Showing Equal Opportunity in the Workplace

Human Relations and Equal Opportunity
Introduction
Human relations is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the intersection of communications, psychology, sociology, and management to better understand how individuals and workers interact and engage in personal and professional relationships. The field of human relations emerged in the 19th century when Industrialization was roaring in the West. Researchers focused on ways of maximizing potential, understanding human relations activities, and the various types of motivation. Frederick Taylor was a leading researcher who is today known as the father of the scientific management approach: he focused on maximizing efficiency, minimizing waste, decreasing the amount of required labor, and producing a streamlined approach to human relations that was more science-driven than the humane approach (Locke, 1982). While Taylor helped to introduce the idea that all human interactions could be understood by processing data and crunching numbers, the reality is that human relations are still complex and human beings require a great deal of empathy and sympathy, no matter what the numbers and statistics say. Today the core concepts, competencies and principles of Human Relations focuses on building and fostering relationships in order to create a healthy and dynamic work environment where people will want to be employed. In the 21st century there is a need for Human Relations because globalization and technology have made it possible for workplaces to be more diverse than ever before. With so much diversity comes certain challenges, such as how to ensure that there are no generational, gender, ethnic or racial biases permeating the workplace and causing divisions (Downey, van der Werff, Thomas & Plaut, 2015). Human Relations is needed today to ensure efficiency and healthy interaction among employees and stakeholders in the organization. To ensure such, there is a need to emphasize equal opportunity and to make sure there is an equal opportunity for employment and success for all workers. This paper will focus on Human Relations and Equal Opportunity Representatives (EORs) to show where they can improve and what needs to be done to advance the field of Human Relations this century.
Literature Review
Social change is the process of alteration by which a society’s culture, ideals, and behaviors transform over a given period of time (Perry & Perry, 2016). For example, in the 20th century in the U.S. significant social changes occurred regarding race, sex and gender: segregation ended as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, women became emancipated as a result of the Feminist Movement, and the LGBTQ+ community became celebrated as a result of the Politically Correct Movement. Traditional norms and values were replaced by values and norms focusing on promoting social justice and equal opportunity. As a result of these changes, new focus was need in Human Relations on how to approach teamwork and getting diverse people to get along.
There are numerous theories and models of how social change impacts workplaces and how those workplaces respond by focusing on building teamwork and respect for diversity, using the tools of the modern era. Various theories, for instance, show that human teamwork is impacted by social interactions, work environment, ecology, and technology (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). The human relations theory focuses on the human (O’Connor, 1999) and in terms of teamwork holds that “teams utilize the members’ capabilities and talents” (Sycara & Sukthankar, 2006, p. 1). In an equal opportunity environment, every individual is respected for bringing some set of unique skills and talents to the group. However, at the end of the day, it all depends upon creating a culture that reflects the importance of social change. As Henry Cloud has noted “if you are building a culture where honest expectations are communicated and peer accountability is the norm, then the group will address poor performance and attitudes” (Smith, 2018, p. 43). This suggests that culture is especially important in an organization and managers have to take notice of the way unconscious bias can impact the organizational culture. Otherwise, the culture will lack honesty and respect for others and instead will be animated by the unconscious bias of those who shape it. For that reason, harboring bias can be negatively impactful on the workplace culture and employees and managers should be mindful of doing what they can to reduce the risk of unconscious bias impacting their workplace environment and affecting workplace relationships. Equal opportunity employers have a responsibility to be non-biased in their hiring and to avoid discrimination in the workplace
The social psychology theory of teamwork holds that the way in which team members interact will shape the team’s performance. As Schyns and Schilling (2013) have shown, from a social psychological theory it is important that teams have good leaders who demonstrate positivity, because negativity such as a lack of likeability, a lack of communication, a lack of transparency, and a lack of empathy will all negatively affect a team. The social psychological theory of teamwork is very helpful in understanding how teams succeed. One concrete example of this theory in practice can be seen at the company of Southwest Airlines, where Herb Kelleher created a workplace culture that promoted positive interactions and friendliness, accountability and respect among team workers. Additionally, this theory focuses on trust. Without trust, there can be no working relationships in a team (Morgan, 2006). An organization is a big team and people need to be able to trust one another because in the end they are all going to be held accountable together. So making sure the team is filled with the right people with the right skills is important but so too is having a solid, positive social psychological framework to facilitate the performance of the company.
As an EOR it is important to consider how social change has created an environment in which diversity and inclusion issues are now more common in the workplace. Creating a positive and respectful culture is critical to being a good equal opportunity representative. As Smith (2018) points out, creating a culture where accountability is a norm is crucial to being a successful EOR. EORs have to be monitoring workplace practices to make sure they are in compliance with EOR laws and regulations. They also should assist in the Human Relations department by helping to create the right culture. Diversity and inclusion are parts of the modern world’s main focus today, especially when it comes to the workplace. However, unconscious bias is still a problem that exists in the workplace. It can prevent managers from recognizing the contributions of particular groups or employees. It can lead to a decrease in morale in the workplace, and it can cause a negative workplace culture to be constructed. Eliminating bias from the decision-making process can be accomplished by promoting diversity and inclusion, as inclusion especially is the process by which all people feel that they are part of the in-group that makes decisions and has access to important information. One way to help make this happen is to have emotional intelligence.
