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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Strong ethnic affiliations
can lead to workplace
problemsWhen people are asked to describe themselves, they demonstrate that their identities are complex.
All people have a sense of the individual self and can describe themselves with adjectives: "I am talkative, I am aggressive when negotiating, I am dependable," and so forth. People also have a sense of the collective self and can describe themselves in terms of group memberships and relations with other people.
These various aspects of people's identities can be very flexible. Talkative people, for example, might practice with their paddling clubs in the afternoon and attend a high school alumni meeting in the evening. Their behaviors will be guided both by their individual traits and the group memberships that are prominent at any one time. People can adapt their traits according to their group memberships. Talkative people, for example, might listen respectfully when more experienced paddlers give instructions and as they catch up with old friends at the high school alumni meeting.
Many times, the collective aspects of people's identities can be so strong that other individuals are labeled as members of out-groups because reasons for a shared identity cannot be readily identified. The clearest examples occur when people consider their ethnic group membership as a major part of their identities. If people claim Filipino American as their only ethic affiliation, then they can't be Japanese Americans or Irish Americans. Strong ethnic affiliations can lead to discrimination against others. If business people from one ethnic group favor people who share this affiliation in decisions such as hirings and promotions, then out-group members are put at a disadvantage.
This can lead to a major problem for organizations. If people are hired and promoted because of group memberships rather than potential contributions to the workplace, then the organization will suffer because it is not making the best use of its talent. Executives should consider this as a problem that demands their intervention efforts. In recent columns I have made recommendations that executives take steps such as insuring equal status in the workplace, developing superordinate goals acceptable to all employees, and arranging opportunities for people to move beyond the stereotypical images of their groups.
Another step executives can take is to benefit from people's flexible social identities. Just as they can be both members of a canoe club and loyal alumni of a high school, people can have multiple identities that will bring benefits to their workplaces.
If executives are able to increase organizational morale, for example, people will shift their identities from "wage employee" to "proud employee of a specific organization."
They can retain their strong ethnic group affiliation, but they can also develop the identity as people who work in an organization where the talents of many ethnic groups are welcome and encouraged.
People thus develop multiple and overlapping group ties. One tie, such as ethnic identity, is not weakened because people have the additional identity of employment in a company of which they are proud.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu