Acting on Biases

Gentle reader:

Diversity training, we have been told, is good for us. Like moderation, broccoli and brisk walks after dinner. But the cod-liver-oil approach to breaking down barriers in the workplace sometimes reinforces prejudices and makes co-workers like each other even less, as reporter Mary Curtius explains in the story here on finding a competent diversity trainer.

One difficulty with teaching sensitivity to our differences is that rudeness, like pornography, is sometimes hard to describe--but one knows it when one sees it. With that in mind, a traveling troupe of psychologists and consultants acts out some of the thorny at-work personal exchanges that fall open to conflicting interpretations. Some of those scenarios are described in this story so that you may test your judgment while no one is judging you.

Ms. Work Wise

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REINTRODUCING MS. WORK WISE

Readers of the Careers section first met Ms. Work Wise last November when the etiquette-savvy fictional character created by our readers joined real-life columnist Judith Martin (a.k.a. “Miss Manners”) to address problems related to rudeness in the workplace. Ms. Work Wise returns in this issue to introduce stories on different types of training and will continue to appear as a voice in careers.

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First David Swink’s company used psychodrama to teach law enforcement agents how to defuse hostage situations, talk jumpers off of bridges, deal with domestic violence.

Then he branched out, using the same tools to teach corporate America about everything from sexual harassment to team building. Diversity training, he says, is one of the company’s primary focuses.

“These are tough social issues,” says Swink, who is president of Strategic Interactions of Vienna, Va. “They may not be life and death, but they’re important nonetheless.”

Strategic Interactions takes a diverse team of professional psychodramatists and actors into a workplace, analyzes the company’s needs and then customizes a series of short dramas to teach employees. Some are interactive, others are used as launching pads for discussion.

“We work the most now with the concept of subtle, unconscious bias,” says Swink, whose clients have included companies such as the Discovery Channel and America Online, as well as a variety of government agencies. “We learned a lot about this through training federal judges.

“Judges are some of the people with the most egalitarian values,” he said. “But most people are biased as human beings. We have to normalize that.”

Strategic Interactions’ niche is a small one, but other training companies use drama to teach diversity also, often by having employees role-play a variety of scenes. Some give the managers they are coaching ing a dilemma and have them work it through as the manager they are every day.

“That gives us the rich ground in terms of feedback about how they perform as a manger or leader,” says Wendy Perrigo, who is in charge of business development for San Diego’s Center for Creative Leadership.

Either way, here are some scenarios that can be used to fuel discussion about diversity in the workplace, which these days includes issues surrounding race, gender, age, mental illness, physical disability and others.

Act I, Scene I

Sandra sits in her office at a large public relations company in Southern California, elbows on the desk, chin propped in her hands, talking to her friend Jennifer, who’s leaning against the door.

Sandra, an African American woman, is perplexed. Jennifer, an Asian woman, both colleague and friend, is trying to comfort and interpret.

Sandra: You know, I just cannot figure it out. I’ve worked at this company for three years, I’ve gotten raises and good job evaluations, and now this! The promotion I wanted goes to someone else. I just don’t get it.

Jennifer: Who got the job instead?

Sandra: Ann Charles, over in events planning.

Jennifer: Well, she has been in this business a lot longer than you have, right? Maybe that’s it. They thought she had more experience.

Sandra: I guess it’s possible. But it’s so discouraging. I mean, I’ve been working really hard to get a good relationship going with Jason and then he picks her for the job. I just don’t think he’s really comfortable with me, you know?

I mean, we were going over this project the other day and I came in a little over budget, and he didn’t say anything. I was really surprised. I’d been so worried that he’d chew me out and then he didn’t. But I didn’t really feel relieved, because he kept looking like he was holding something back that he wanted to say. It was so strange.

Jennifer: That is odd. Did you ask him about it?

Sandra: Well, no. I mean, I didn’t want him to dwell on it. It wasn’t my finest moment.

Jennifer: Yeah, but maybe he could have helped you. Do you think he automatically would have held it against you? Why didn’t you give him a chance?

Sandra: Because I feel like I give them chance after chance, day after day. He is my boss. Isn’t it his job to do that? Why do I have to be the responsible one? That doesn’t happen with the other people in this office, the ones he’s comfortable with, the white guys. It’s like we have this bridge and we can’t get over it and it’s my responsibility.

That’s probably why Jason gave the job to Ann. It all boils down to the same thing all the time around here: race.

Act I, Scene II

Jason’s in the company cafeteria, eating mystery food and talking to his supervisor, Al. The two men, both white, are comfortable and chummy, though as the conversation continues the tension rises.

Jason gets increasingly defensive, waves his fork, tries to get Al to understand. While not accusatory, Al is at a loss to figure out how to straighten out the situation.

Al: So I hear you gave the job to Ann. She’ll do a good job, I’m sure.

Jason: Yeah, I think so. She’s got a lot of experience, good leadership qualities. You know, I really considered Sandra for it but there was just something about her that, oh, I don’t know. I just didn’t have the confidence in her that I had in Ann.

Al: Well, I guess. I mean, Ann does have more years with the company. But Sandra’s job history does mirror the description for the new spot a little closer, don’t you think?

Jason: Hmmm. Maybe.

Al: And she’s always gotten good job reviews, right? I mean, as far as I could tell, and I do sign off on them.

