Inclusion Round-Up | September

Dear reader, as we head up to National Inclusion Week, I am taking the time to reflect on some of my key moments of reflection over the past month.

Emotional intelligence, curiosity, and the Queen’s passing

Having grown up in Brazil, a Federal Republic which ceased to be a monarchy in 1822, experiencing first hand a page of history being written in this first country has been a learning opportunity for me. I understand I come into this conversation as an outsider, as someone to whom, while at a long distance, Queen Elizabeth II was for a long time an iconic figure I associated with a nation and a way of life that seemed so far removed from my own.

Having now been in the UK for nearly 10 years, what was once a distant figure became a much more present image in my day-to-day life. While I have always avoided gossip about the royals, it always seemed omnipresent. And listening to the Queen’s speech on Christmas day, somehow gave me the feeling of “yes, I am in the United Kingdom”.

As an outsider who now finds himself on the inside, observing the reactions across the country and across the globe to the death of the Monarch has given me an insight into a most complex gamut of emotions and reactions, not only from friends in the UK, but also from friends abroad. Firstly, it has given me an even deeper insight into the very complex and emotional relationship the UK has with the monarchy and its legacy, and a reminder that the complexity and nuances of these conversations are seldom understood or heard abroad. Coming from a country that still struggles with its position as a once European colony that was (and still is) exploited to an inch of its life, but which still looks at the UK and most of Europe as the example of what our country could have been like in an alternative timeline, it has been eye opening being on the other side. And that is a mindset still prevails in many other countries outside Europe – upon watching the state funeral on TV, comments on how perfect the procession was reflected their idea that every facet of life in this country is equally ‘perfect’.

So while being ‘an outsider’ does give me a few layers of distance, observing this experience has led me to reflect on the importance of being curious to understand different perspectives, but also a reminder of the power of empathy.

Regardless of one’s feelings towards the monarchy, the extensive coverage of the Queen’s state funeral has triggered emotional responses from people where at least expected it. Friends and family back home, to whom the Queen was only but a distant figure, found the experience of watching the funeral emotionally overpowering.

When we tried to deconstruct those emotions, many mentioned that the funeral triggered feelings of grieving, or even the fear of losing people close to them. I even found myself in the unexpected position of giving someone close to me a shoulder to cry on.

And regardless of where one stands in the conversation around the Monarchy, it reminded me of the power of empathy – the power to be empathetic towards someone a whole world apart from you (as attested by my folks back home), and the importance of showing empathy to and giving people the time they need to process and understand their own feelings. You may want to consider how this time has impacted others around you, and what feelings – consciously or subconsciously – it may have triggered. 

For advice on how to support your employees through this time, my colleague Ariel has written a fantastic blog article, Queen Elizabeth II: advice for employers that I wholeheartedly recommend.

The neurodivergent experience

One of my favourite parts of my job is that I have the privilege of sharing not only my lived experience with others, but also talk about matters that are important to me through conversations and training.

This month I have had the opportunity to deliver a fair number of sessions on neurodiversity, a topic that’s very close to my heart. I have been on my own neurodivergent journey for a few years, as I came to understand more about myself and what it means to live with dyspraxia and ADHD. I have actually been on that journey for a lot longer, only now I have ‘labels’ to help me understand more about myself.

While I constantly remind people of the power of storytelling, I sometimes underestimate the power of sharing my own experience with others, and how that helps in creating safe environments where others feel comfortable sharing their experience.

This month I have had some truly transformation or moments in different training rooms, as I have heard stories that inspired me and that also reminded me how much misunderstanding there still is around neurodiversity.

