Combating Bias in the Workplace

By: Annette Sebastian 

Everyone has biases that have formed from our upbringings and life experiences. We’ve also formed biases from information portrayed in the media. Oftentimes the biases we have are unconscious biases. These biases can be especially detrimental in the workplace when it hinders someone’s ability to contribute to their career. 

Getting rid of biases should be a top priority in a company’s goals because studies show that a diverse and inclusive team brings more success. This is because everyone can show up confidently at work and use their voice to state their perspectives. When you have a diverse team, you have multiple perspectives that represent numerous communities. By incorporating ideas that are beneficial to a multitude of communities, a company can create goods and services that reach out to a larger demographic. 

Here are a few things companies can do to make the workplace more diverse:

Expand your candidate pool.

Companies often hire through referrals, but people in your social network will most likely be very similar to you. In order to create a diverse team, it is possible to hire from different organizations such as the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) or Black Career Network. Numerous organizations like these exist which can make your application pool diverse. 

Create a rubric.

Instead of simply looking through applications, it is important to create a list of objective qualifications that you are looking for in a candidate. With a rubric, the application process can be less biased by holding the same standards for everyone. It is also important to create interview questions that test the skills and qualities you are looking for. These techniques help evaluate everyone based on the same criteria.

Gently interrupt.

Oftentimes, women and people of color find that they do not get credit for their ideas. This is because people tend to notice good ideas from people that you expect to have good ideas. It’s important to become aware of this bias and interrupt the conversation when you see it happening. You can politely ask the person who first stated the idea to further their thoughts and give the credit to them. Also, if you notice someone who is having trouble contributing their ideas, you can ask them to weigh in. 

Implement performance evaluation. Performance evaluations are beneficial because you can see an individual’s skills and development in work. But, women and people of color are often judged more and get comments on their personality. This should be avoided because evaluations are much more useful if they are based on concrete data. The evaluations can be critical details to the employees themselves if managers provide specific feedback on their performance. With the information, they can improve their performance and achieve their goals. 

There is obviously much more that a company can do to work on removing destructive biases and the above list are only a couple of options that a company can implement. 

Sources: 

https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/01/a-new-way-to-combat-bias-at-work

https://www.hrdconnect.com/2018/12/04/combatting-unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace/

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity#

https://www.benefitnews.com/news/how-to-fight-against-unconscious-biases-in-the-workplace

How to Beat Burnout

By: Anna Martin

The middle of the semester is here and I’m sure we’re all feeling the pressure of our classes by now. With classes being mostly remote and not having as many breaks as we normally would, it’s very likely that you’re feeling burnt out. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, (www.helpguide.org). Some symptoms are increased stress, over exhaustion, lack of energy and concentration, reduced performance, and can sometimes have headaches. Here are some ways to get you through burnout:

Take it One Day at a Time

If you’re like me, you like to plan your day ahead, which leads into the next day, which leads into the next week, and then the following next few weeks, which ends up leaving me stressed. If you have a lot on your plate, focus on your tasks one day at a time. If you have to, break it down task by task. This will be a lot easier on your mind and it will help you concentrate better. 

Prioritize

Prioritizing your work is the key to staying on track. If you like lists, make a list of all the things you have to do for that day and cross them off when you complete them. Finish the larger/more important assignments first so you don’t have to worry about them later. Then you can move onto smaller/less important assignments. 

Put Yourself First

Helping other people is great until it interferes with your goals and priorities. Remember to set boundaries for yourself. It’s okay to say “no” if someone asks you to do something for them, even if you normally oblige. Your needs are just as important as everyone else’s.

Take Breaks Every Now and Then

Allow yourself to take some breaks. After being in a few zoom meetings or studying for a few hours, your brain can get exhausted. Take a 10 minute break after every 30 minutes of studying, for example, or step back from technology for a little bit. You can also try meditating, going on a walk, or join a group fitness class through the Recreation Center.

This year has been a tough one for everyone, and if you’re struggling, it’s okay because you’re not alone. School can be stressful, but just remember that what you’re working towards will be all worth it in the end. There is always a positive to every negative. Just do whatever works best for you. YOU GOT THIS!!

Sources:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm#:~:text=Burnout%20is%20a%20state%20of,unable%20to%20meet%20constant%20demands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ1pfaW4f6E&t=153s

#ChoosetoChallenge: What does it mean for the Business World?

By: Caroline Tierney

You’ve probably seen it on social media, or on a news headline, but the #Choosetochallenge has been circulating around this week. It refers to International Women’s Day, which passed on March 8. Men and women across the world participated in this social media hashtag by raising a hand and pledging to challenge gender bias and inequality across all portions of life. When someone says, “Let’s celebrate strong women”, who do you think of? Maybe a historical icon like Amelia Earhart comes to mind, or a humble childhood neighbor of yours, or maybe your mother. Regardless, the entire month of March is dedicated to honoring the courage and resiliency that women continue to exemplify everyday. 

Whomever you choose to celebrate this month, we all must continue the conversation of addressing gender inequality in the workplace. While a man’s ambition might be seen as passion for his job, a woman’s similar ambition or assertiveness may be seen as being “bossy”. Women often describe walking a fine line between being perceived as rude and simply trying to have their voice heard. This difference in interpretation alone highlights one of the many gender biases in the workplace. The #choosetochallenge pushes both men and women to recognize these imbalances and fight them whenever possible. Another common example of bias is the wage gap. A female doing the same job or better than a male coworker may find herself getting paid less. This happens everywhere, but the movement #choosetochallenge hopes to instill confidence in women to know their worth and speak up when they see this happening. 

