thread Re: Inclusivity in the Workplace in togetHER

Inclusivity in the Workplace

MudFire_Dex — Thu, 16 May 2024 21:02:00 GMT

Hey y'all - I was talking to @PessoAlumni and @maxpete about some generational struggles we are seeing in our business and referencing specifically mental health statistics reported from younger generations and the numbers being much higher in this age category. We were jumping off of a few articles from McKinsey.com which we use often as a resource when we are trying to find solutions, brainstorm, and get creative or tap into research that we can't afford to do as a small business. It makes total sense that incusivity fostering works to solve for generational gaps as well as diversity gaps. Community building is still key. Not going to say that it is easy or that we always achieve perfection but I do think adopting some of these strategies is helping our workplace culture. People are always going to come to the table with outside experiences that are incorporated into how they are able to show up at work.

As a female and non-binary owned business DEI has been a focus of ours for the past 10 years. Migrating MudFire from its former ownership meant a little bit of disruption for the mostly wealthy, white, suburban customer base. Having LGBTQ+ owners step in meant politics entered the workplace, but so too did diversity benchmarks, and addressing socio-economic factors head on. Staying quiet isn't an option.

It also meant staffing transitions - going from folks who were passively using the space to young, diverse individuals wanting a future career in clay. We've struggled with some issues as I discussed in the earlier thread that are related to age, perceptions of work ethic, work-life balance etc. In Pesso's post about the 32 hour work week - we reckon with folks being bombarded with messaging about work/life balance and the reality of an economy that lacks support for those in service and creative careers to have the same access to this truncated work time.

In researching newer conversations we found many articles that spoke to loneliness and isolation in younger generations stemming from pandemic closures and remote work, school closures, lack of peer support, and the constant pressure of social media. Several of the articles we were reading specifically discussed the adaptability paradox as a possible factor as well and the need for discussions around building the adaptability muscle because of dominant social media narratives are based in scarcity and rigidity which compounds with feelings of isolation, especially within environments that are not perceived as inclusive.

One of the articles was discussing how to create real inclusivity and connection at work which could be helpful for mental health and connection in any organization and offered ideas for fostering inclusion - I thought it might be a good conversation starter here 🙂 Those who work in corporate environments or have before might be familiar with this DEI model but I liked how this graphic was broken down into tasks for the organization, leaders, and team. We have adopted this approach in a lot of ways here at MudFire.

Some of the things we've done: We've created feedback loops, internal organizations for support like a specific business support group, and social channel in slack for planning group activities. We have regular meetings and discussions for increased transparency regarding moving up or accepting more responsibility in the organization. A long time ago we adapted hiring practices and requirements to be more inclusive of a variety of experiences instead of a set of criteria. We have discussions about pronouns, gender presentation, greeting language, gender neutral signage and restrooms, and other traditional facets of DEI policy.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/inclusive-workplaces-focus-on-management-practices-that-matter-not-fluff

Can you see ways in which incorporating changes has helped to address inclusion in your spaces? What are some things your business does to address these issues? I'm always curious and want to learn more.

Re: Inclusivity in the Workplace

maxpete — Thu, 16 May 2024 22:55:27 GMT

@MudFire_Dex Thanks for sharing and starting this important conversation!

It’s awesome to see all the steps that you are taking in your own business to be more inclusive. These efforts are really inspiring and just show how much of a great leader that you are!

Re: Inclusivity in the Workplace

tranguyen — Tue, 21 May 2024 16:31:46 GMT

LOVE seeing how you've approached this and the care you put into creating (and maintaining!) an inclusive workspace @MudFire_Dex!

When I was at the Pride at Work conference yesterday, the one thing that really reasonate with me is how you need to be proactive when it comes to building an inclusive culture. You can't wait for survey data or reports to implement policies, but rather there should already be measures in place — whether that's having pronouns in email signature or gender-neutral bathrooms — to help build trust between you and your employees. Once you're established trust and have a baseline for what is expected, then it becomes easier to build on that.

The other part is to continuously evolve and listen to people's voices — you can start with the best intention but it's important to listen to people when they tell you if something is working or not, and make improvemetns where it's necessary!

Re: Inclusivity in the Workplace

CareyJo — Sat, 25 May 2024 12:57:10 GMT

I cannot speak to these issues as a business owner because we don't have employees, but what I can speak to is the high suicide rate in Montana. It's been high for decades because our young people are so far from friends and have so little to do unless their families are super busy with outdoor activities and it got me thinking about you mentioning their feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Of course the pandemic completely fostered that and is still encouraging it through shopping from home and not interacting with people, especially in heavily populated areas of the world. Yet, these young people, who LOVE to do everything digitally, are really missing the human connection. What I'm wondering, is how to we get them reintegrated into society? Being busier with people and doing less online when the world is pushing us to it? I hate to see them struggling. I hate that they are isolating. I hate that they aren't peopling. I definitely think this is something we can and should all be working to address. Helping them in their jobs will only help them in life.

Love to see how much you care about your people Deanna. Great conversation to be having in this day and age.