These behaviours, far too frequent, can undermine careers and destroy lives. Rarely aligned with the “official” culture of the organization they belong to, the negative “leaders” behind them are few in number, but often very present in corridor conversations. Their colleagues, silent witnesses, are complicit, and an employer who does not act helps perpetuate such behaviour.
I once heard the wrenching testimony of a young woman completely broken by the toxic climate and the acts of rejection she experienced in a mostly male workplace. Some will say this kind of behaviour exists everywhere in the world. Perhaps… but does that mean we should give up? Of course not.
We wrongly assume that everyone grasps the challenge of the labour shortage and its medium- and long-term consequences, and that diversity will slot into place naturally. And yet.
The worst part is that no one gets up in the morning thinking “today I feel like hurting someone”. These behaviours reflect a vast collective unease born of insecurity and misunderstanding.
Show, show and keep showing. That is where the solution lies. We will never stress enough the importance and the benefits of diversity for our societies.
My trick? Statistics and cultural intelligence. With the sceptics, I trade a few arguments.
According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, in 1970 eight workers contributed to supporting one retiree. Today there are only three of us… and retirees live far longer, thanks to advances in health care and pharmacology. And if the trend holds, as they say, by 2030 there will be only two workers per retiree!
According to a CFIB study, the current labour shortage is causing more than $10 billion in lost opportunities for Quebec SMEs. Do we want to be among the casualties of that reality, or among those who will deploy an innovative diversity management strategy for everyone's benefit?
Preparing teams for this new reality is essential. Welcoming a foreign worker who comes for a single harvest does not call for the same means as a new employee who has come from abroad to join an SME and raise their children here.
Being present on the ground, promoting living together and stepping in when behaviour goes off the rails is key. A strategy “copy-pasted” from occupational health and safety, when you think about it.
Workplaces where diversity is everywhere are numerous and multiplying. They are multiplying because those professional environments genuinely perform. More than ever, with the American market closing, the search for new customers will require acquiring new talent that is open to the world.
Managing diversity well is difficult, but it pays. And, as with occupational health and safety, if senior leadership does not believe in it, failure is guaranteed.
