Culture Diversity In The Workplace

The workplace of today is a melting pot of cultures

. In an increasingly globalized world, it is not unusual to have a host of people from varied cultural and religious backgrounds coming together to achieve a common organizational goal.

Culture is an essential (http://blog.careertunity.com/2010/05/culture-diversity-in-workplace.html) part of our daily lives. Understanding cultures is important as conflict and miscommunication can occur when cultures clash. Educating personnel about understanding and tolerating other cultures should be a priority in Multicultural Workplaces. Because people are often wary of what they do not understand, the best solution is to provide information about other cultures and hold training sessions to bring about understanding. These programs can make employees more tolerant when dealing with others.

The organisation can allow everyone to practise their own customs, but it is important to monitor that they do not try to pressurize others into the same. The only way to break the invisible wall of hesitation is to open up to others in a casual fashion. If you are ethnically different from your colleagues, make an effort to be more approachable. You can share your cultural experiences and observe festivities, in a bid to try and help your colleagues understand your culture better.

Some cultures have a specified dress code, which leads to others instantly branding them based on a particular stereotype of that culture. People should be given the freedom to dress as they like, provided it adheres with the cultural norm of the region. Another aspect to be considered here is safety concerns a particular kind of dress might bring about in a manual labour oriented workplace. Different customs may influence peoples work ethics, personal growth and even their behaviour both verbal and non-verbal. For example, in many cultures looking a person in the eye during a conversation implies honesty and straightforwardness, however in others this is considered to be a sign of disrespect. While an employee with a Western background may take a more casual approach to work, the Eastern cultures believe that work is worship. Differences like these may lead to miscommunication, and therefore the team may get sidetracked from the main objective of achieving the organizational goals.

In order to achieve successful communication and avoid misunderstanding, it is essential that different cultures agree upon a set code of communication. This could be in the form of a common language for work-related communication. As much as possible, avoid metaphors and slang as these may be miscomprehended by non-native speakers of the language. Particular words and phrases may have different meanings for different people. Be sensitive to cultural and religious beliefs and practices while working with people from different disciplines. Take an effort to try and research about the other cultures. A mutual understanding can be brought about only by engaging in effective cultural dialogue and active listening. Different cultures have varied work ethics and methods of task completion, it is essential that one sets a middle ground for these activities.

Benefits of being culturally diverse workforce

A culturally diverse workplace ensures improved interpersonal communication, and often ushers in a host of new ideas that have their roots in different cultures. This also builds up on employees observation skills, and their skill at posing effective questions. A diverse workplace also translates into a better understanding of varied sections of society.

Stereotyping can be dangerous, because it generalizes a community, turning a blind eye to an individuals capabilities. When many cultures come together, there is a tendency to cling to those closest to ones own culture. This sort of grouping often takes the focus away from true diversity.

Cultural Awareness

Employers are responsible for bringing about a sense of tolerance and respect for all cultures in the workplace. Different cultures result in different behaviours of people and these factors need to be taken into consideration during the recruitment process.

Cultural awareness programs are essential as they help multicultural employees to work across their cultural differences and complete the tasks assigned. Differences will arise, but without a set program of cultural understanding in place, these problems will only seek to intensify. One must keep in mind that different individuals come from different backgrounds and therefore must be recognized for being the persons they are. Active listening is equally important as this facilitates better understanding. The importance of trust, inclusion and mutual learning within the workplace needs to be stressed. The capacity to transcend personal differences and working as a team towards common company objectives results in an effective organisation.

by: Careertunity

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