Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
What Is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious
biases are social stereotypes about certain groups of people that
individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds
unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases
stem from one's tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing.
When it comes to unconscious bias in the workplace, complacency is not an option. Unconscious Biases can impact recruitment, turnover, morale, productivity, and company culture. Reducing unconscious bias in your workplace requires consistent effort. As a Manager or HR Professional, you may not be sure where to start. Unconscious Bias training is not a final solution to eliminating it from your workplace. However, if done well, Unconscious Bias Training can plant seeds in your trainee’s mind to help them build awareness and mindfulness around their internal biases. Below are some things to consider when providing a baseline understanding to your participants about Unconscious Bias in the Workplace, and where to go from there. (Corporate trainings, 2023)
Recognizing Unconscious Bias
Bypassing rational and logical thinking, we rapidly sort
people into groups, thinking we are using these processes effectively and often
calling them “intuition.” However, the categories we use to sort people are not
actually logical and perhaps not even legal. Our brains – without our
permission –take us to the brink of very poor decision making and bias. With so
much information to process each day, it’s quite natural that we rely on
stereotypes – or groupings – as shortcuts to help us make faster decisions.
For example, while search firms are not given “tall” as a criteria for
hiring a company’s CEO, (and less than 15 percent of American men are over six
feet), almost 60 percent of male corporate CEOs are over six feet. (Similar
patterns are true for generals and admirals, and even for U.S. presidents. (infopro
learning 2022)
The context of unconscious bias
Our personal
experiences can influence big and small decisions we make everyday. Consider
how some of the experiences listed below could influence your decisions –
perhaps without even noticing.
·
Past
experience
·
The
environment in which you were raised
·
The
culture in which you were raised
·
Educational
systems
These are just a
few of many factors that can influence how we make decisions without us even
noticing, this is unconscious bias. By understanding our triggers and how they
impact us, we can build on our self-awareness to acknowledge and prevent
unconscious bias. This gives opportunities to question your decisions and how
your background could have influenced them.
Bias
presents itself in a multitude of ways, some we may not even realize. Some
examples of ways we can be unconsciously bias towards different groups of
people are:
The Contrast Effect -Overcoming unconscious bias in the workplace starts with naming these biases. The Contrast Effect occurs when you’re comparing two similar things. Typically, this bias will distort our perception of something by comparing it to something else.
Example: The Contrast Effect may make a color appear lighter than it is when placed against a dark background. This bias often plays into recruitment because it pits one candidate against another. While it can be helpful to compare, interviewers may lose sight of the best candidate by comparing criteria that may not matter for the specific position.
Gender Bias - As its name suggests, Gender Bias is a preference for one gender over the other. Often, it causes an individual to lean unconsciously toward an individual based on their gender and the qualities associated with it. The “qualities” normally stem from deep-seated beliefs about gender roles and stereotypes. Just like an affinity bias, we often favor those we relate to and especially those of the same gender.
Example: Certain terminology on job postings favor men over women (and vice versa). Depending on who writes the job posting and interviews candidates, this can prompt a gender bias.
The Halo/Horns Effect - This is another type of unconscious bias in the workplace. The Halo Effect occurs when we focus on one positive attribute of a person, and let that “halo” glow impact our overall opinion. The Horns Effect is the opposite. Your entire opinion of someone can also be affected by one negative trait.
Example: A good example of the Halo Effect is knowing that someone went to an Ivy League school and expecting that they’re otherwise great in everything that they do. An example of the Horns Effect is thinking negatively of someone’s professional work just because you don’t like the way they dress in the workplace.
Name Bias - Other unconscious bias examples in the workplace include name bias. For example, candidates with “white-sounding” names are more likely to be successful at various stages of the recruitment process. The only way to remedy this is to institute a name-blind recruitment process.
Example: One study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that white names receive 50% more callbacks for interviews than Black American names. The same held true for applicants living in nicer neighborhoods.
Weight Bias - According to a study by the Journal of Eating Disorders, a weight bias is defined as “negative weight-related attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and judgments toward individuals who are overweight and obese.” However, the definition can also extend to all who have weight-related issues, including eating disorders. Thus even individuals who have low weights may suffer from unfair judgment.
Example: Employees with higher body weight face weight-based inequity in employment. These include unfair hiring practices, lower wages, fewer promotions, harassment from co-workers, and unfair job termination.
Beauty Bias - The beauty bias has two sides to it. Conventionally attractive people are sometimes perceived to be smarter and more capable. On the opposite side of that, conventionally attractive people are sometimes perceived as more feminine, weaker, and not as capable. The industry the individual is working in can influence this bias. For example, research has shown that attractive women are hired less often for jobs when appearance is less important, such as tow truck drivers or security guards.
Ageism Bias - The preference of a specific age over another is the ageism bias. On one hand, employees from older generations can feel lost with new innovations and technology. On the other hand, younger employees are thought to not be as competent because of their lack of experience despite their qualifications. (Toll.E 2021),
What are the work place activities often unconscious bais can happen
- Everyday activity
- Recruitment and selaction
- Performance review
- Promotions
- Job assignments
- Training
- Mentoring oppotunities
How to mitigate unconscious in the workplace ?
