Introduction to Unconscious Bias A quick-start guide to help you understand the basics of Unconscious Bias in the workplace. What is Unconscious Bias? Unconscious bias occurs when you make spontaneous judgements about people or situations based on your past experiences, culture, background, or exposure to media.  It often manifests itself as an impression or gut feeling that shapes your perception, often in ways that are hard to articulate.  These hidden preferences or prejudices can affect nearly every decision you make. Is Unconscious Bias Bad? Unconscious bias is not always bad.  The fact is, we use all kinds of mental shortcuts countless times every day.  Unconscious bias is part of being human, and it’s a tool for self-preservation that we have been leveraging from the beginning of time. In the workplace, however, it has broader implications, some of which might be detrimental.  Unconscious bias is a way we quickly process information and make decisions.  These decisions can be risky if they are based solely on the bias and not rooted in objective facts. Unconscious bias can also interrupt prudent consideration of objective facts.  For example, imagine you discover some commonalities with a prospective employee during an interview.  He went to the same college, you have a mutual friend, or you both backpacked across Europe after graduation.  Feeling that connection may lead you to choose that individual over another candidate who could bring more value to the company.  These decisions are made countless times a day and compound over time.  This could result in your organization being unable to reach its full potential. How Could Unconscious Bias Harm My Business? In the workplace, it’s common – and often a huge benefit to employees who share interests or personality traits to develop a certain level of friendship.  The challenge comes into play when friendships affect the opportunities available to certain employees.  If you are more familiar with a particular employee, you could be more likely to include, assign, recommend, or judge that team member differently than another with whom you are less familiar. What Is Unconscious Bias? What to Do About Unconscious Bias The goal of the training is for your employees and managers to be fair and make the most objective decision possible.  If employees recognize their tendencies, they can proactively identify these blind spots and avoid non-objective decisions. It’s not entirely possible to solve the issue of unconscious bias in the workplace.  The key is to choose a few specific areas to focus on instead of addressing it broadly.  Unconscious bias training is about recognizing how our assumptions can influence our decisions and making a conscientious effort to overcome those assumptions. The real danger of unconscious bias is that it divides people into an us vs. them mentality.  Working to address specific areas around unconscious bias will lead to a more diverse, unified, and connected workforce that operates at its full potential. Unconscious bias training is about recognizing how our assumptions can influence our decisions and making a conscientious effort to overcome those assumptions. Examples of Unconscious Bias This candidate sounds great! Resumes are a common source of unconscious bias.  In one study, managers were given a set of identical resumes where only the names had been changed.  Resumes with the Anglo sounding names received substantially more callbacks that those with diverse names. She’s not great with computers. Assigning a project with a significant technical component?  The best choice is a Generation Y-er, not the Baby Boomer, right?  This could be an accurate assumption, but it’s not always the case.  Evaluating competency based on age is a common mistake. HELP!  My video is upside down. When YouTube launched the video upload feature for their app, 5-10% of videos were uploaded upside down.  Google engineers had inadvertently designed the app for right-handed users.  They never considered the fact that phones are usually rotated 180 degrees when held in a user’s left hand. What Microaggression Means for Your Workplace Ask five co-workers for a definition of microaggression and you will likely receive five different responses.  While people may have a general idea of what micro aggression is, many are unsure of its exact meaning.  Understanding the definition of microaggression is important but knowing what it means for your workplace is even more critical. What Is Microagression? One often-used definition of microaggression is a “subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype.”  Many times microaggression can be viewed as a form of unconscious bias. As with unconscious bias, microaggression begins with making spontaneous judgments about people or situations based on the “observers” impressions of another’s past experiences, culture, or background.  Unconscious bias is not inherently wrong, and it’s used every day to navigate the world; however, these types of judgments can cause serious workplace trouble when they are solely based on “mental shortcuts” and do not take facts into account. The Paradox of Microaggression In one sense, the definition of microaggression is problematic because it’s a paradox.  Behavior that is considered to be unconscious is, by nature, unintentional while aggression is inherently defined as intentional.  Labeling an action as microaggression would mean that it is both unintentional and intentional at the same time. When a behavior is marked as a microaggression, there’s an accusation of aggression against another person.  This is a strong charge that should not be taken lightly.  It’s worth asking if a person can be guilty of intentional behavior when they’re unaware of doing so. The real problem with labeling this behavior as “aggressive” is that it can lead to an escalation as the term itself suggests a conscious action.  In the workplace, de-escalating these situations should be the primary objective.