Diversity in the Workplace- Blog 6 due Monday, Oct 22
Studies show that 52% of people perfer to work with people like themselves. This begs the question, "What about diversity in the workplace?" Since most of us cannot choose who we will have to communicate with at work, how do we navigate through the complexities of a multicultural workplace? The top 4 diversity issues that cause problems are:
1. Language Differences
2. Differences in Values and Etiquette
3. Tone of voice
4. "Clustering" (hanging out with others from similar backgrounds)
Post an example of how a difference in one of these areas has caused a misunderstanding due to diversity. Offer some suggestions on how you think communication between people from diverse backgrounds can relate better to each other.
Working with others is something well all have to do multiple times in our lives whether we like it or not. The four top contenders for complexities in a work environment are kinda of no brainers. All of these strike some situation in my life but i think as south Texans we can all agree the #1 is probably something we have all come across. Its not often that i have to work with someone who doesn't speak English well or at all but when it does happen sometimes it frustrates me, and that's due to the fact that typically it is up to us to figure out how to get around it.( personal experience)
ReplyDeleteas for relating to one another i think #4 explains it in a way. We tend to stick to those who are like us in a GENERAL since. Not everyone and not every situation does this apply but its kinda of across the board. But it is a skill of understanding that diverse background people have to connect easier with one another. that would be a suggestion, and i mean patience wouldn't hurt anyone haha.
Overall i think these issues are icing on a cake that our society has baked. I mean i don't mind a little struggle to get thinks done, but our society is breeding us to be self-centered and think only in what benefits us on our time. so when you are working and you have more complications in working together these 4 hurdles are our reasons for getting mad or difficult to work with.
I work at The Westin La Cantera, a hotel and resort here in San Antonio. Not only do we have people staying with us from all over the world but we have people working with us from all over the world too! I love it, I really enjoy being able to experience the variety of cultures and learn about them. When I first got hired one of my managers was from Serbia and the other from France; needless to say, each had a very thick accent that made them difficult to understand at times. I also work closely with a gentleman from India and a girl from Sri Lanka, I find it fascinating to hear about their cultures and different ways of doing things. When you are working with people from different backgrounds I think it is vital to try to understand as much as you can about their background as well so that you can know why they do certain things or talk a certain way. It is important to always have an open mind when meeting and working with new people. Being able to have an open mind leads a way to getting along with most people AND it doesn't mean you are changing yourself. All of this is key to having a comfortable work environment when working with diverse associates. You have to constantly be aware that not everyone is like you and not everyone you work with is like you, being able to embrace differences is going to boost your success in many careers because let's face it, many careers are going to expose you to a variety of people.
ReplyDeleteI think that out of these 4 things number 3 and 2 could be the ones that can bring the most problems because what seems right to me might not seem right to another person, and I might be talking in a tone that others fine offensive but its acceptable in my culture. my boyfriend was telling me about how he met a guy from like Australia recently and they had different vocabulary than us and how their vocab for the simplest things could be very offensive to us because we think those words are bad.
ReplyDeleteI work at a Thai restaurant so I understand this. My manager is thai, my boss is Thai, it can be quite difficult at times to overcome the language barrier. I have learned that it is best to just keep an open mind when you encounter diversity. I believe that my ability to maintain an open mind has led to my familiarity with the Thai culture and dialect, as well as my ability to feel comfortable behaving as myself around people of different backgrounds in general. I feel that by embracing diverse cultures (not just accepting them for what they are but actually attempting to understand them), one builds character.
ReplyDeleteI have worked at HEB for three years now and if theres anything ive learned about working with differnt types of people its patients. You have to have the patients to deal with people that are differnt than you. Im naturally a very impatient person so this does not come easy to me. Id much rather work in a non-diverse work place
ReplyDeletenumber 3 makes so much sense to me. I've only had a few jobs before, all completely different. your tone of voice can be many things, especially a first impression. As a sales person a more loud, strong voice will grant attention and confidence. The food industry is a little different. going to a normal restaurant is kind of hard with the Italian side of my family. They talk with there hands and project their voices across the room. celebrations are dramatically worse. with the combination of hand gestures and a certain tone of voice can confuse someone. a waiter came to check on us and a relative said something with a friendly tone but his hands trumped his voice and looked aggressive. the waiter never returned to our table besides the time he gave us the check.
ReplyDeleteI have been blessed; I grew up in Mexico and learned English little by little as time went by. I lived in a small town in Illinois where there was no other race of people except Caucasian. I worked with many of them and I never had any trouble. Since then I have been exposed to many different cultures. I don’t mind but, I do like when people try to communicate even with hand sings if the language is a barrier. I find very interesting learning about other cultures, and backgrounds. I have found that by been exposed to it, is much easier to adapt to a place and people
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I don't mind working with people from other places. Since I am mexican I know that the chances for me to work with someone who knows spanish are less than likely, but that is fine with me because i am bilingual and I speak both languages on the daily with friends and family therefore i don't mind diversity in my work place. I currently work at Bill Millers and I thought i was getting to a job with bunch of white boys with cowboys hats and the boots but instead i found myself with half of what i expected and half hispanic, and so far who have been the nicest or cooler has been the white boys. They seem to appreciate my hard work compared to one or two of the hispanics that think they are my boss. The GM is from Iran and the other one is from Mexico and they tend to work just fine without having ethnicity or religion come between in the job.
