Understanding organizational barriers to a more inclusive workplace

Survey results show that many employees do not feel fully included at work and want their organizations to do more to advance inclusion and diversity. To do so, companies can address four factors.

 
McKinsey’s research has shown that diversity can help organizations increase innovation, reconsider entrenched ways of thinking, and improve financial performance.¹ Organizations can take full advantage of the perspectives of a diverse workforce only if leaders and employees enjoy a sense of inclusion,² which we define as the degree to which an individual feels that their authentic selves are welcomed at work, enabling them to contribute in a meaningful and deliberate manner. We also know from our work that individuals’ sense of inclusion is influenced by their experiences with the organization as a whole, the organization’s leaders, and peers or team members.³ For our recent McKinsey Global Survey on the topic,⁴ we approximated inclusion by combin­ing survey respondents’ reported feelings of authenticity, belonging, and comfort participating in the workplace.⁵ Our survey research finds that respondents of all backgrounds encounter barriers to feeling included—and that women, respondents who are ethnic and racial minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ encounter additional challenges.⁶

Analysis of the survey results, which were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic and before events in the United States spurred conversations around the world about racial justice and equity, shows that respondents who feel very included in their organizations are nearly three times more likely than their peers to feel excited by and committed to their organizations. What’s more, respondents from all demographics say they have taken organizations’ inclusiveness into account when making career decisions and would like their organizations to do more to foster inclusion and diversity. While leaders may have shifted their focus to urgent strategic needs amid the pandemic, organizations can consider using this time of historic disruption and heightened discourse about injustice to advance inclusion and diversity rather than allowing these priorities to recede. For those seeking to create a more inclusive workplace, the survey results point to specific factors that organizations can address.

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Πηγή: mckinsey.com