Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace

Employee diversity refers to the cultural, religious, regional, gender difference between the employees of an organization in the workplace.

So in such workplaces, businesses have some challenges, which should be discuss in detail. So here the question is what are the challenges of diversity in the workplace?

Challenges Of Diversity in the Workplace

1. Resistance to Change
2. Segmented Communication Networks
3. Resentment
4. Backlash
5. Retention
6. Competition for opportunities
7. Lower Cohesiveness
8. Communication Problem
9. Diversity Also Increases Errors and Misunderstandings
10. Mistrust and Tension
11. Stereotyping

Diversity offers challenges as well as opportunities. The challenges include the following.

1. Resistance to Change

The dominant groups in organizations are still make up of while men although employee diversity is a fact of life.

2. Segmented Communication Networks

It is found from one research that within organization most communication happens between members of same race and sex.

Therefore the challenge of segmented communication networks is face by diverse work force organizations.

3. Resentment

Fairness of employment that is free from all kind of discrimination in many of organizations refers as equal employment opportunity, and it was a compelled alteration rather than a voluntary one.

4. Backlash

While minorities and women may consider a “cultural diversity policy” of an organization as a commitment to enhancing their opportunities for advancement, it may be seen as threat by white men.

5. Retention

Mostly job satisfaction levels of white men are higher than that of women and minorities.

6. Competition for Opportunities

Competition for jobs & opportunities is enhanced in increase as minority population grows in United States.

7. Lower Cohesiveness

A lack of cohesiveness can be created by diversity. Cohesiveness refers to how tightly the group is knitted and the extent to which members of group interpret, perceive and act on their environment in mutually or same agreed upon manners.

Read Also: Workforce Diversity and Its Types

Diverse workforce typically is less cohesive than homogenous groups, because of their lack of similarities, culture, language and experience.

8. Communication Problem

Communication problem is perhaps the most common negative influence of diversity. These problems contain inaccuracies, misunderstanding and slowness.

Speed is lost when additional time is needed to explain things or when not all group members are fluent in the same language.

9. Diversity Also Increases Errors and Misunderstandings

The members of group in fact do not interpret the things in same way but they assume that they assume the things in similar manner. Because of their different frames of references, they disagree.

10. Mistrust and Tension

People prefer to link with others who are similar to themselves. Because of lack of contact & low familiarity, this tendency mostly leads to misunderstanding & mistrust of those who are different.

Tension & trust can also be caused by it and reaching agreement on issues cannot be easy.

11. Stereotyping

We learn to view world in a particular manner based on our experiences and backgrounds. What we see & hear is block, distort and select by filters of our values, interests and cultures.

Rather than correctly evaluate and perceive those individual’s capabilities, contributions, motivations and aspirations, group members mostly stereotype their “different” colleagues.