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The Unrecognized Action That Kills Engagement

We are all fluent in the small things that make us feel excluded – being interrupted, having our name constantly mispronounced, failing to gain eye contact, the joke we are not included in. In the 1970s while working for MIT, Mary Rowe coined the term ‘micro-inequities’ to describe these “apparently small events which are often ephemeral and hard-to-prove”, going on to say that they are “covert, often unintentional [and] frequently unrecognized by the perpetrator”.

We can safely assume that the majority of employees don’t intend to exclude workmates who are different to them. But it happens, and the psychological impact of that exclusion is similar to that of physical pain. Not only are micro-inequities unrecognized by the person inadvertently dishing them out, they also go unnoticed by other observers, who fail to speak up, correct or stop them from happening . This passive ‘bystanding’ is just as damaging for the person on the receiving end as is actively adding to the exclusion .

Social psychologists in the 1960s reliably demonstrated that, when other people are present, we are much less likely to offer help to someone in need. They called this bystander apathy , and there are a number of contributing factors, including the ambiguity of the situation (does the other person really need help?), the relationship between the bystander and the victim and the cohesiveness of the majority group. Our innate ‘like me’ bias – towards people who are similar and away from those who are different – makes bystander apathy even more likely to happen in a diverse workplace.

Fostering inclusion means overcoming bystander apathy : firstly, by educating employees about the damaging consequences of micro-inequities, thus reducing the ambiguity around the situation. People need to realize that when somebody is ignored, interrupted, introduced incorrectly and so on, that person is in need of help.

Secondly, organizations must educate employees that doing nothing to correct micro-inequities is a form of exclusion in itself. And thirdly, employees need to be equipped with techniques to step in, speak up and include those who are excluded, while saving face for everyone involved. Techniques like bridging, valuing and protecting.

The psychological pain of everyday mini acts of exclusion limits individuals’ ability to contribute to their full potential and has a cumulative negative impact on organizational performance. So it makes sense from a commercial – as well as moral – perspective for organizations to create a culture of inclusion over and above the legal requirement of diversity. And It’s the bystanders, not the bullies, who need the most support to get there.

The psychological impact of that exclusion is similar to that of physical pain (image credit: Thinkstock)



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