Unconscious bias - In the workplace and how to overcome it

Unconscious bias as the name suggests is what happens when we act on subconscious, stereotypes, behavior's, or ingrained biases that are formed due to our environment, upbringing, family, or lived experiences. It is also known as implicit bias. In our blog today, we take a brief look at what is unconscious bias at the workplace, how does it affect your business, the types of unconscious bias, and how you can eliminate it.

In this article, we will see What Unconscious bias means ? What are its types? How it impacts in the workplace ? How we can overcome it?

Every time we make a decision, our background, life experiences and cultural values all impact our reasoning. Over time, the human brain has developed an ability to?use these experiences to create short-cuts and enable us to navigate the incredible amount of information we’re exposed to on a daily basis. This cognitive function can be very helpful, but often leads to snap decisions being made which, in many cases, can be wrong or poorly informed. In the workplace this can have a negative?impact on recruitment decisions, slow down employee development, impair diversity and drive up attrition.

Types of Unconscious Bias

There are many types of Unconscious Bias that can be observed around us. Few of the are as below :

• Gender bias?– preference towards one gender over another which often comes from deep rooted beliefs about gender roles and stereotypes.
• Affinity bias?– an unconscious preference towards people who share qualities or viewpoints with us or with someone close to us.
• Halo effect?– viewing one particularly strong positive trait about someone in a way that overpowers our judgement of them and can skew our ability to see any of their negative traits.
• Horns Effect?– focusing on one badly perceived trait that can cloud judgement of the positive ones.
• Beauty bias?– a social behavior's that often adversely affects women in the workplace. For example, attractive women being viewed as less competent than their male counterparts and tall people being treated like leaders from their peers from a young age.
• Confirmation bias?– selectively seeking information to back up an opinion that is already held without looking at the bigger picture.

The Impact of Unconscious Bias in the Work Place

Although widely recognised that diversity of thought and innovation are key to secure bottom-line results and workplace productivity, our unconscious preferences for people who are like us continues to severely challenge our ability to create these conditions.

Biases can sneak into every encounter we have from the language used in job specifications and decisions on who to hire or promote to managers overlooking poor performance of those they know and like.

In some more severe cases, strong preferential bias of any kind can lead to workplace bullying, unlawful harassment or discrimination putting businesses at high risk of reputational damage and any associated financial costs as issues develop

How can we overcome Unconscious Bias at Workplace?

Although dealing with unconscious bias can be challenging at first, there are many ways in which you can tackle this problem. Here are just a few:

Listen to your co - workers

Many times, people of different backgrounds will be hesitant about voicing their opinions at work because they are worried that others won't take them seriously or see things from their point of view.

If you make the effort to get to know what makes each person tick and show genuine interest in learning more about their unique workplace needs, then it can go a long way toward creating better relationships among colleagues which leads to increased overall productivity.

Also, remember that some people might not feel comfortable speaking up right away, but if given enough time and encouragement, most team members will come around eventually.

Be Positive of your thoughts

If you want to reduce the number of microaggressions at work then you need to focus on what people are doing right rather than fixating on their problems or mistakes.

Be encouraging and supportive toward team members so they feel valued for who they are, instead of trying to change them into someone else simply because you don't understand why they act differently than yourself.

Be Mindful Of Your Own Thoughts & Emotions

When we think about others based on our personal experiences and knowledge rather than taking an objective view of them as individuals with different needs and perspectives, then we risk falling into unhelpful patterns of thinking.

Avoid Stereotyping

Instead of making assumptions about others based on stereotypes that are not true, try asking questions or finding out more information before you make any judgments.

Although this may be easier said than done at times, it is essential for boosting morale within the workplace.

Appreciate Differences & Commonalities

To promote diversity in the workplace, employees need to recognize their differences as well as commonalities. This will help if they hope to work through problems together rather than placing blame over misunderstandings caused by hidden prejudices.

Promote Diversity Through Hiring Practices

It may seem like a no-brainer but if employers only hire employees that look or think just like themselves, then it can lead to resentment among other staff members as well as an atmosphere where everyone feels unwelcome.

Make sure that your hiring practices include assessing everyone on their work experience and skills instead of only looking at the candidate's race, religion, or gender.?

All companies have a?responsibility to move the world forward.

While it’s impossible to eliminate these deep-seated impulses for good, we can reduce unconscious bias in the workplace through awareness and initiatives at among the employees at every level.