Page 38 - CCCA Magazine Fall 2018

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bringing our Whole selVes to Work

By Karen Sadler

“On my way to becoming a lawyer, I learned that success isn't ■ Are employees penalized for needing
necessarily about merit. It's also about ftting in,” writes Hadiya to take care of non-work-related tasks
during work hours? For instance, reg-
roderique to open her personal essay, “Black on Bay Street,” istering their children for activities,
published in The Globe and Mail last fall to wide acclaim. checking in with family members they
1
may be caring for or scheduling doc-
tor’s appointments.
s she moved through law school to a Not only is inclusion good for the individ- ■ Are certain personality traits (extrover-
career in private practice, Roderique ual, it’s essential for optimal team growth sion, decisiveness, brashness) rewarded
Acame to realize that “companies say and success. while others (introversion, consensus
they want diverse candidates, but the seeking, cautious) are not?
numbers don’t bear the claims out.” The Who gets to and Who doesn’t? ■ Do your offce discussions and initia-
result is that talented professionals who Do your colleagues have the freedom to tives around mental health still carry a
don’t “ft in” with the traditional culture bring their whole selves to work? Do you? stigma?
(white, male, straight, able-bodied, upper Start by asking yourself these questions: ■ Does your leadership team refect the
class) fnd themselves leaving pieces of ■ Do LGBTQ employees have the free- demographics of your employees?
their identities at the door in order to suc- dom to talk about their same-sex and/or Your answers will give you a clearer idea
ceed in the Canadian workplace. transgender spouses or partners? To keep of who feels welcome in your workplace
Well, it’s time that the Canadian work- a photo of their partner on the desk? and who might not. As Ritu Bhasin, a
place changed. ■ Do Black employees have the freedom brown woman and author of The Authen-
In an interview with Forbes, Mike to wear their hair naturally and in ticity Principle, explains during an inter-
Robbins, author of Bring Your Whole styles that work for their hair? view with The Toronto Star:
Self to Work, explains this need for ■ Are offce outings and team-building
change perfectly: activities considerate and inclusive of By the time I ended up in the workplace I
all employees? For example, not every- had already learned how to switch codes
When we don’t bring our whole selves to work one grew up playing golf and not ev- and navigate through white male culture.
we suffer—lack of engagement, lack of pro- eryone drinks alcohol. The more I conformed, the more I was re-
ductivity, and our well-being is diminished. ■ In your offce, are there private spaces warded, and I succeeded… that continued to
We aren’t able to do our best, most innovative for people who need time alone to re- the point where I was living a binary life. So
work, and we spend and waste too much time charge or calm down? For coworkers I was one way at work and during evenings
trying to look good, ft in, and do or say the who need to take a personal phone and weekends, living in a very different way.
“right” thing. For teams and organizations, call? For nursing parents? For people And ultimately I was profoundly unhappy. 3
this lack of psychological safety makes it dif- who wish to pray?
fcult for the group or company to thrive and ■ Does your offce have a gender-neutral Both Bhasin and Robbins emphasize that
perform at their highest level because people bathroom? it’s up to leaders to take active steps to
are holding back some of who they really are. 2 ■ Is your offce space accessible? If not, encourage and welcome authenticity in
can accommodations be easily made? their coworkers and employees. In the

Hadiya roderique. “Black on Bay Street,” The Globe and Mail, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/hadiya-roderique-black-on-bay-street/article36823806/
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2 Henna Inam, “Bring Your Whole Self to Work,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/hennainam/2018/05/10/bring-your-whole-self-to-work/#316a47e46291
3 Shree Paradkar, “To our inner Hadiya resisting workplace conformity, carry on. just don’t keep calm,” The Toronto Star, https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/11/10/to-our-inner-
hadiya-resisting-workplace-conformity-carry-on-just-dont-keep-calm-paradkar.html

38 CCCA MAgAzIne | FAll 2018 AuTOMne