Discussion: Differences at Work and “Identity Abrasions”
A more diverse workforce can create abrasive interactions that require your attention as a nurse executive. Miscommunication, misunderstanding, or entrenched and antiquated attitudes and beliefs may result in situations where one employee is offended, perhaps deeply, by others. These “identity abrasions” that occur when ideas and attitudes clash naturally vary but relate most typically to gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other defining qualities of individuals. Managing Diversity and Inclusion as a Human Resource Essay
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This Discussion provides examples of conflict situations and offers an opportunity to consider how you would respond as a nurse executive. Given understanding and empathy are key in supporting employees, approach each vignette from the perspective of the individual who feels wronged and what that individual may need in terms of resolution.
To Prepare:
Review the Learning Resources on diversity and inclusion in healthcare organizations.
Your Instructor will identify three “Differences at Work” vignettes as the focus of this Discussion. Read the three case studies and choose one as the subject of your Discussion post.
Identify the issues in your chosen case study and reflect on how a diversity and inclusion perspective might mitigate, address, or contribute to the concept of “identity abrasion” in the workplace.
Consider how this situation might affect organizational performance, staff morale and retention, and/or competitive advantage.
Consider how you would respond if you were the employee in your chosen vignette and what kind of support and resolutions you might seek, or what you would recommend to this individual in terms of responses.
By Day 3 of Week 8
Post the following:
Briefly describe the case study you selected, and explain the elements of “identity abrasion” in the employee’s experience. From the position of the employee, describe what actions and strategies would be most welcome and effective for resolving this conflict situation. Support your post with Learning Resources or current literature.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses. Managing Diversity and Inclusion as a Human Resource Essay
Managing Diversity and Inclusion as a Human Resource
The selected case study is Differences at Work: Ben (A). The case involves a diversity issue revolving between a senior analyst a major hotel company and two employees working at the front desk. During the conversation, one of the employees implied that the CEO’s aggressive leadership style was somehow related to his being Jewish. The senior analyst was Jewish and therefore even though he did not react, he felt uneasy.
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Identity abrasion entails an assault to the identity of an individual; however, it is an unintended act that people are unaware of (Jongen et al., 2018). From the case study, the senior analyst felt that the supervisor was indirectly attacking him because he was Jewish. The supervisor judged the CEO based on who he was (Jewish) and thus the senior analyst felt some indirect attack.
To resolve such a conflict situation (identify abrasion), it is important to support and encourage the involved parties to directly and constructively confront identify abrasions. This can be achieved by creating a culture of safety in the organization where employees feel that they are well-intentioned and will not be judged. It is also important to enlighten the parties about the importance of diversity through mandatory training for all employees (Villotti et al., 2019). This will ensure that employees are educated on diversity, and reduce chances of unfavorable situations. Managing Diversity and Inclusion as a Human Resource Essay
The management should create a safe place where the workforce feels free to communicate and dialogue with each other, including with the leadership. This will allow everyone to air their views. Finally, it is advisable to form diverse teams to ensure team members interact with individuals from different backgrounds (Villotti et al., 2019). Team building activities can also be used to promote interactions between employees from different backgrounds (Elias, 2018). This will ensure that the workforce is culturally competent and embraces diversity.
References
Elias E. (2018). Lessons learned from women in leadership positions. Work (Reading, Mass.), 59(2), 175–181. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-172675.
Jongen, C., McCalman, J., & Bainbridge, R. (2018). Health workforce cultural competency interventions: a systematic scoping review. BMC health services research, 18(1), 232. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3001-5
Villotti, P., Stinglhamber, F., & Desmette, D. (2019). The Influence of Multiculturalism and Assimilation on Work-Related Outcomes: Differences Between Ethnic Minority and Majority Groups of Workers. Psychologica Belgica, 59(1), 246–268. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.472.
Managing Diversity and Inclusion as a Human Resource Essay