Jason: Yeah.

Al: So is there something else going on? Has she been havingsome trouble lately?

Jason: Well, there have been a few slip-ups. She brought one project in over budget, and she’s missed a few deadlines.

Al: What does she say when you talk to her about them?

Jason: Well, I haven’t come right out and told her about them. I really didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She is sort of young, and I don’t want to bust her confidence.

Al: That’s one way to look at it, but is it really fair? I mean, don’t you think she deserves to know when she’s not up to snuff? How do you ever expect her to grow?

Jason: Well, I guess you’re right. I mean, I’m not prejudiced, but I just don’t want her to think I have anything against her. And I kind of worry about putting this kind of thing in writing, that it may come back to haunt me.

Al: It may come back to haunt you if you don’t put it in writing. You just denied her a job that her written record says she can handle.

Discussion points:

1. What kind of advice would you give Sandra?

2. Where is the breakdown happening here?

3. What kinds of biases do you hear?

4. What are the self-fulfilling prophesies here? On Sandra’s side? On Jason’s?

5. Do these kinds of issues realistically come up in your workplace?

Act II, Scene I

Alexis works at a large telecommunications company, where all employees are required to be punctual, where cheerfulness is imbued in the corporate culture and where there are few chances for special treatment.

One of her co-workers, Bob, has been coming in late and behaving somewhat erratically. Alexis and her friend Kevin are in the break room talking about the situation.

Alexis: That guy Bob’s been kind of bugging me lately. It’s like he can’t get it together to do his job, and I end up having to carry the ball in our department.

Kevin: What’s he been doing?

Alexis: Well, sometimes it’s what he doesn’t do. He hasn’t gotten in on time all week. The last time I was late they reamed me out. And no one seems to notice. I just don’t get it. And then he’s got this hand-washing thing. He’s always got these Handi-Wipes on his desk. And he really hates it when I touch any of his stuff. I borrowed a pencil the other day, and I thought he was going to have a fit.

Kevin: Well, I know he’s been having a sort of hard time lately. He’s kind of been depressed, and I think he’s been on some kind of medication.

Alexis: Well, I get depressed too. Who works here and doesn’t feel like that? Why does he get the special treatment?

Kevin: There’s depressed and there’s depressed. If he’s not taking medication, maybe he should.

Alexis: If he’s not, maybe he shouldn’t be working here. How do we know that he’s not dangerous?

Kevin: Oh, I think he’s probably more dangerous to himself than anyone else. I wonder if the boss knows what’s going on? I wonder if she’s doing anything about it?

Alexis: Well, if they’re not, they should. I don’t know how much more of his work I can handle.

Act II, Scene II

Alexis goes to her boss, Ruth, to complain about Bob. The conversation is uncomfortable and stays that way.

Ruth: So what can I do for you today, Alexis?

Alexis: It’s about Bob. I’m having real problems working with him and I want you to do something about it. He’s late all the time, and I always end up covering for him.

Ruth: Bob’s going through kind of a hard time right now, and he needs all of us to be sensitive.

Alexis: What kind of a hard time? I’m late once and it shows up on my performance review. He gets all the breaks and he’s crazy. I mean, you can’t touch his stuff, you can’t get too close to him. I’m really worried about working next to him.

Ruth: I don’t think there’s any need to worry. And I think you should just pay attention to your own work and leave Bob alone. It’s not that big a deal.

Discussion points:

1. What went wrong in the conversation between Alexis and her boss?

2. Should Ruth as a boss or Kevin as a friend have probed Alexis’ feelings about her discomfort at working with someone grappling with a mental illness?

3. What kind of workplace remedies might defuse a situation like this one?

4. What kind of legal protections exist for workers who have mental illnesses?

Act III

Tom and Elizabeth are standing at the elevator waiting to go home. Evelyn, their office manager, has left early, and Tom is fuming that she hasn’t finished printing out the report that he’d asked her for a day ago.

Tom: You know, next time, I’m not even going to bother asking her to do the computer work for me. She just can’t seem to learn it.

Elizabeth: She’s older than we are, Tom. She didn’t grow up around computers like we did.

Tom: Well then why does she have this job? What does she do all day if she doesn’t do this? I just don’t get it. I mean, I explain this stuff to my kid and he picks it up in one sitting, and he’s only 5.

Elizabeth: How much time have you spent helping her learn this?

Tom: It’s not my job to help her learn this. It’s hopeless. I’m gonna bust this deadline and be in big trouble. This office just isn’t running properly.

Elizabeth: Well, isn’t some of that our fault? I mean, she’s old enough to be my mom, and I just feel so weird giving her orders. So I don’t. So she sits there. It just seems too uncomfortable and awkward.

Tom: I know. She’s just such a nice person that it’s hard for me complain. But it’s starting to be a real problem. Maybe we should just spell it all out in her next written evaluation.

Elizabeth: I just don’t think that will get us anywhere. She’ll just get offended, and it’ll get worse.

Tom: Maybe she’ll get offended--and we’ll lose our clients.

Discussion points:

1. When is not wanting to hurt feelings a disservice?

2. Could a good office organizational chart help these people?

3. Could management training--how to give orders, how to give feedback, how to evaluate--improve Tom and Elizabeth’s comfort levels?

4. What are the biases here?