Altindag and Kosedagi (2015) define the term “emotional intelligence” and look at each word separately to provide a precise definition. They define “intelligence” as having three dimensions: social, abstract and mechanical. Social intelligence is what people use to adapt to their social environment. Knowledge of human behavior, expectations, nature and communication all go into forming social intelligence. Abstract intelligence consists of understanding ideas, principles, and concepts and possessing the ability to apply these to real world issues and problems in order to solve them. Mechanical intelligence refers to the skill of using concrete tools to achieve objectives (Altindag & Kosedagi, 2015). Having emotional intelligence means that one is able to identify emotional needs of others and supply the emotional support and sensitivity required in any given instance or situation. This is important because when an EOR lacks emotional intelligence, people can begin to feel that they are being prejudiced against and not treated fairly.
When people feel that their workplace is biased or prejudiced against them—even if it is unintentional on the part of workers and managers—they do not feel compelled to be loyal to the company. They may quit and go work for a company that is more inclusive and welcoming. Or they may file a harassment lawsuit against their company. Either way, the failure to perceive how bias negatively impacts workers can bring negative attention and consequences to a company that is trying to be competitive in the markets.
When bias enters into the workplace, the risk is that diversity and inclusion can suffer. Unconscious bias can prevent certain individuals from being hired, from being promoted, or from being selected to work on certain projects. Some workplaces may unconsciously promote the idea that only men make good leaders. They will only look at men when hiring for management positions. They may not even realize they are harboring a sexist bias, but the fact that they do means that women are not going to get a look for a management position at that firm.
Bias can impact whose resume gets looked at and whose gets ignored. This can be especially prevalent in organizations where workers are being hired from a diverse talent pool. Unconscious political and social bias could lead to managers not looking at resumes of persons from a particular country because that country is routinely associated with terrorism or human rights abuses in the media. Because, as Bandura (2018) points out, people are subject to media inputs in terms of how they form their perspectives, they can have this type of bias without even realizing it—and they can in turn prevent certain groups from being considered for jobs.
Unconscious bias can limit an organization’s ability to be diverse and inclusive by demonstrating behaviors that only acknowledge the good work of certain persons or groups. For instance, a workplace culture that is particularly male-centric may only recognized good work when it is accomplished by male employees but not when female employees do it. Or managers who are unconsciously biased towards the young generation may overlook the talents that employees from different generations or ethnic backgrounds have and prefer to appoint older workers to key positions on projects even though they may lack the technical know-how that the younger generation has. Bias can thus severely handicap a company with respect to its ability to be inclusive and open to diverse inputs from diverse people.
An equal opportunity representation can help to create positive social change by assisting in the creation of a positive, respectful culture in the workplace. The EOR can work with organizational leaders to emphasize the importance of following laws and regulations regarding being an equal opportunity provider, and the EOR can help to create training plans and programs with HR to assist in the development of a culture that promotes and fosters awareness and respect for others.
Application and Critical Analysis
Equal Opportunity Representative (EOR) Definition and Responsibilities
An Equal Opportunity Representative is one who monitors and evaluates “compliance with equal opportunity laws, guidelines, and policies to ensure that employment practices and contracting arrangements give equal opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability” (Onet, 2018). The duties of an EOR typically consist of:
· Investigating employment practices or alleged violations of laws to document and correct discriminatory factors.
· Preparing reports related to investigations of equal opportunity complaints.
· Interviewing persons involved in equal opportunity complaints to verify case information
· Studying equal opportunity complaints to clarify issues.
· Interpreting civil rights laws and equal opportunity regulations for individuals or employers (Onet, 2018).
The EOR has to have a working knowledge of laws, court processes, court rulings, and so on. The EOR must be informed on political issues and social issues that could impact rules and regulations so that companies can be prepared. How workers are recruited, selected and trained is also important to know. The process of labor relations and the process of contract negotiation has to be understood. Customer satisfaction is also an area that the EOR has to be mindful of. Groups and how they behave, social trends, migration, cultural cues and competencies are all areas the EOR should be well versed in. The EOR should have emotional intelligence and should be able to “give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times” (Onet, 2018). In order for the EOR to be successful, he has to know how to understand and communicate with people.
Role of the EOR in Social Change
The role of the EOR in social change is to understand social change, understand the processes by which change occurs, and understand the outcomes of change and how they will impact society politically, culturally, and in the workplace. Social changes in a diverse society will impact the workplace in many ways. For example, some workplaces have taken to including prayer rooms for people, such as Hindus or Muslims, because they want to be inclusive and attractive to certain groups they look to hire. This can be a positive step towards inclusion, but it can also have risks of violating equal opportunity laws: for example, what about Christians who might also like to pray? Will there be a prayer room for them? If not, it could violate their rights to equality and equal treatment.
