of Practice, a forum for our current partners to share advice and learn from each other on specific issues regarding the platform or the work they do, you are not alone when it comes to resolving problems or taking action. In addition, during our extensive onboarding process, our Success Team run partners through a series of “Setting up for Success” workshops where we talk them through potential scenarios and give them prompts for things to consider should such a scenario come up.
If you see trends in general racism or sometimes against certain ethnic minority groups but the reports are anonymous or they don’t necessarily ask for specific action to be taken, an example of what you could do is implement diversity and inclusion, anti-racism, micro-aggression or active bystander training. Some training could be aimed at departments or just for managers to help them spot and stop it. However, they should be consistent, monitored, engaging and aim for tangible results, especially when 41% of employees said their employer makes token gestures that feel surface level when it comes to diversity and inclusion, compared to more than half (52%) of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds who feel this is the case.
Other options could be creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to give marginalised employees safe spaces, revising and pointing to policies on discrimination and harassment, or creating campaigns to support ethnic minority groups.
Holding people accountable is important too, whether the behaviour was intentionally unacceptable or not. If it was intentional, how do you deal with that person and are you following the disciplinary process outlined in your employee handbook? If it was truly unintentional, how can you make sure the person knows that and understands why it is offensive or unacceptable and doesn’t repeat the behaviour again?
Preventing racism in the workplace
Of course, prevention is better than cure, but often many organisations don’t know what is happening until it comes to light – either by someone actually speaking up and reporting it or worse, such as turning to social media and leaving online reviews on Glassdoor, going to the press or filing a lawsuit against you.
Making sure the above measures are in place beforehand is key, especially when the Equality Act 2010 is there to protect employees from discrimination at work – racism included – and says employers must do all they reasonably can to protect their people and take steps to prevent racial discrimination at work, being liable if they do not. Having a reporting system in place should be part of that prevention as well as part of the solution. Employers should also make their expectations with regards to respect, behaviour and conduct clear and point to policies, training and resources during the onboarding process or even hiring process. This can ensure potential and new employees are aligning with their values and understand what is expected of them.
Addressing racism in the workplace
At Culture Shift we usually see three types of organisations when it comes to racism or other forms of misconduct: those who know there is a problem but don’t know what to do, those who don’t know if there is a problem and don’t know what to do, and those who believe there isn’t a problem therefore nothing needs to be done. If you don’t have an anonymous reporting route, how would you know if there is a problem or not when, as we have said, many people do not wish to report through traditional channels?
Or if your organisation is a place that doesn’t feel safe, diverse and inclusive enough for employees of colour to speak out against racism or talk about their experiences, how would you know racism exists within it or not? You can read more about how to help encourage your whole workplace to engage in inclusion conversations here.
And if you want to know more about how we can help you tackle racism or anything other diversity and inclusion or workplace culture issues in your organisation, contact us and we’d be happy to chat.
