Diversity

Managing and Appreciating your Diverse Workforce

by Kelly A. Cherwin, Communications Editor, HigherEdJobs

To state the obvious, no two people are ever exactly alike. There are numerous ways we may differ -- in fact, too many to include all of them in this article. Be it our gender, religious beliefs, different personalities, economic status, ethnicity, work style, educational background, rank, disabilities, marital status or approaches to life -- we live and work in a diverse world. To be an effective manager, you must know how to approach and manage various forms of diversity, often nontraditional, in your workplace.

Nontraditional diversity can lead to nontraditional types of challenges. The list that faculty and administration could be facing are many, but a few could be: the biases felt coming from different socioeconomic or educational backgrounds; the feelings experienced from possessing a disability; the anxiety of working in a multicultural environment; the feelings of isolation or not being part of the group; or the stress of finding a work-life balance. What are some strategies to deal with diversity?

First, consider establishing a mentoring program between colleagues as a way to help close the disconnect, or help employees who feel isolated or underrepresented in their department or institution feel more linked. It could be between colleagues of different rank, such as a tenured professor and a junior professor; colleagues of different educational backgrounds; coworkers experiencing similar work-life balance issues; or even colleagues from different departments of the university. Learning how other people thrive in your department or other departments can often be useful information to help individuals and the institution flourish. As a manager, helping foster a positive mentoring relationship based on trust can help both the mentor and mentee grow both personally and professionally. As noted in a recent article in American Academic, "Mentoring...