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Despite the admonition to keep our personal lives out of the workplace, the reality is we are only human. This article makes us aware of the factors we bring to the workplace.
Whenever an individual enters into a conversation with another person, the individual brings his or her entire life history into the fray. This may sound like hyperbole, but no one can overestimate how much our background influences the image we present to others.
Despite countless admonitions that such things “do not belong in the workplace”, the reality is that people cannot keep who they are out of the work environment. Who we are is neither good nor bad. It is. In order to increase our effectiveness in the job, we need to pay attention to how others perceive what we bring to the table and how these aspects of our ourselves influence our perception of others. Our background and experiences can be an asset because they can provide insights and solutions to problems. At other times they may be detriments because our experiences may have been limited resulting in narrow perspectives.
I divide our background into seven broad aspects. Some may be obvious, others are much more covert but just as important:
GENDER While most jobs are gender neutral, the presence of a man or a woman in a particular position can have a ripple effect through an entire department or organization. Studies show that men and women react differently to supervisors of different genders. Culture may have changed attitudes over time, but be aware that the fact you are a man or a woman affects the dynamics of any room you enter.
AGE True, it is only a number that indicates you have been on this planet for a set piece of time. Yet, how we view age and how others view age is a great source of overt and covert tension in the workplace. Living a number of years can give someone a perspective to view things in a broader context. But age can also bring cynicism and hesitancy for new ideas. Do you carry the nark of wisdom and adventure with you when you enter a room, or the tired gaze of “seen it, done that”?
ETHNICITY I once had an instructor for a course on diversity, who made the admonition at the first class that everyone in the room has experienced prejudice or oppression because of their background at some point. With that on the table we can begin to make choices. We can approach others with the defeatist attitude of the downtrodden, or bring to others an appreciation of our culture and thereby inviting them to appreciate their own.
EDUCATION What have we learned, or not, and where have we learned it up to this point are valuable lessons to draw upon and to share. Some people may flaunt their schooling, but is it the quality of the education or name brand recognition? Remember in most cases generic soap cleans just as good as Tide. The name Harvard may open doors, but a state school education is just as good if used wisely.
ECONOMIC/SOCIAL STATUS And speaking of Harvard, if the very name intimidates you, you may have issues with who you are or who THEY are. The workforce brings together individuals of various social classes together to perform certain tasks. Never underestimate our past indoctrination. Are the rich really different? Are working class individuals more followers than leaders? How we answer those and similar questions influence the quality and substance in workplace communication.
SPIRTUALITY For some, this is an intensely private topic. For others, it is part of their belief system to overtly express their beliefs in words, actions, and dress. Workplace policy may decide what your options for behavior are, but in any case be aware that being true to your core spiritual ethics and values may put you in direct conflict with actions and decisions in the company.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION Unless you are gay or lesbian you might be tempted to say, this is not an issue. But that is just the issue! If you believe this has no place in the workplace, think for a moment of these examples: pictures on the desk of a spouse and children, the guest you bring to the company party, an office bridal or baby shower, talking about last weekend’s social plans. All of these involve divulging one’s sexual orientation.
Not all of these are at work all of the time, but some will be all of the time. Once we have the knowledge of what we bring to the table, we will make sure that we only bring what puts us in the best light. After all, would you go the dinner table with a soupspoon if you were being served steak?
About the Author
Dennis Gaudet,is a life planning coach whose specialty is helping people develop step by step acttion plans to design the type of life they want. Dennis can be reached for individual coaching sessions at dennis@livesbydesign.com
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