FIVE MINUTES WITH ...
Q . WOULD YOU SAY THAT UNCIVIL TALK HAS BEEN ON THE RISE ?
» I think in particular when we think about politics . A lot of my clients are US-based employers , and the political climate as well as the social unrest climate has been at the top of mind for their employees . One of the things that they ' ve tried to do is create a safe space for their employees to have constructive conversations with co-workers in a way that allows for disagreeable conversation that is still respectful . One of the things that I ' ve been encouraged to do is to ensure that they provide their managers with the proper training to be able to navigate those conversations in a way that doesn ' t lead to claims of discrimination or racism for any employee in the workplace . So a lot of companies are interested in creating a place of belonging and a place where people can be their true authentic selves , and that ultimately means that they need to also feel comfortable in expressing opinions that may differ from the majority .
Q . HOW MUCH OF THIS LACK OF CIVILITY STEMS FROM THE HARSH DIVIDE CURRENTLY PLAGUING THE US ’ POLITICAL DIALOGUE ?
» That is one thing I have noticed . This is from different trainings that I ' ve conducted where people sent me private messages saying , ‘ Hey , look , I ' m a Republican and I don ' t feel comfortable sharing that in the workplace because no one else around me is , or they have such divisive opinions about the Republican Party that I don ' t feel that I can safely express why I ' m a Republican or what my thoughts are ’. So that ' s why I said it ' s important to provide training in a way that allows others , in particular managers , to know how to navigate these conversations among their team members and keep it civil . We don ' t all have to agree , right ? Because we are not all of the same political party .
Q . WHAT CAN AN EMPLOYER DO TO PROVIDE FOR A SAFE WORKSPACE ?
» Part of it is providing training , and a lot of that can be around implicit and unconscious bias . It could be around understanding microaggressions and the impact that they have on individuals , especially marginalised communities . It could be on educating about different lived experiences , and that could take the form of having employees who are members of certain communities share what their lived 26 February 2023