A journalist will call the pandemic ‘A developing story’. There is little or no clarity on how life is going to change short-tern, mid-term or long term after this is over. It is like entering a tunnel with no clue on how long the journey is or what awaits at the other end. Stress and anxiety is creeping in from uncertainties around health, financials, job, education and others.
Businesses have taken a hit with enforced lockdown. Numerous meetings are going on around the world with business leaders ZOOMING in on how best to prepare and adapt to the new normal. The range, scope and nature of problems they are facing are unprecedented. We are hearing a wide range of responses from business leaders on their vision of navigating this journey. There are also speculations on what aspects of the business will get attention and what will not. One area that is getting its fair share of platform for discussion is Diversity &Inclusion initiatives. How is COVID19 impacting D&I?
The focus of ‘D’ in ‘D&I’ is to get representation across a diverse set of identities and abilities. It helps the organization to be a better reflection of the society that it operates in. The ‘I’ in ‘D&I’ is about including everyone so that each one is free to be themselves and express freely. Inclusion works both ways, an act of including or being included within a group or structure.
For all the fear, uncertainty, loneliness and stress that COVID 19 has brought onto us, there is also a silver lining. Some of the implications of this pandemic are facilitating D&I. for example,
- It is heartening to see practices like WFH & Flexiwork becoming more mainstream. D&I championed these for better inclusion of underrepresented profiles. Today a cross-section of employees in different functions and industries are adopting WFH. Wherever feasible, organizations are gearing up to adapt it for the long term. The recent announcement by TCS to move 75% workforce to WFH is a step in this direction.
- Normalization of WFH can give impetus to increased participation of under-represented groups in the workforce. For example – (a) women who had to put their career on hold due to the responsibility of child care or elderly parents can now pursue a more serious career option. (b) In India, there is a lack of infrastructure facilities to support the active participation of people with disability in the workplace. Normalizing WFH, although doesn’t solve the concerns, but at least allows them to pursue their career.
- In transitioning to virtual working, technology is a significant enabler. Digital natives, i.e. people born in the digital age, have a natural advantage compared to digital migrants. Digital migrants (like Baby boomers and GenX) are often struggling to adapt to this new way of working. If taken in the right spirit, the current situation is an excellent opportunity to level the playing field between generations. The grey hair and years of experience may not be of much use when the problems faced are unprecedented.
- As more and more companies join virtual working, it is opening up participation across geographies, both domestic and global. Earlier if project teams were selected based on location or proximity, now the process can be more democratic in the virtual setting.
These are a few examples of how the current scenario can facilitate inclusion. But as mentioned earlier, this is a developing story. It is for us to put a positive spin to it, i.e. how COVID 19 enabled inclusion in my organization? To do so, each of us has a role to play. Whether as HR, D&I, team lead or manager, we need to demonstrate consistent action towards including colleagues, teams, seniors, vendors and customers. Sharing a few pointers as follows:
- Demonstrate empathy – A simple example is that of the doctor who pasted his photograph on his hazmat suit. Although extremely busy attending to the sea of COVID patients, this doctor demonstrated empathy. He took the effort to see the hospital environment through the patient’s eyes. He saw not only the cold, unfamiliar and uninviting hospital room but also the impersonal doctors and nurses covered in these alien suits. The doctor then decided to paste his photo to make his patients feel more comfortable. What simple steps can we take to reach out and demonstrate empathy to people around us?
- Create connections – with social distancing and forced lockdown; many people are experiencing loneliness. Creating avenues for people to connect is an essential step towards making them feel included. Creating forums for social hangouts, learning sessions, virtual parties in addition to work interactions, can be steps towards keeping people connected. Setting aside time to listen to people (without judgement and the urge to respond) can help them form a secure emotional connection with the company.
- Minimizing micro-aggressions in the virtual world – these are subtle aggressions that can widen the gap between in-groups and out-groups. For example, during a virtual meeting, multiple colleagues start reminding the older colleague (a digital migrant) ‘’switch on the mic’’, ‘’we can’t hear you’’, ‘’you are on mute…you are on mute”. Here instead of helping, they end up intimidating their colleague and widening the gap between digital natives and migrants. Another example can be around asking questions during meetings. Suppose, you tell everyone to share their questions through chat. While some diligently do so, others keep their mic on and ask directly. If you end up taking these while ignoring the ones on chat, then next time some people may not ask again.
It is time for us to create success stories in building inclusion in our organization despite the difficult times. A positive step taken towards including someone may inspire others to include as well leading to a snowball effect.
