Removing Stereotypes and Prejudices from the Workplace
Author: Camilla Patten


Typecasting and stereotyping individuals is a common human
error. Constructive relationship building is reliant on a
person's ability to learn from others differences. Failing
to notice diversity in the workplace and not approaching
this with an open mind is a fundamental error we all make.
It is important for employees to identify ways to remove
stereotyping from their work environment.

While you may not be directly involved, if you are in an
environment that is conducive to social labeling consider
yourself warned. Stereotyping inhibits social development
and group learning. Work typecasting will directly hamper
an individual's ability to develop personal relationships
and networking skills.

Prejudice is an immediate by-product of social
stereotyping. Prejudiced behaviour leads to discrimination
in the workplace which is less than favourable. The
labelling of people at work is a way in which we categorise
chunks of information. The less familiar the information
and the more complicated it is to disseminate, the more we
are prone to assigning a 'general' label to it.

In an attempt to remove workplace stereotyping the best
approach to start with is by defining this. Stereotyping or
labeling is explained as being the social categorisation we
assign to those we meet. It is a human instinct to
literally label people as we meet them. In essence
stereotyping is a 'lazy' social habit we have developed.
Consider the disaster stereotyping has in a place such as
South Africa, where the diversity in culture is vast and
complex.

When human beings are faced with new information we look
for the fastest and simplest way to make sense of it. When
bombarded with vast differences and hordes of information
the easiest way through is to put miscellaneous matter into
a stereotype box. When faced with information we don't
understand a kind of mental meltdown ensues. Systems crash
and the sheer mystery of such information lead to
assumptions.

Prejudice as a Result of Stereotyping at Work

Prejudice behaviour and discrimination is a direct result
of stereotyping. Instead of accepting individuals for their
differences discrimination occurs. Such behaviour is both
deconstructive and primitive. As the name explains, to be
prejudice is to pre-judge an individual. Instead of
awarding people the equal opportunity to prove their
personal worth we assign a predefined label to them. Based
on assumption, we place individuals into groups of
relevancy. Prejudice behaviour in the workplace instills
negativity and unfair criticism.

FIVE SOLUTIONS: Remove Stereotyping form the Workplace

1. Learn to interact with people on a more personal level

- Personal relationships are one of the most insightful
clues to your own emotional maturity.
- Expand your perceptions and open your mind to
diversities.
- Personal relationships are based on your ability to
interact with others and harmonise the disclosure of
personal information

2. Interact with diverse professional contacts

- Open yourself up to learning about different cultures in
business.
- Develop valuable business contacts as a result of mutual
sharing and respect.

3. Commit to expanding your knowledge.

- Apply effort to you endeavour to learn from things you
don't understand.
- Exercise commitment and patience in your quest to remove
stereotyping from the workplace.

4. Keep an open mind.

- Put your feet in others shoes.
- Consider their experiences based on their situation.
- Arrogance in not a constructive approach.
- Practice humility

5. Make it your goal to remove type casting from your
workplace.

- Display conviction to your cause and you will not fail.
- Setting objectives is the best way to motivate yourself.
- Make it your goal to succeed.

Learning from each other's differences and having a slice
of humble pie is all that is required to eliminate
stereotyping. There are so many things that we can learn
from each other's differences. We cannot expect to move
forward if we continue to refer back to past stereotyping.


About the Author:

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