ReplyDeleteI actually think is always nice to work with people outside your comfort zone because you are exposed to communicate with them and perhaps exchange a couple of memories or even common languages phrases they use in their groups and that opens an entire perspective from your point of view that you've never expected ever.
I honestly like working with different kinds of people. We are not totally diverse, since most of the servers at Cheddar's are Mexican, but we all get along anyways. Therefore, I can not really point out any conflict that I have experienced yet. However, there has been conflict between me and guests because of my ethnicity. Many customers who mostly speak Spanish assume me to be Mexican. Some even begin speaking to me in Spanish, and I can not help but tell them I do not speak it. Honestly, they look at me different. They make that face like, "your Mexican and can't even speak Spanish" face. I'm already losing and probably will not get tipped good. Some even ask if they can have a Mexican server. They do not even bother to ask why I do not speak it. Other than that little conflict at work, diversity is not a problem with me.
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ReplyDeleteWorking with others is either something you enjoy or you dont like it all. The top 4 diversity issues are key, they all compare to some people i have worked with in the past. One time at my past job we got a new cashier that was very old and i was confused because all of are cashiers were young and fast. i hated working with her because it was super slow. Another employee was Muslim and she always talked about her religion being better then everyone else and i told her to shut up one day and keep it to her herself. So were going to have to deal with work, even if you don't necessarily like them you deal with it just to get paid.
ReplyDeleteI feel that in order to succeed or enjoy whatever you're wanting to do, you need to be able to be tolorant of other cultures. You're not always going to be working with and dealing with someone who is your same race and who speaks the same language. You're going to eventually come across someone with different values and ethics than you do. It's important that people dont neglect these things because it can be seen as extremely disrespectful to the other individual.It is essential to remember that not everybody is the same and that you need to be courteous of this.
ReplyDeleteIn all honestly, when we tell an employer we "work well with others" there's a fine line between people we can tolorate and people we just can't stand. People that are so different from us it makes it hard for us to even be around them. For example, I delt with the first diversity issue. Unfortunatley, i made it hard for people to work with me because I couldn't speak spanish to save my life. I was a waiter at Mi Tierra's Cafe & Bakery. Hardest place to work if you don't speak spanish. It is well know as a popular mexican restaurant and tourist spot located downtown Market Square. Every employee there would speak to each other in spanish, and would get so frustrated with me I didn't understand. It got so bad they would talk down upon me infront of other employees and even customers. It apperently bothered them so much that I couldn't speak their language I had a friend/co-worker tell me they were trying to get me fired. Beofre I let that happened I decided to quit. Best decision I've made.
ReplyDeleteThrough my personal experience, I would suggest those who work with people that have different backgrounds just avoid the subjest on personal beliefs. It really shouldn't be discussed with somebody especially of those who believe in to total opposite. Also never take one's beliefs personal, everybody's entitled to their own opinion, just like you.
During my job interview this was one of my questions "why is it important to have diversity in the work place?" My answer was it is important to have diversity because its important to work with differnt types of people and learn different working styles. Not everyone has the same ideas of how things are done and that can always cause problems. You're almost never gonna work with people who think and act exactly like you, so you need to get over it keep and open mind and learn to trust and work with other people.
ReplyDeleteMy managers for example are exremely differnt. Ray was the new MIT at work after training they let them take on more solo responsibilities. I learned the hard way that his way of working was diferent fron Kevin my other manager. Ray called staff meeting when we closed so we knew where to go and what to get done. Kevin was more relaxed he said just finish what you started and move to the next room. Ray said the music goes off ten minutes before close, and the doors close on time. Kevin turns off the music at five minutes to close, and shuts three of the doors and closes the last one on time. I have five managers total, all with very different style of how to run our store. Its very important that i know how to work with each one and pay as much attention to detail as the do.
I don't work. So I honestly don't know much about working with diversity. But like at school and stuff I never had a hard time working with people that were different than me. Sometimes it would get kind of hard because they don't think the way you do, but you would always find a way around it.Some times I don't like working with white people because they stereotype us Hispanics but I learn to let it slide. I like working with different people personally.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easy to say that I have no problem with working with others from different backgrounds that have different set of values, morals, and beliefs, but the honest answer is that there are difficulties when this situation occurs. Whether in work or in any other social gathering we have all encountered those individuals who are loud and obnoxious and not so easily tuned out which can cause a hindrance in our productivity. An example in my life occurred a couple of years back when I had first moved to Texas from Michigan. At my job there was this fellow who continued to make prejudice jokes about African American and Jews, so I told him that who he likes or dislikes is none of my concern, but I don't appreciate him making those type of remarks around me. He gave me a small smile and agreed to comply with my wishes, but from that point on we've never said more than two words to each other. I don't trust him, and I'm sure he doesn't trust me either. Here is an example where two different people with two different sets of values in workplace collide and cause a lack of communication and negative perception between the two individuals, which makes both of them avoid working around each other.