One powerful woman that comes to mind when I think of destroying unconscious workplace bias is Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. Not only has she advocated for gender equality at Facebook, but she has started her own gender equity nonprofit called LeanIn. Sandberg maintains the idea that simply saying, “There’s a bias”, isn’t enough. To truly break this unconscious gender bias in the workplace, Sandberg believes we must talk about which specific biases exist. It’s an uncomfortable conversation, but she has created an interactive learning program called, “50 Ways to Fight Bias”, that teaches companies to identify and fight all types of bias in their workplace. 

As one of the first female leaders in the automotive industry, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors has crushed it when it comes to creating an equal workplace. She is setting a great example that more companies should aspire to replicate. GM is one of few massive corporations to dedicate themselves to fully eliminating a wage gap between males and females, all thanks to Barra’s efforts. Barra believes that in order to include more women in all levels of leadership, from entry level to top executives, a company must practice paying men and women the same. Removing the wage gap is a great way that GM has shown their support for women in the workplace and their strives for equity. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-more-leaders-need-start-talking-about-unconscious-bias-2021-3

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/gm-ceo-mary-barra/

Looking Back At the Beginning Of It All

By: Alita Wanaslip

March 13th, 2020.

That was my last day of high school. It was a very abrupt ending. All the teachers and students, including myself, were expecting to come back to school the following Monday. But we never did. Schools across the country closed down and students all over were left in the dark. I personally didn’t even go into remote learning until the second week of April. As a senior, I questioned how my last year would turn out and felt that all the “fun stuff” was ripped away from me. To this day, my prom dress remains tucked away in the back corner of my closet.

My life was basically put on pause, but I finally got the break that I needed. See, my life before March 13th was hectic. I was overwhelmed with schoolwork, college applications, and exams. It took every amount of effort for me to maintain my 4.0 GPA. On top of all of this, I had family issues that drained the energy out of me, which made going to school difficult.

I was stuck in my bedroom for most of the quarantine months with nothing to accomplish. At one point, my days and nights were completely flipped, and I would fall asleep as the sun would rise. I had several thoughts that were running through my mind that made me restless, but also made me question things in life.

It’s been almost a year since the Covid-19 Pandemic affected my life. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. It’s okay to be unproductive: 

Initially, I felt guilty for not having any to do. Like literally, nothing was due. I had zero responsibilities and thought I needed to be productive at all times. Eventually, I overcame this feeling and was able to enjoy the quarantine months. I picked up some new hobbies and just took things easy. This made a difference in my mental health

2. Don’t be your worst enemy:

You deserve love, happiness, and success. When you stop criticizing yourself and start dedicating your energy to loving yourself, you can overcome it all. It took me some time, but I have grown to treat myself better. 

3. Stop being a Debbie Downer (or Negative Nancy):

Of course, it’s normal to feel sad once in a while. Life is not rainbows and sunshine, but dwelling over everything and sulking all the time is no way to live. I realized this the hard way when my friend pointed out my dejected behavior. I came to understand that if I wanted to live a better life, I needed a better attitude and outlook. 

4. Overworking yourself does no good:

As I mentioned, I juggled school and family matters that left me feeling drained. I really was not myself. My mind and my body were exhausted and overworked because I couldn’t cope. I think my struggles at the time left a dent in my senior year of high school. I wish I could have enjoyed my last memories of high school. And this brings me to my final point.

5. Be in the present and treasure the precious moments:

I really regret how my senior year was, pre-covid. I worried about so many little things, and in the long-run, I don’t remember much from my day-to-day life at school. And so if I could change one thing from the past, it would have been to live in it more.

Level Up Your LinkedIn/Resume with Certificates

By: Claire Knott

Certificates and badges are a great way to show your expertise and knowledge on a particular matter. Having these on your LinkedIn and resume solidifies that you have actually worked with the skills you claim to have like writing and Excel skills.

If you love social media, the HubSpot Social Media Marketing Certificate and HubSpot Content Marketing Certificate are excellent options. Both of these certificates are free and will teach you how to create impactful content and develop a strong social media strategy. Aside from these, HubSpot has other certificates focused on sales, software, and marketing. 

Available on Coursera, Google provides certification courses in IT support, data analytics, project management, and UX design. These are great opportunities to learn about skills that are needed in many jobs. It wouldn’t hurt any business major from learning about data analytics! 

Other companies such as Oracle, Amazon, and Cisco provide certification programs. Amazon’s courses focus on their web services but have classes for non-engineers. If you want to highlight coding, routing, and other technology skills, Cisco has a wide variety of courses. Oracle has so many courses to choose from including JavaScript and database management. 

If you take OIM 210 at UMass Amherst, you have the opportunity to earn multiple badges to demonstrate your mastery of Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. These badges are a great way to show that you have worked with these software’s that are common skills employers look for. 

If you’re still looking for more certificate options, LinkedIn has many of their own courses. Be sure to take advantage of all the ways you can show future employers your interest in different fields and expertise of certain skills!