Inclusion, Belonging and Equity When Social Distancing

Inclusion, Belonging and Equity When Social Distancing

The social fabric of our workplaces is shifting rapidly as we seek to contain the spread of coronavirus. Until very recently, workplaces have presented the greatest opportunity to interact in physical proximity with people who are like and different from us. We're now facing an unprecedented time when we are losing the comfort of even a warm greeting or a hug, a chance encounter by the elevator, and when business as usual is no longer an option. I am thinking about what it means to be an inclusive leader and a compassionate human being in a time when responsible social distancing, increased stress, disruptions and losses of livelihoods and routines can test even the best of intentions.

Now is a time for leaders to remind yourselves of what your people need you to do, and to pause and think about what type of leader you need to ‘be’ for others. Now is also a time for us to all remind ourselves of what our communities and businesses need us to do, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable, and to pause and think about how to care for ourselves and for others.

At a time when so much is out of our control, especially how fast the virus spreads or where it goes next, it’s important to recognize the urgency we have to flatten the curve while applying an inclusive and equitable lens to our communications, protocols and business continuity plans. As we socially distance ourselves, we need to embrace community, enhance connection and allyship, and minimize implicit bias in decision-making.  

Here are a few ideas to help us navigate these uncertain times with a sense of inclusion, equity and purpose:

Embrace community:

• Little steps matter. You don’t need to make a grand statement but rather ensure that in all of your messaging and business decisions you consider and acknowledge the impact on all of your employee groups, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable. Independent restaurants and vendors, front-line public health, domestic and hourly wage workers are the lifeblood of communities. Creative responses to keep businesses and employees afloat have flourished. For example, upon announcing closure of their shops due to safety concerns, the company Hey Day shared that 10% of online shopping would be used to help support pay for impacted shop teams. Organizations like FoodtoEat which partners with immigrant, women, and minority-owned restaurants in NYC, and books catering jobs for them at corporate offices, has set up a GoFundMe to help either place large orders through them or for people to donate directly. Chef José Andrés’ restaurants have set up Community Kitchens to offer go-to lunches for those who need a meal. Every action matters.
• Despite fear, persevere. Encourage cultivating calm and protecting the well-being of all while adjusting to new workday rituals. Loop & Tie, a customer gifting platform, shared these ideas and resources to enhance connections in these disruptive times. Other examples include setting up virtual meetings as check-ins and creative gatherings that use tools such as Slido, a Q&A and polling platform, to creatively connect and engage teams. Other examples include setting up virtual meetings as check-ins and creative gatherings that use tools such as Slido, a Q&A and polling platform, to creatively connect and engage teams. To gauge the wellness employees, send brief weekly SurveyMonkey employee pulse surveys that ask what’s working, what’s not, and how to remove barriers. Ensure that everyone’s opinions are heard, that you analyze data across demographic profiles, and act upon the data that you receive. And don’t forget to reward and recognize good behavior, performance and collaboration.

Enhance Connection and Allyship

• Do not sanitize remote convenings. Platforms like Slack, Trello, CiscoWebEx, Blue Jeans, Zoom, and Skype have been designed to enable you to create an environment where you can do your best work. As you lean on these platforms to facilitate remote information-sharing, collaboration and connection, focus on establishing and monitoring inclusive and caring principles. Communicate plainly and widely - this is not a time to optimize for politically correct language. Set and practice clear behavioral norms, especially for when tensions arise about how decision-making will be conducted and how diverse points of view will be considered. While more cognitively demanding and time-intensive, this process will enable you to consider all ideas and lived experiences thoroughly. Offer multiple ways of communicating to meet different styles. For example, SquaredAway uses Loom, a video sharing platform, to send videos with screen recordings so that you can show not tell. You can use this tool to have your team members give lightning talks about project updates, new products, or creative solutions to current working conditions.
• Skill up on antiracism & equity. Even before this crisis, we were worn down by racism, misogyny, xenophobia, white supremacy, attacks on reproductive rights, and irresponsible leadership. To survive a pandemic of unknown proportions and thrive going forward, we need to continue to build capacity to engage in necessary conversations about how racial inequity impacts resource allocation, access and opportunity throughout our organizations. Now could be a great time to amp up your content library of inclusive culture workshops and podcasts, and build out that book club by reading: White Fragility, So You Want to Talk About Race, How To Be An Antiracist, Me and White Supremacy, and The Memo What Women of Color Need to Secure a Seat at the Table.

 Minimize Implicit Bias

• Don’t hide bad news nor your discomfort. Beyond the very real financial loss and insecurity this will cause to many, negotiating the new workplace will take on or amplify its own set of challenges. As we move into remote working as the new normal, the need for psychological safety and trust-building will be higher. Concerns about being part of “in-groups or out-groups” will likely multiply. Women may fear working from home for this long stretch may further derail their careers. Employees across all ranks may feel ever more distant from and unclear about decision-making. Employees from underrepresented backgrounds may feel a higher risk of being erased and marginalized than before. Now is the time to push for more transparent and vulnerable conversations about what it means to be engaged and productive, how we feel about certain decisions or comments, what we fear - including change in routines, letting people down - and how to communicate business continuity decisions and career progress.

It’s crucial that organizations not let the good work they’ve led in building healthy and inclusive cultures take a back seat. Now is a good time to reimagine what it means to advance the proportional representation of underrepresented people across your workplace as you maintain awareness of the side effects of these necessary changes.

As humans, grappling with the unknown and the unknowable can be discomforting. Doing so with clarity of purpose and values, an inclusive sense of community and a wide lens on how your team members experience social distancing, course correction, and information sharing will help you build the practices and policies that make it possible for all of your team members, partners and clients to feel productive, connected, and valued.