Religion is very important to people. They want to be able to express themselves spiritually especially in the workplace, and they want to be able to be free from harassment. One way for organizations to respect these beliefs is to ensure that workers have the space they require to pray and meditate throughout the workday. Some religions, such as Islam, require their adherents to pray at certain times and in a certain manner. At the same time, it is important that bias not creep into this exercise in inclusion (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). Some organizations may want to demonstrate a spirit of welcome towards one group of workers in particular, such as Hindu workers coming from India. So the organization will set up a room in the office with a Hindu shrine so that the Hindu workers can pray while at work. However, this room could be construed as alienating to other workers who are no Hindu, such as Christians or Muslims or Buddhists. Those workers should be protected against discrimination: they too may like a place to pray or meditate—but they cannot do so in a room that is designated exclusively to Hindu worship. If an organization is going to show favor to one group of people and not to others in terms of who gets a prayer room and who does not, it is showing bias—and that is a blow against inclusion (Morgan, 2006). It is better for an organization to designate one room where all prayer and meditation can be conducted regardless of religion. Or, if an organization wants to make rooms for each religious group, then it can do so as well, though space and cost might be factors that make this approach less practical. The role of the EOR is to make sure the organization is not violating the religious rights of people in the company by denying them access to a room that is made available to others.
EORs are faced with social change on a daily basis. Everyone is part of a culture that is constantly changing and expectations are constantly changing, and if a company fails to meet expectations, it opens itself up to lawsuit. EOR’s have to address social change by informing the workplace about it, identifying expectations and norms, and making sure the organization is amenable to these changes (Morgan, 2006). Overall, EORs have to be engaged in the culture, understanding the meaning of movements like the MeToo Movement and what impact it will have in the workplace. EORs have to be mindful of more than just laws because it is social movements like the MeToo Movement that have the most impact over time and that organizations can really become vulnerable to if they are not ready to address change. In order to address social change more effectively, EORs should use more emotional and social intelligence when communicating with others; they should be mindful about what Cloud says about being truthful and embracing accountability in the culture as well (Smith, 2018). The workplace culture has to reflect the values of the culture where social change is occurring, otherwise it will fall behind the times and likely be vulnerable to a law suit and be the company that sets precedence instead of one that adheres to precedence.
Needs of the EOR
The EOR needs to have more time to study the cultural changes in society and to have a hand in working with HR to make sure the culture of the workplace reflects the culture of society and the values that are being promoted. Workers there will need to be mindful of the values and when it comes to hiring people they need to make sure there is no bias being committed. The EOR has a lot of responsibility in terms of making sure the organization is in compliance with fairness regulations but to be fair one has to know who the stakeholders are and what their needs are. The EOR has to be free of biases himself or else his own work could be negatively impacted.
Critique of EORs
EORs have to be more mindful of their own unconscious bias. One of the problems of unconscious bias is that it is difficult both to determine and to assess, as environments are complex. Those who are accused of bias typically tend to deny it categorically (Alpert, Noble & Rojek, 2015). They may harbor it, but because they do not realize it, they object to the insinuation that they are prejudiced. Many people of good will may contain prejudices within themselves and not be aware of it. Bias is not an easy thing to spot within oneself or to admit. Unconscious bias is such that those who possess it are unaware of it and would most likely even be offended if it were to be suggested that they harbored bias against others. In the Western world, it is not socially accepted to harbor bias—yet many people do unconsciously because of the various environmental and social factors that impact them over time as they develop (Bandura, 2018). Thus, even without realizing it, individuals can impact those around them by having bias towards people who are different. This bias can become manifested in various ways: it can appear in body language, verbal communications, the amount of patience that one gives, the assumptions one makes about the skill level of a person of a different background, and so on.
Recommendations for Improvement
EORs have to be mindful of changes in society, the workplace and within themselves. This latter point is especially important because it is often overlooked. Bias is something that can creep in and not even be expected. Bias too can also creep into a workplace culture and not be noticed. Practices and policies might contain bias against individuals or groups of people and they might go unnoticed. In order to be more efficient and effective at the job, the EOR should be constantly combing for bias—bias in society, bias in the workplace and bias in oneself. This will put the EOR in the right mindset so that he can do the job according to the standards and norms expected of the EOR.
Critical Analysis of Learning
As a result of my multiple human relations courses and as a result of my internship and my degree program, I feel that my professional life has been informed in many ways: exposure to scholarly literature on EO and exposure to the real world working environment in which EORs live and work have both contributed to my understanding of the necessity of EORs in the workplace and on the importance that equal opportunity compliance plays in today’s world. In my own life I see myself constantly thinking about how social and cultural trends will impact the workplace and how we take certain things for granted now that might not be taken for granted in the future. For instance, with the trend in gender identity issues it is becoming more and more important to think about how we define gender and what impact that would have on the workplace. Restrooms that are based on gender identity may become a thing of the past because they could represent instances of bias that do not facilitate a healthy workplace that is inclusive of gender-fluid persons. This is just one example of the way I now find myself considering the world and the workplace as a result of these classes, readings and my experience. I also see myself cultivating my skills in emotional and social intelligence more often by trying to listen more frequently, pay attention to body language and observe how people hand responses so that I can tailor my own communications to meet the needs of others. EO is more than just about compliance, it is also about making oneself compliant to other people.

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