ReplyDeleteDiversity to me is what keeps things interesting. In the workplace it can create a variety of opinions on how to better the company. Working for a hotel company who has a wide range of ethnic and cultural employees, I would say that language differences are most common in what leads to misunderstandings. Within the hotel, guests are often pressed for time and need answers to questions in a clear immediate manner. I've seen impatient guests act extremely rude with employees because of their difficulty understanding them. I think a clear set of rules and guidelines is necessary in order for a diverse company to function properly. All issues need to be addressed, to the best of the companies’ ability, for all employees on how to handle diversity misunderstandings correctly.
ReplyDeleteI am not one that neccessarily opposes diversity anywhere, especially in the workplace. When you have a bunch of people that think the way you do, it becomes a consistent routine of getting things done. Where as if you bring in a mass of people with different mindsets, they may have a different way of doing things that may also be easier. Having a diverse group of people with different backgrounds can at times make things slightly difficult, but at the same time, it can help to open your eyes to new things.
ReplyDeleteI remember working at a University as a cook surrounded by an extremely diverse group of people. Not only was it with the fellow employees but amongst the students we served as well. A lot of the time we got some Hispanic customer that had a heavy accent but spoke spanish much more clearer. Of course I couldn't understand a single word most of the time so I would always have a fellow employee translate for me. The same goes for the other employees that only spoke Spanish and didn't speak english, I always had to have some interpreter around at all times. Did it bother me? Of course. But I got over it and managed to learn a couple words myself as well as my fellow employees learned from me.
I think the biggest one has to be Language Differences, if one person is saying something, and another gets something else out of it thats totally wrong , then theres a problem. You dont want to be working on a project in a group and everyone does the right thing but one person. You need to go over it and make sure everyone understands it completely so it wont happen.
ReplyDeleteNo matter were we work we will always be exposed to diversity. Everyday at the restaurant I work at I get to serve all different kinds of people. There are times were they have an accent and its hard to communicate with eachother. But, there are other times were I have to deal with people with different beliefs and opinions. Some argue about the slightest things making my job difficult!! But I've grown to understand that noone on this world sees life and the things around us with the same perspective, we must learn to adapt!
ReplyDeleteOne of the managers of the Rack Room Shoes I used to work at was a huge B. Her and the other B who ran the place were B's. They were so bias and unprofessional it was ridiculous! It wasn't a racial/cultural thing either! They could've been Black, Asian, Jewish, Martian, doesn't matter. They both deserve to have a homeless crack addict stick 40 Butterfly Knives up their vaginas!! But going back to the main Queen B... Think of Consuela from Family Guy. Now imagine her, but about 20-30 years younger. Needless to say, she was hardly tolerable to work with, much less be supervised by. Well, the only thing that managed to help me get through the work day was the occasional misunderstandings in her accent. She pronounced her "A" and "OW" sounds like "U". So when she told me she "cAn't" do something or she needed me to "cOUnt" the money at the end of the day, it sounded like she was saying something COMPLETELY different!
ReplyDeleteHer mispronunciations were enough to make me laugh inside my head and restrain myself from digging my nails into her throat.
Funny phonetics are funny :)
Hey Greg used to work at the Rack Room on 151 and im almost positive i know who ur talking about. Needless to say i felt the same way. Unfortunately sometimes people make it hard to overcome those racial difference.
DeleteI worked at the one on 1604 and Culebra. But not long after they let me go (sometime late January/early February) they got transferred to the one on 151. Would've been nice to know I wasn't working there anymore if they just notified me about it. Just dropped me without warning or reason. Supposedly I was a "Seasonal" employee. Would've been GREAT if someone told me that when I first got hired!
DeleteIn any job that I have worked for there has always been many different language barriers. Often times it would come from the customers but other times it was from my fellow coworkers. In my current work place there are many employees whom spanish is their first language, and although we have found many different ways to communicate it sometimes still poses a problem... I myself do not speak spanish and i find myself frustrated in situations where people are ignorant of that fact or they take advantage of that situation. In order for a work place to be successfully diverse I feel that it is necessary for employees to have similar goals and be aware of all proper steps need be taken to accomplish these goals. Employees should be all on the same page concerning company guide lines and procedures, so whether it is spanish or english they will be moving in the same direction... We as the employee of a company should always try to be knowledgeable of our specific audience and how to effectively communicate our business to them. For myself this requires adjusting to different ways that elderly community communicate and the differences in language that they use... Passing on something my manager is trying to implament at work. If you personally ever feel offended by another employee or person, say "OUCH" your letting them know you were hurt by what they may have said or done, and explain to them why. Sometimes it happens that we are not aware of things we do that others may deem offensive. This may help ease a lot of tension that you may have with someone who just doesnt know what makes you click.
ReplyDeleteI work at seaworld and I'm constantly seeing new cultures and trying to communicate with those who speak different languages and communicate differently. Sometimes I think that guests can be a little rude by their tone of voice but then I think that just because their tone is different, it doesn't mean that they are being rude. I love working with a company that has so much diversity because I find it to be very interesting and I'm always interested to hear about someone else's culture.
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