There is still a culture prevailing in some workplaces in which people don’t feel comfortable being open about their health condition or disability. “People are afraid they will be wrongly viewed as less capable, passed over for promotion or even lose their job. Breaking down such stereotypes is a huge challenge that needs to be addressed.
For disabled employees to be fully integrated into a workplace, it is essential that all employees are familiar with the affirmed commitment of their organization to being disabled-friendly. Thus building awareness and investing in training sessions are a crucial first step. Making use of assistive technology is the second step to address this issue. It enables disabled people to be an active part of the workplace and has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. If your company invests in the right assistive technology, apps, and online tools, disabled employees will be able to carry out their job responsibilities without impediments.
Making Accessibility a Priority is an important tool to help employees who are differentially abled feel included in the company and its work environment. A freely accessible workplace is incredibly important to disabled employees as it also helps them move around, get their work done and enjoy the time spent at the workplace. A manager must be able to communicate issues with his employees irrespective of any bias, thus being honest with appraisal and feedback is crucial. Failure to adhere to this would lead employees to be incapable of recognizing feedback thus reducing their ability to provide better future results. (https://blog.hrps.org/blogpost/6-Ways-to-Make-Your-Workplace-Disabled-Friendly)
Employees that suffer from psychiatric disorders also need special consideration. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, and make choices. A mental illness isn’t always a pre-existing condition. The most common mental health hazard in the workplace is stress. It is important to note that unlike the popular notion, stress is neither a symptom, nor an event, or simply a problem. Rather it is a conglomerate of different situations, reactions, resulting conditions, and an acceptance that work-related stress has an undesirable impact on physical as well as mental health.
The most common factors of stress include unrealistic targets of the organization, Multiple responsibilities and Long working hours, lack of motivation/feedback and job satisfaction, unfavorable working conditions (Sexual harassment or bullying) and inappropriate/difficult relations with co-workers and figures of authority.
It is important for managers to adopt a communication style which encourages a safe work environment. Employees must be able to express their problems and be provided with some measures that either solve or reduce the problem. It is important that one identifies the early warning signs of a mental health disorder. Owing to habit, people often ignore the primary indicators of stress and dismiss the warning signs as a temporary problem. It's only when some serious medical conditions crop up or an existing one worsens, people look for consultation. So it is necessary to recognize the early signs of stress. The next step is discussing solutions. Firms have recently started setting up departments that employ the skills of therapists, both psychologists, and psychiatrists. They are a source of constant support and help employees self-introspect. This is important because sometimes even after employees identify the early warning signals, they feel helpless… seeing nothing but a “dead end”. However, an experienced medical therapist can help guide them through both their personal and professional life.
Divisions between genders, races, and ethnicities often exist in the workplace, in part because society as a whole still bears the scars of past injustices. Racial and Ethnicity Discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of the person’s race or personal characteristics associated with race. Many countries have passed legislation that forbids discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, and benefits. The most important ones include the UK Laws Race Relations Act 1976 and Equality Act 2010 European Union Law Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC and the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Companies increasingly understand the value of recruiting and retaining diverse employees, as these workers play a critical role in a company’s ability to adapt, grow and sustain a competitive advantage in the modern business landscape. It is important to note that racially motivated issues are complex and requires the broader cooperation of both managers and employees. While managers can formally create policies it is important for people themselves to realize how a comment affects a person of different race/cultures. Employees who are confronted with coworkers who engage in an uncomfortable conversation must be able to defend themselves but in a way that does not do more harm than good. If you feel the conversation is turning into an argument, stop and take a breath. If you become emotional it will be more difficult for you to respond, so it is best to try and stay calm. Continue the conversation by asking the person an open-ended question, like: “why do you think that?” Or “why do you think that’s funny?”. Sharing how you feel about what they have said may also help: “It makes me uncomfortable to hear that, what did you really mean?” Or “That comment offended me, why did you say that?”. You may be able to use their response to continue the conversation constructively because their answer might reveal that their prejudice is based on an assumption or incorrect fact that you can right .
Some steps that managers can formally take to curb racially discriminatory practices include :
Writing anti-discrimination policies that specifically addresses racism and include consequences/penalties for acts of racism in the workplace.
Hiring employees from all races and ethnic groups to create a diverse workforce.
Promote employees based on merit without considering race or other irrelevant factors. This establishes a system of fair promotions so all employees feel valued.
Hold training at least once a year to remind employees of how to conduct themselves in the workplace
Establish a committee in the workplace that focuses on anti-racism projects. Use the committee to identify potential discrimination issues that might arise at work and begin finding solutions and let the victims know you will handle the situation and inform all employees that you won't tolerate the behavior
Establish an anonymous reporting system that allows employees to report racism without fear of retaliation and Follow up on reports of racism immediately.
Summary
Companies should include written policies in relation to diversity in their employee handbook. The policy should contain information about non-discrimination laws, the code of conduct and the compensation and benefits policy. Employees should be provided with sensitivity training to create a better workplace culture. Sensitivity training can help employees to value views that are different, understand words, and actions that cause offense and what needs to be done if they’ve been offended. The company needs to set the tone about how violations will be dealt with. Employees should be aware that inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated and every reported incident will be taken seriously.