And as I write this, a new survey from WTW’s Global Benefits Attitudes reveals the following stats:

“According to the research, neurodivergent employees report low physical, emotional and financial wellbeing compared to neurotypical employees, but have higher social wellbeing. Only a quarter (25%) of neurodiverse employees feel financially secure and emotionally balanced, while only 36 percent feel they have good physical health. Also, half of neurodiverse employees feel burned out from work, while this figure sits at 38 percent for neurotypical employees.“

While some of the stats are upsetting, they are not altogether unsurprising. Many of us in the neurodivergent community face daily internal and external battles as we try to navigate a world that was not built for us. Many of us may still be in the journey of understanding the strengths that our neurodivergent experience can bring to us and how we can channel those.

One of the more positive stories of the survey is that those who participated reported higher social well-being. I hope this means that many of us in the community are getting better equipped with tools to help us thrive emotionally and mentally in our day-to-day lives.

If you are an employer, do not underestimate the important part you play in that conversation, as the safe environments you provide for neurodivergent employees will have an impact not only on their well-being at work, but also on their life outside of work. We spend so much of our working lives at work, and for many people some of their most authentic and fulfilling relationships are in the work environment. Remember that can be the employer, or manager, or colleague, that can make a true difference in the life of your employee.

The dividends of organisations being proactive in inclusion matters

Over the past couple of years, I have observed the most fascinating phenomenon: employees who traditionally would feel too afraid or unsafe to challenge their employers, very publicly taking their bosses to task when they are not happy with how those have (or haven’t!) responded to causes or events that matter to them.

Just to name a few, we see this with Black Lives Matter, we see this with the gender pay gap, we see this with organisations that on the surface support Pride but behind the scenes are supporting institutions or politicians that back anti-LGBTQ+ causes.

In this very public forum, employees are more and more feeling empowered to have a voice and speak up. As a result, many employers are even more at loss, confused or afraid on how to respond to shifting expectations around corporate responsibility.

Lest we not forget that at the helm of each and every organisation there are leaders, and while there is much to be said about a bottom up approach to I&D, let’s never underestimate the influence that those at the top have across the whole organisation. An article from Harvard Business Review officers the following reflection:

“(…) despite the increasing urgency from stakeholders of all kinds for corporations to take on a greater role in social change, a large proportion of leaders are vastly unprepared or even unaware of these expectations. If they choose to take action at all, they more often than not follow a long-outdated playbook of one-time corporate donations, hastily delivered unconscious bias trainings, and social media posts that come across as the corporate equivalent of “thoughts and prayers.”

There are a couple of things to unpick here. First is the element of organisations being consistent with what they say and what they do. Case in point, an organisation supporting Black Lives Matter on their website, but completely failing to acknowledge or do anything about the systems of oppression that exist within their organisation.

This is not about having a PR statement ready for each and every occasion, it is about ensuring that your values and your diversity and inclusion mission are truly aligned and reflective of each other. It is not just about creating a document that will be presented at a stakeholder conference, it’s about truly codifying what those values mean on the day today from the perspectives of everyday behaviour, leadership accountability and business directive.

Which leads me to my second point, which is that most organisations are not supporting their leaders by providing them with the tools to succeed in the inclusion conversation, or not holding them accountable to doing what the organisation has set out to do.

Going back to my point around empathy earlier in this article, it is not about having ‘ready to go’ statements or about expecting employees to check out their personal worries when they come through the door (whether that’s a physical building or a Teams call). It is about having the emotional intelligence to truly listen and provide spaces where conversations can happen, and where those conversations can lead to action – as opposed to just reaction. Doing the ‘inclusion basics’ is much more than that: it is about creating an organisation that is resilient to change and that is keeping up with the times, as opposed to desperately trying to catch up with them.

Closing thoughts

Keeping with the theme of proactivity and empathy, as we experience National Inclusion Week, remember to proactively think about how you will keep the momentum on the conversation on inclusion for the rest of the year.

If you’re making promises about safe spaces and healthy working environments, do you have a plan in place to act as opposed to just react? Remember to lead those conversations with empathy by listening to that which is the biggest asset in your organisation: your employees.

If you need expert inclusion insight, we’re ready to help. If you’re a member, contact your account manager. If you’re not yet a member, contact us here.