In workplaces across the world, bias, both conscious and unconscious, is applied on a daily basis. Positive biases, such as people with glasses seen as intelligent, are often not realised as a bias. However negative biases, where the implication for the person involved is negative is harder to manage with and deal with.
So, what biases exist in the workplace, and how can we combat them through action, rather than reaction?
Why is burnout having its ‘moment’?
For many people, life before the pandemic was what we expected, and we were used to it. Then, when restrictions hit and we left offices, workplaces and retreated to our homes, there was fear, uncertainty and no one really knew what was coming the next day.
Now, with restrictions easing in most places across the world, vaccination efforts ramping up and more, people are returning to what was normal life, and realising that they no longer have the energy to maintain that.
The pandemic has made us all slow down, appreciate certain aspects of our life more and make us realise our values. For office workers, where life was hectic and non-stop, homeworking gave us an opportunity to slow down and take time in our days to look after ourselves. Now, returning to offices, these luxuries have gone and made people realise that they were burnt out before, or with the added stress of the ongoing pandemic, are burnt out now.
However, there’s another part to this story. Those in marginalised minorities are experiencing greater rates of burnout and are feeling it more intensely. Whether from external factors such as increased violence against their community, or from being stuck in homes that aren’t affirming of them, all these factors increase minority burnout.
Marginalised community burnout: why are they affected?
For those who don’t conform to the large majority that society expects, life is harder. It’s harder to stand out in a world that doesn’t always accept you than it is to blend in and accept what the world wants.
These minorities don’t always have to be specific groups, for example, those with menopause will struggle in the workplace as they begin a huge hormonal change in their lives.
Marginalised communities and minorities are, across the board, feeling burnout at a greater rate than others. It’s because not only do they have to deal with the change in life, but they also face pressures from external factors, whether it be the news reporting on fatal attacks, biased reporting in other media sources, family pressures as well as feeling like the ‘only one’ in their workplace or friendship group.
How burnout affects minorities
For minorities, there’s many reasons why, and how, burnout affects them, more.
As an example, representation burnout, where someone who identifies as the ‘only one’ in a certain enviroment, whether due to their race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender presentation or identity, or something else, is experienced by the minority in the room. This may be because they feel like they need to hold back in sharing ideas, or speaking up in meetings, as they are unconsciously aware of affinity bias.
Affinity bias is where people highlight people like themselves over others, whether this is addressing them in meetings more, promoting them first, or even hiring them more than others!
Halo or Horns Effect
The halo or horns effect is one that affects individuals, often in the hiring process. The halo effect is when we see an individual as excellent due to one exceptional quality, whether that be a previous employer, an accolade, or a place of education.
This is called the halo effect because one single effect is blinding of all others. This can reaffirm someone who may be mundane at their job, but because of institutional heritage, such as the opportunity to get into a better school or more.
At the other end of the scale, there’s the horns effect, where a single negative attribute blinds any positives. This is often attributed to things like someone’s name, race, sexuality or more and tends to disproportionately affect minorities.
How we can all work to reduce biased burnout
For many companies, diversity is used as a tokenistic effort. It’s the inclusivity that matters, and this doesn’t necessarily have to be large sweeping efforts.
Individual day to day efforts are more appreciated than policies that don’t actually translate into seen changes for employees.
Employers can make change by:
- Creating inclusivity at every level of employee
- ‘Blind hire’ by where you anonymise CVs and hire based on experience
- Encourage employees to share experiences
- Educate HR employees on anti-racism and other minority issues, so they can be more aware of minority struggles
