JUDGMENTAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKING WORLD

Let us begin by understanding the definition of the words, “Judgmental” and “Discrimination.”

Judgmental (Adjective) - having or displaying an overly critical point of view.

Judgmental is a negative word to describe someone who often rushes to judgment without reason. The adjective judgmental describes someone who forms lots of opinions — usually harsh or critical ones — about lots of people. Judgmental types are not open-minded or easy-going.

Discrimination (noun) - the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.

In human social behavior, discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction towards, a person based on the group, class, or category to which the person is perceived to belong.

Both the words, “judgmental” and “discrimination” are negative words which have managed to snugly creep into the crevices of our human minds. These two words have a huge deciding factor on every little thing we do and say. These words hold within them the power to either make or break. As people (and I am generally speaking of course) we are far too eager to allow these words to have control over our brains, and ultimately, our tongues.

These words are the camera lenses through which we view society and other people. We tend to forget that we were all created very differently by our maker to perform very uniquely from one another. We are forced (sadly by society) to conform to box-like thinking and worldly views. We fail to remember that we are all different and that we were purposefully designed to be just that – different. With that being said, society has scared us into thinking that differences are wrong. We are being taught that instead of standing out, we should instead, blend to conformity. Our thinking is no longer our own because we are taught to think just like everyone else. We are all somewhat guilty of conformity for fear of being different. We are a society led to believe that should we stand out, we will be judged much faster due to the visibility of our differences. We can compare this to the nail that sticks out, is the first to be hammered. So, instead, we blend. We conform and ultimately try and evade judgement.

We do, unfortunately, live in a world that even if you abide by life’s little box-thinking that we are safe in the comfort of conformity, but sad reality is that we as humans, are very judgmental creatures and we are going to offer our opinions regardless of who wants to (or needs to) hear them. We are going to feel the discriminatory judgement burning into our flesh like the branding iron on stock animals. We are all going to leave with a label.

In the work place, I find people to be the most judgmental and discriminatory. Statistically, the human brain takes about seven seconds to form an opinion about someone else. As shocking as that seems, it makes perfect sense. It is in those brief seconds that we make up our minds as to whether or not we like someone. We don’t take all the factors into consideration. We base this decision purely on appearances. It’s as though we facing judgement based on how we look or sound. Unfair? Yes. Life is unfair and people are creatures of habit and unfortunately, we are not going to change that.

Being in the recruitment industry, I am privileged to meet and cross paths with so many different people. I have never met the same kind of person twice. I meet original master pieces every day. I also have the horrible task of declining applications based on our clients meeting the candidates. I have to deliver the news to my candidates as to why their application has been unsuccessful. Their ‘unsuccess’ is the deliverance of the judgement passed by the client. The prospective employer has made a decision not to employ them for whatever the reasons are, and I have to be the one to deliver this news.

So many times, I have to tell a candidate that they were unsuccessful, and it feels as though in essence, I am telling them that they are not good enough. I do, however, find ways to reassure my candidates that this might just not be their door to open, but it never gets any easier.

People get discriminated for various reasons and these reasons are the by-product of our judgmental minds.

Just the other day, I had such a nice candidate who was beautiful (inside and out) but has the misfortune of being epileptic. Although her condition is controlled with medication and she had everything that would have made her perfect for the job, she was declined because the prospective employer feared that something would happen to her whilst she is at work.

People take just one look at you to decide if you are going to be a fit. Fit into their little box, their company, their lives or whatever they want us to fit into.

Talking about fitting, so many people get turned down because of their dress size. Yes, this really does happen unfortunately. It’s as if a fat (or a slightly heavier) person are going to do a better job that their skinny supermodel counterpart. Size apparently does matter in the work place because people still have the misconception that sex sells. Many times, the job gets handed to the pretty girl with the long blonde hair, the perfect teeth and the big bosom (no offence to these gorgeous girls) and the chubby red-haired woman with a slightly bigger bum get overlooked (Again, no offence to these gorgeous girls).

Then there is the topic of facial hair. I mean, is a bearded man going to perform a better job than a clean-shaven guy if their skills sets are identical? The same applies to tattoos. Having tattoos or having none, does not affect the ability of a person. No. What it boils down to is the willingness to perform the tasks at hand.

Now, to open that proverbial can of worms….Race. Oh my goodness, this is a topic all on its own! When placing ads for the various jobs that we have available, we are not allowed to advertise colour or race preference even though our client has briefed us as to what they want. Why? Because this is found to be judgmental and offensive. Come on people. We live in a diverse cultured society where one would think that having a rainbow nation, we’d have the pot of gold found in the hearts of our fellow South Africans. We, as South Africans (and society in general) need to stop being offended and stop being judgmental. Period. Our country has so much talent which stretches across the full colour spectrum of its people and we all have something significant to offer.

No amount of physical appearance should ever affect the way that a person performs the job one is tasked to do. It’s what goes on inside that should matter. We need to stop being so judgmental and start giving people a chance. Maybe then the state of economy in South Africa will change.

No one is ever too old or too ugly to work.