Analysis
Different ethnicities in the workplace
and how it is affecting the workforce
The modern workforce is no longer local in its
composition. As companies grow and branch out
into other countries, people from different backgrounds
are in fact, forced to interact with each other.
In today’s world it is not difficult to
see people of different nationalities working
in the same office. This is also a prescription
for trouble because there is all possibility that
these people would drag their personal differences
into the office atmosphere. For example in the
United states color and ethnic conflicts is a
very big concern that forces managers to think
twice before making an effort to create a multi-ethnic
team. Ethnic differences in the work place can
often cause people to form sub-groups within the
larger team thus derailing the very rationale
behind setting up such teams. Ethnic issues are
widely influenced by the political and cultural
environment of a country and so it is not always
easy for HR managers to create a team that is
devoid of race feelings. In Florida for example,
it was found from a recent survey that a majority
of the people were conscious and supportive of
ethnic prejudices. In a society with such high
rates of racial hatred, it is difficult to nurture
a corporate team that stresses on human diversity
[Trigaux, 2003]
Language problems at the workplace
Not knowing the nuances of the language is a
very grave issue that affects the morale of workers
at the work place. Other than the fact that a
person who does not have a command of good language
will make himself patheticlaly conspicuous at
the workplace, it will also zap the employee’s
confidence and will affect the other duties in
which they may be good at. Language problems exist
for employees who belong to different countries
or ethnicities. For example in the United States,
blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are quite
conspicuous by the way they talk. In fact, it
would not be wrong to say that their language
is a bit different from what others speak at the
office. This is largely because of their upbringing
and exposure to their peculiar surroundings. Similarly,
the slang with which they speak also can affect
their interaction with other people in the office.
Since communication is a two way process, bad
language can mean that the minorities who are
not able to convey their ideas, also do not understand
what others would be trying to speak to them.
This can often cause them to be branded as inefficient
and lacking man-management skills, which could
be far away from the truth [Gancel and Hills,
1997]
Corporate experts have come up with many solutions
to integrate people who do not talk good English
and hence converse poorly with the rest of the
team. The trick is to reduce direct communication
and concentrate on the objectives until the non-English
speaking employees are confident of speaking with
others. Similarly, employees who do not know English
have to be trained within the premises of the
company in good language skills. More exposure
to recreational activities and ensuring mutual
respect and interest for each other’s culture
are other factors that can enhance language comprehension
within the company.
Generation gap and ethnicities
Often more than ethnic differences it is the
generation gap that creates many problems within
the firm. People identify themselves with their
age to such an extent that they do not find it
possible to mingle with their younger-aged peers.
Such a lack in initiative to make friends with
everyone irrespective of age is partly due to
one’s upbringing. For example, people from
a conservative background will not find it easy
to mingle with younger people. Similarly people
who consider themselves as responsible and mature
cannot get themselves to interact with the younger
employees in a light-hearted manner. People also
have difficulties interacting with their peers,
vendors or other colleagues who may be younger
to oneself.
Strangely it may be seen that older people are
more prone to this syndrome than their younger
counterparts. This is because the conditioning
by the society makes youngsters obey authority
at least to a certain extent. On the contrary,
older people expect themselves to be treated in
a befitting manner, the definition of which could
be quite arbitrary. In short, it may be seen that
attitude is a very important factor that creates
a wedge between people of different ages and leads
to the generation gap [Sago,2000] Similar is the
case with ethnicity. Cultural and other stereotypes
affect the way people perceive themselves and
so it will affect the way in which they interact
with other people. Hence people of similar culture
are very comfortable with each other while people
belonging to different cultures take a long time
to be comfortable with each other.
The future also does not seem to be devoid of
problems because the same factors that are important
today will cause rift in future also. One of the
problems with communicating across any generation-gap
is that the two generations have different issues
to deal with. What works for the older generation
may not even apply to the younger; what is unthinkable
to the older generation may be a necessity for
the younger. This impregnability to new thoughts
could be attributed to the human nature to view
his/her concerns more seriously, than anything
else. The common refrain from youngsters and elders
alike when confronted with a generation gap problem
is that they have grown up in a different world
with different problems and issues, as a result
of which, their thought process is also different.
It would be appropriate to recall the famous words
of Alexis de Tocqueville, that "Among democratic
nations each generation is a new people."
It means that every generation has a different
role in our society's growth and development.
Hence generation gap issues will be alive in the
future.
Moses (2000) believes that there is nothing like
a single class of employees who share the same
vision.
In fact, diversity of employees has been increasing
through the years and it is difficult to maintain
employees based on a few good age-old practices
that would have been practical so many years before.
The trick that needs to be adopted in the modern
work place is to adopt a strategy that is flexible
and effective.
We can prepare for the future only be learning
from our experiences and ensuring that we do not
commit mistakes that we have already committed.
For example it would be a good management practice
to reduce interaction between the old and the
young in important decisive projects. On the other
hand, they could be brought together in projects
where team work is not that important. Similarly
they may be put together in community building
projects where the ego has a small role to play
[White, 2001]
The need to integrate different sections of the
society in future however becomes important because
the social composition of our society is changing.
Today’s minorities will become a sizeable
population tomorrow and then the social balance
will be turned upside down causing more problems
and vexations.
Similarly, today’s youngsters will become
middle aged tomorrow and they cannot afford to
commit the same mistakes that their seniors committed
in their time with regard to bridging the gap
between ethnicities and age. Hence, it is very
important that they apply the lessons learnt to
create a cordial working environment. The companies
would do well to demarcate functional areas for
certain age groups.
Applicants to these positions have to be interviewed
by people of that age. Similarly, the interviewer
will have to find out people who are more accommodating
and considerate than people who are rigid in their
outlook.
References
1. Trigaux Robert, 2003, Diversity in future
work place starts now, retrieved from http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/14/Columns/Diversity_in_future_w.shtml
on November 9, 2004
2. Gancel Charles, Hills Chilina, “Managing
the pitfalls and challenges of intercultural communication”,
Communication World, Dec, 1997
3. Sago Brad, 2000, “Uncommon Threads:
Mending the Generation Gap at Work” retrieved
from http://www.centeronline.org/knowledge/article.cfm?ID=841&ContentProfileID=122864&Action=searching
on November 9, 2004
4. Moses Barbara, Six Degrees of Motivation,
Black Enterprise, Nov, 2000,
5. White Jahn Eileen, Improve Your Relationship
with Staff, Camping Magazine, March, 2001