Gays at the Job

Homosexuality in the Workplace There is likely a combination of factors that is causing Nichole to have difficulty communicating with her co-worker that is homosexual. The most prominent of these pertains to the fact that it is obvious that Nichole does not view this coworker as just that, a simple coworker. Instead, she views this coworker in terms of his or sexuality. The reality of this perception of Nichole's is that it is likely rooted in some fundamental, long-term causes.

For instance, it is possible that she is a practicing member of a religious denomination that ascribes to the notion that there is some general incorrectness of even perversion in homosexual tendencies. Additionally, Nichole could have had some negative sexual experience in her own life that pertained to homosexuality that gives her an aversion to those of this persuasion.

Finally, it is also possible that Nichole simply believes that homosexuality and manifestations of this behavior are repulsive, and she finds it difficult to engage with someone that she knows partakes in homosexual actions. Regardless of the particular reason why, it is clear that the root cause of Nichole's difficulties is the fact that she is associating this particular employee with homosexuality and homosexual tendencies, instead of merely associating that employee with a specific department or business function which he or she is tasked with carrying out at her organization.

Also, it is quite likely that there is some value judgment in Nichole's difficulty with communicating with this homosexual employee. On some level, she likely believes that her convictions on the subject of sexuality are superior to those of her co-worker. This value judgment can take numerous forms and apply to religious conviction, social issues, workplace effectiveness, or virtually any other aspect of life.

The point is that Nichole likely believes that her view on the subject of sexuality and homosexuality is correct, and that the coworker's opinion on the subjects (and ensuing actions) are somehow intrinsically wrong, which may eventually lead to a situation "characterized by antagonism" (Hernandez, 2010, p. 33). It is vital for employees to be able to communicate with an assortment of people from diverse social backgrounds for a few extremely valuable reasons. Firstly, the professional sphere of life is markedly different from one's personal sphere of life.

In the latter, individuals have a much greater and nuanced degree of control over who they interact with and how they do so. In the workplace, however, that same sort of autonomy simply is not possible. One is not only bound to encounter, but also to have to interact with people from social backgrounds that are at variance with one's own background. How one is able to do so is an intrinsic part of professionalism.

Quite simply, true professionals achieve their objectives and perform their jobs regardless of squeamishness or of cultural differences. Moreover, this notion of cultural differences is at the core of Nichole's difficulty and of the reason why it is important to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. This particular employee's sexual orientation merely represents a cultural difference that Nichole must overlook so that she can perform her job.

Her job function is not to work with those of similar sexual orientations as hers -- it is to work with others and achieve her departmental goals. Doing so requires her to work with people of diverse social backgrounds. Moreover, it is vital for employees to be able to communicate with others from diverse social backgrounds because there is inherent value in doing so. People from different backgrounds have had different experiences, all of which can contribute to the wealth of knowledge from which an organization can pool.

In fact, one of the prime benefits of diversity is incorporating this expanded wealth of knowledge into organizational decisions, business processes, and problems. By accessing and understanding perspectives that are at variance with one's own, employees at a company can both refine their own perspectives as well as augment them accordingly to increase agility and versatility in responding to different facets of business.

In this regard cultural diversity is actually a boon to the enterprise, which is why it another reason why it is vital for employees to work with those of different social backgrounds. Moreover, they need to do so effectively and in a manner in which they feel comfortable. Some of the ways that I could help Nichole with her stereotyping the co-worker and to be more culturally diverse include assisting her with training measures designed to help employees interact with other cultures.

Those organizations that "provide diversity training in your workplace" (Wall Street Journal, 2015) are able to benefit both people like Nichole, who might be feeling some sort of prejudice, as well as employees like her co-worker that might be.