Discrimination

As many of us are aware, there are people who tend to make conscious and unconscious assumptions about others based on their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and/or age and, the workplace is no exemption for this kind of behavior to occur. It is clear that many of us have witnessed or experienced this negative behavior which is still common in the workplace despite of the many laws that have put into action to prevent discrimination. For that, I believe that other measures should take place in any organization that is encountering this kind of matters to cure the problem. Indeed, it is vital for an employer to be proactive in putting a stop to discrimination from happening in the first place because of the reason that it is costly and can result in employees’ turnover and absenteeism, lower employee morale and productivity, and higher insurance premiums and defense costs, among other things. Personally, I have not experienced this kind of negative behavior in my workplace, but I have heard terrible stories from others who have dealt with the problem – what they went through and how stressful it is just to be around this kind of environment not only for the employee but also the company itself. The only thing I can think of that I felt uncomfortable around a person was a time when I was working on my Bachelor’s Degree and I joined a club. All members made me feel welcome except for one of the leaders who made me feel so intimidated that I felt I made a mistake signing up. Yet, I was determined that I wasn’t going to let anybody bully me and pushed me out from the club. Therefore, the only way I thought to be the best way to clear up the misunderstanding was to speak to the facilitator of the club and set a meeting with the person I felt uncomfortable with so we will be able to solve any issues that can further arise. Come to find out that she was the one who was threatened by me. I was thankful that I was able to speak out and we were able to solve the...