Why bother? Why does it matter?
Depending on location, chances are that anyone over forty grew up and started work in an environment where they never heard words like diversity and inclusion. Those words are in widespread use today and asking why can produce informative answers. Why is it important for businesses to focus on building a diverse and inclusive workforce when it may have not been an area of consideration before? One of the arguments in favor is a matter of simple ethics – we should treat people with respect in addition to ensuring their health and wellbeing is of the utmost priority.
But that's only a partial answer. We have obligations to several stakeholders, including our shareholders, consumers, or potential clients. Today's needs and wants in the market landscape seem to be increasingly entwined with expectations that those products and services offered from organisations be created and consumed with minimal harm, damage, or social impact.
The term "Worker Welfare" is a term that is becoming more and more common in today's business world, a term that implies that an organization's responsibility towards its employees and contractors lays beyond the traditional safety monitoring that takes place at the worksite.
Welfare is an area which is now often considered part and parcel of an occupational health and safety professionals' responsibilities to monitor and improve upon.
Further to the welfare side of things, recruiting ethically by nurturing diversity and inclusiveness is important for reasons that go beyond showing respect for people. One of those reasons is groupthink.
Groupthink – the hidden danger
Imagine you have a one-person department. It's very successful. That success means the department must grow. The most successful teams aren't built from clones. Look at them closely and you'll see that every member is different. Different backgrounds, different upbringings, different ways of looking at the world. And sometimes they clash. Of course they do – they all have different ways of achieving the same end. But what comes out of those clashes is consensus. As you develop your team, you don't want people who think the way others in the team think. The best results come from hiring people who think differently.
In health and safety, we are encouraged to develop safety as a keystone habit within organizations, to develop cultures of care where individuals feel responsible for their own safety as well as the safety of their colleagues. As a result, many organizations now set up safety or welfare committees that support an organization towards achieving that culture.
They rely on different individuals within the workplace to become actively involved with decisions around Welfare and Occupational health. On occasion and when assessing root causes for welfare related issues within an establishment, safety practitioners may touch upon areas that involve discrimination, inclusion or diversity issues and most definitely require the experience and skill sets to deal with such scenarios and come up with well thought-out solutions.
And that's the point. If the whole team thinks the same way, they miss things. Yes, they'll do a job – but they'll only understand the demands and the needs of people who think like they do. There'll be a whole swathe of problems they can't solve. Solutions they don't understand. Customers they can't reach.
It isn't just about rights
The UN says that everyone has the right to be treated equally and with respect. But that isn't the only reason to consider diversity and inclusivity. It isn't even the most important reason. Here's a list of the reasons for discrimination that are banned in many countries:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
In addition to assessing and controlling risk, understanding compliance requirements around these protected characteristics is part of the modern health and safety professional's remit. A diverse team is better able to understand the needs of a diverse workforce, and a diverse workforce is better able to speak up about the hazards and welfare issues that affect them.
Conclusion
Diversity and inclusion are not optional add-ons to the health and safety function. They are central to building a culture of care that works for everyone. When we build teams that reflect the diversity of the workforces they protect, we build safer, healthier, and more resilient organizations.