Laws now forbid overt forms of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or age, but unconscious biases remain in hiring and other practices. A Harvard Study suggests job applicants with ethnic names may experience name discrimination, a form of racism. In fact, for those with a non-Eurocentric name, the chances of being called in for an interview decrease by 21%. "I think biases and hiring biases are a real thing, and it does need to be addressed," said Keisha Williams, the director of marketing and communications at the North Carolina Central University's School of Business, who has seen name discrimination firsthand.
Did you know that about one in four Americans have a mental illness? That’s right. And with the Covid-19 pandemic, that statistic has grown. This means there is a high chance some employees in your organization might have a mental illness. In my work co-founding a treatment center that provides counseling for people with mental illness, I've found there are some steps employers can take to create better work environments when it comes to mental health.
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. — the New Britain-based tool and equipment storage giant — is shifting two-thirds of its office employees in Connecticut to either work remotely full-time or split time between the home and office, the latest sign the traditional workplace is being reshaped significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. "It’s a challenging period, and it has propelled the concept that working virtually and providing a more flexible work environment can work, both for the employees and the company," Shannon L. Lapierre, the manufacturer’s chief communications officer, said Monday.
There’s a lot about work—how we think, what we feel, the decisions we make—that takes place beyond our head. Many of us have been raised to believe that our brain is the center of all our thinking and doing. We’ve grown up with the belief that training the brain is singularly responsible for how productive we can be as individuals. We also attach brain training to what makes some people successful and others less successful.
Weinstein, Spacey, Rose, Louis C.K., Franken, Conyers, Lauer, O’Reilly, Moonves, Clinton, Trump, now Cuomo, and the list goes on. Then there is Bill Cosby, who is in a class by himself. The sexual harassment continuum is vast, complicated and everchanging. A belated apology might suffice at one extreme, while jail time may be the other extreme, with large sums paid along the way to silence or settle claims. Denial is often the road most followed. But sooner rather than later, everyone will know.
When companies eventually bring workers back to the office, they'll return to an environment that looks different from the one they left. The pandemic has altered the way employers and employees view remote work, digital tools and physical space. Those who successfully rethink how work gets done have an opportunity to capture the best of remote and in-person work.