“The most effective way to mitigate unconscious bias on the organizational level is through reflective structures that shape policies and practices, and facilitate open discussion” - Brianne Dotson-
Conclution
In the workplace, this starts with awareness and becoming mindful of unconscious bias, but it is of particular importance for those with decision making power on hiring, promotions, PMS, Trainig etc. and business best practice. Individual awareness and ownership must also be underpinned by policy, processes and frameworks to truly promote diversity throughout the workplace. Allegis Group, (2020)
Reference
Bocsic.B
(2022), How To Prevent Unconscious Bias From Ruining Your Culture and Diversity,[online],
How To Prevent Unconscious Bias In Your Company | Vervoe,
accessed on 26.3.2023
Corporate trainings(2023),[online] Three Things to Consider When Working to Reduce Unconscious Bias in th – CorporateTrainingMaterials.com, accessed on (26.3.2033)
Hewitt.H (2023), [online]Think unconscious bias training is the answer? Read this first. | Sapia, accessed on 26.3.2023
Infopro,2022, 10 Ways You Can Reduce Bias in the Workplace (infoprolearning.com)[online],accessed on (25.3.2023)
This is related to human psychology. Do you think we can successfully change someone unconscious bias using above mentioned methods?
ReplyDeleteHi Shadeer, Training is a powerful tool that organizations can use to address unconscious bias in the workplace. By providing employees with education and awareness, they can learn to recognize their own biases and take steps to overcome them. This type of training can also help to create a culture of inclusivity where employees feel valued and respected. However, it's important to note that training alone may not be enough to eliminate unconscious bias completely. It should be just one part of a broader strategy that includes policies, procedures, and ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
DeleteDear Shadeer, yes, it is challenging to entirely illuminate the unconscious bias at the workplace, as per the perspectives, individual educational levels, personal objectives and do not have a broad understanding on the corporate objectives which may resulting for bias. As Praveen very correctly said the education and awareness will play a major role minimize the workplace bias.
DeleteHi Chamara, Insightful blog on Unconscious bias and its significant impact on the workplace.
ReplyDeleteUnconscious bias can affect hiring and promotion decisions to daily interactions between colleagues. It's crucial for organizations to recognize the existence of unconscious bias and take proactive steps to address it immediately, such as implementing training programs and diversifying recruitment efforts. By fostering a more inclusive workplace culture, we can create a better environment for everyone and ultimately drive better business outcomes.
Yes, unconscious bias will badly effect hiring and promoting employees. Hence will not be able fix the right person to the right position even promoting employees. The ultimate objective of the organization will not able achieve due to wrong fix on bias. The awareness is the only option to eliminate the biasness.
DeleteDear Praveen, it is absolutely correct, training and awareness will play a major role in eliminating the bias at the workplace. Especially all the levels from top to bottom. Sustainability development depends on diversity and inclusivity in people management, if this is not properly established the ultimate organizational short term and long term objectives will not be able to achieve.
DeleteYour blog article on unconscious bias in the workplace struck me as being extremely insightful. One question I have is whether you think there are certain industries or types of organizations that may be more prone to unconscious bias than others. I ask because I'm curious if there are any particular industries or workplace cultures that might benefit from targeted interventions to address bias
ReplyDeleteUnconscious bias can exist in any workplace, but some industries or organizations may be more prone to certain types of bias due to demographics, historical context, or institutional practices. For instance, male-dominated industries like technology or finance may be more susceptible to gender bias, while predominantly white organizations may be more prone to racial bias.
DeleteA very interesting and concerning issue that needs to be addressed to bring in fairness and equity in the recruitment process and then in the workplace. I personally believe that the level of unconscious bias is mainly attributed to the person's background (including his/her educational background and exposure), upbringing and level of tolerance inbuilt by nature.
ReplyDeleteAs Chamara and Praveen correctly point out, facing the issue head on through education and awareness could help to lessen the level of blind belief people carry along with them. Yet, whether the matter could be resolved successfully in the absence of a tolerant and accommodating mind set is questionable..
Hashmath, thank you for commenting on the above blog. As you very correctly mentioned, the educational levels of the individuals are critical factor in understanding the situation and the real requirement of the organizational in order to common objectives.
DeleteHi Chamara, very insightful post on unconscious bias in the workplace. Adding to your post, I think it is more severe when leadership is in unconscious bias. Making a decision based on a conscious or unconscious bias goes astray when leaders make wrong assumptions about individuals and then take action or make decisions based on these wrong assumptions. To avoid doing this, leaders need to become more aware and concern of the biases impacting their decisions and thinking.
ReplyDeleteThank you Thilini, adding some insight imputes to the to the article. As you very correctly mentioned, wrong assumptions on bias will create a space to take wrong decision in hiring / promoting an employee who doesn’t fit to the position. His or her performances and behavior will negatively affect to the organizational end results.
DeleteThis article provides a clear and concise explanation of unconscious bias, including several examples of how it can manifest in the workplace. The article also offers practical suggestions for mitigating unconscious bias in organizational policies and practices. Overall, it can be a useful resource for individuals and organizations seeking to increase their awareness of unconscious bias and take steps towards creating a more inclusive work environment.
ReplyDeleteThank you Hansika in commenting on the article. Yes, the only tool of mitigation of unconscious bias is the awarness and change the minset of individual. This subjected matter need to be addressed with an open discussion for all levels of employee in the organization.
DeleteUnconscious bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Unconscious bias can have negative consequences in the workplace, including discrimination and reduced diversity. Here are some ways to address unconscious bias in the workplace
ReplyDeleteHi Charith, Thank you so much for your comments. yes, unconscious bias is pay major role to reduce the workplace discrimination and diversity.
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