Overcoming Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
Unconscious biases (also called implicit biases) are the engrained social stereotypes about other people or groups that everyone carries without being aware of them. These attitudes can be related to age, race, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, appearance, political affiliation and many other attributes. Why does this matter to your business? Because when employees experience unconscious bias in the workplace, company culture and performance suffers.
Research from Coqual, formerly the Center for Talent Innovation, found that employees who perceive unconscious bias on the job are nearly three times more likely to be disengaged at work. Further, workers who experience bias are also 2.6 times less likely to share their ideas, and three times more likely to quit. According to Gallup, that lack of engagement costs U.S. companies as much as $550 billion annually.
In supply chain, a field long dominated by white men (as are many other industries), overcoming unconscious bias in the workplace goes hand-in-hand with many other Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Indeed, as companies continue to prioritize workplace attraction and retention in a challenging labor market, raising awareness of—and attempting to counteract—these unintentional slights has become increasingly important…
