If there is something on their resume or something they said during the interview that caused you to draw conclusions about the candidate, ask them further clarifying questions. Give them a chance to share their full story with you before you judge. The problem is the majority is not always right, which may cause your team to miss out on an excellent candidate because individual opinions become muddled in a group setting. Ways to avoid conformity bias: Before you get your hiring team together to review a candidate, have them all write down and submit their individual opinions separate from one another immediately after the interview ends.
Then have your team come together and review what everyone wrote down so you can hear their impartial opinions. The halo effect in the workplace: The halo effect can come into play at any stage of the hiring process. Ways to avoid the halo effect: The halo effect can be dangerously blinding when it comes to reviewing candidates. When reviewing a stack of applications, you are probably looking for something unique that makes a candidate stand out from the rest. When you do this, also consider the candidate without that one gleaming attribute and see how their experiences, skills and personalities compare to other candidates who may not have had the same privileges or opportunities.
This could be something as trivial as the candidate working with a company you personally dislike or the candidate displaying a particular quirk or mannerism during the interview. You may also want to check with the rest of the interviewing team to understand the root of their opinions and preferences about a candidate. An exceptionally good interview with one candidate may make the next one seem terrible. Ways to avoid the contrast effect: Create a structured applicant review and interview process so that your team will be able to compare applications and interview answers as apples-to-apples rather than apples-to-pears.
This also goes for performance reviews and rewards for individual employees. But to put proof to the pudding, one study found tha t both men and women prefer male job candidates. So much so that, in general, a man is 1. Ways to avoid gender bias: Conduct blind screenings of applications that exclude aspects of a candidate that may reveal their assumed gender, like name and interests.
Set diversity hiring goals to ensure your company holds itself accountable to equitable hiring practices. And again, make sure to compare candidates based on skill and merit rather than traits that can cloud your judgement of them. Learn more with Gender Bias in the Workplace Guide.
Ageism in the workplace: Especially at American companies, ageism affects older people more often than younger people. About 58 percent of workers believe age discrimination begins when they enter their 50s. How Unconscious Bias Affects Our Perceptions By Eric Henkel You probably regularly encounter situations where you are convinced that you know exactly what is going on, only to find out that things are the exact opposite of what you thought.
Confirmation bias: As we try to determine meaning in the world around us, we subconsciously give weight to information that confirms our existing perceptions, and we discount information that would force us to re-evaluate these perceptions.
Common examples of confirmation bias are the recency effect our tendency to give more weight to information that we have encountered more recently or the primacy effect our tendency to seek out information that confirms our first impressions of things.
False consensus effect: We overestimate how much other people think and behave like we do. Since people have a tendency to associate with other people with similar opinions and views, we also think those people see things the same way we do.
When we attempt to attribute success or failure to various decisions or behaviors, two key biases come into play: Self-serving bias — When it comes to evaluating our own decisions and behaviors, we have a tendency to attribute successes to our personal characteristics and to blame failures on external causes. For example, if a donor makes a significant contribution to your organization, you are inclined to take credit because your interpersonal skills helped cultivate the relationship that made the financial support possible.
Fundamental attribution error — Conversely, when we evaluate the outcomes of actions taken by other individuals, we place more weight on factors that we relate to their personal characteristics as opposed to external factors that may affect them. The colleague might realize he attributed the blame incorrectly when he learns that the program lacks sufficient resource support. Consider this: It can take the brain hours to rid of the stress hormones.
Each time an employee feels discriminated against or experiences unconscious bias, these emotions resurface. On the downside, employees do not have the capacity to do their best work. In addition, they may not have the ability to work at all. This level of disengagement is rising for U. No matter the organization, you are likely dealing with bias among your talent in one form or another.
We are all born without prejudice. Over time, we learn misinformation and stereotypes from others, even if we do not realize it.
On the bright side, individuals and organizations can and do grow. Changing workplace attitudes and prejudices is possible. It begins with awareness and honest dialog about how they present in our lives and in our offices. Ideally, a panel of diverse people would be involved in the hiring process, increasing the likelihood of your making the fairest decision.
It is essential for all organizations — universities, publicly and privately held companies, and government entities — to communicate the importance of treating all employees, applicants, customers, and students with respect and fairness — from the top down.
Often, cases brought forth by the EEOC and other equal opportunity agencies involve complaints of harassment or discrimination that are perpetrated by people in top management positions. When leadership figures treat people disrespectfully or behave differently toward people due to their gender, age, or skin color, they send a message that reverberates throughout the organization that discriminatory behavior is acceptable.
On the other hand, if your leadership team consists of champions for diversity and inclusion — who are role models not only in the office, but outside of it as well — the rest of the organization is likely to follow the example they have set of treating people with respect and fairness.
Create a healthier workplace by establishing firm anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies that clearly define consequences for violations. Frequent employee training to reinforce understanding of and a commitment to these policies will reduce the likelihood of personal biases and prejudices negatively affecting the way people are treated in the workplace.
In higher education work environments, employees are more likely to interact with people of various ethnicities, nationalities, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. For individuals who grew up in isolated areas where they may not have been exposed to diverse and underrepresented groups, this lack of exposure could potentially cause some initial challenges.
In these situations, it is still imperative to focus on treating everyone with respect. By becoming aware of your biases, practicing mindful thinking, and treating each individual with respect, you can evolve beyond your biases and engage with all people in a positive manner in any environment.
Close-up of people communicating while sitting in circle and gesturing.
0コメント