The Importance of Understanding Diversity in the Workplace

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Understanding diversity in the workplace is essential for thriving in today’s business. People from all walks of life do not enjoy being ignored or underestimated. People desire to be celebrated, and recognized for their individuality, talents, and skills. The idea of inclusion makes for successful companies, by integrating the thoughts, beliefs, and ideas from their employees regardless of their age, gender, cultural, or spiritual beliefs (Bell, 2009). By recognizing and working with those who are not in the majority, it has been shown to increase cost, resource acquisition, marketing, creativity, problem solving, and system flexibility. When we are interacting with people who seem different than we are, knowledge of diversity gives us the insight we need to honor those differences and interact in ways that facilitate understanding and cooperation (Bell, 2009). In the workplace, diversity awareness helps us remember to honor beliefs and sensibilities that are not necessarily our own, so that as we interact with people from other cultures, no unintended breach of good manners or conversation mistakes occur. For example, in some societies, the “okay” sign is extremely offensive; in other cultures, belching at the dinner table is considered a compliment to the chef. Unless we become aware of cultural diversity in its many pretenses, relationships can disintegrate simply for the lack of understanding. As we build our cultural awareness, bridges of trust are created, respect and understanding across cultures and within a diverse workplace, fostering productive interactions. When a member of a work team looks at another team member from a different background, and can think about the things in which his team member excels where he falls short, a true spirit of solidarity and connection can flourish. This is particularly important due to the rapidly

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