DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

DISCRIMINATION in the workplace is not a phenomenon when it comes to the working environment. It is commonplace to the extent that it is almost irrelevant whether the workplace is a family-owned business, a business operated solely by family members, who themselves are the only employees, a mid-size company with 25-50 employees, or a large corporation. It is commonplace to the extent that it HAPPENS EVERYDAY IN ALMOST EVERY WORKING ENVIRONMENT – small, medium or large. It is like one size fits all.

With the present under-current of economic gloom and doom of nations globally , and with the alarming unemployment rate in the United States of America flagging at 10.4 %, in Canada at 8.2%, and more at home in Ontario at its highest, since 2007 at 9.1%, discrimination has certainly come out of the cobwebs in the workplace. The fresh take for employees now is how to keep their jobs and do their assigned ( or sometimes unassigned ) tasks for a pay-cheque. No longer, it would appear , anyone who is on a 9-5+ hour work-day can tell his boss to "take this job and shove it" ; or more enterprisingly " take this job and promote me" . The fact that food has to be on the table, bills have to be paid, shelter and clothing for themselves and their families are prerequisites for survival, means that, in the eyes of the worker, discrimination has to be thrown out of the window, rather than take a back-burner at work.

Many of us today who are in the unemployment snapshot, whether we have been laid off, terminated or let-go because companies have filed for bankruptcy, or simply quit ( not likely to hear an unemployed person simply saying this to a fellow unemployed person at a local restaurant or bar—or else your local TV station may have the pleasure of running this news longer than it takes a health reform bill to successfully pass through the senate ), are now becoming more conscious of what discrimination means in trying to obtain a job. Re-hiring may be a thing of the past, and new employment is fraught with the government’s untiring effort to create new jobs, opening up opportunities for second career programmes , encouraging people out of work to find ways to develop new skills, further their education … and the list goes on. The bottom line is this: once you think you’re ready, and you have your resume in your hand, you’re very likely to face discrimination at the door of the employer.

There are many variables which can be considered, more so from a macro socio-economic platform, why unemployed people may face a wave of discriminatory elements in trying to get a job ; not even considering finding a job. Among these variables may be age, gender, physical conditions such as health, family commitments, transportation ( think of some more, if you wish). And whether there is such a thing as justifiable discrimination will certainly raise a hornet’s nest with the Human Rights Commission of Ontario. And certainly lawyers who are specialized in labour laws may frantically litigate in every case that knocks at their door. Perhaps in many instances, workers ( unemployed or employed ) may not even be aware of any form of discrimination affecting them. So then, the big question for us lay workers, is to ask: WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION ? And the probability of 1 in 10 “workers” ( without any scientific study ), may be most of the time, if not all the time, uncertain of the answer to this question.

According to the book: “Human Rights At Work”, Third Edition (2008), which is an introduction to the Human Rights Code, DISCRIMINATION is not defined in the HUMAN RIGHTS CODE. But elements of discrimination are certainly explained ( not defined, I suppose) to warrant the comprehension of what DISCRIMINATION means at the workplace. This obviously invites philosophic debate as well as legal definition as a scholarly undertaking.

However, in my own understanding, and according to information in the book, Human Rights At Work, discrimination may be a factor if (a) consideration is not given to the worker, regarding his “unique merits, capacities and circumstances” (b) if a person (employer or co-worker) makes “stereotypical” remarks in relation to another individual’s attributes, and (c) consideration of situations that impact the individual’s rights. This explanation of discrimination , as it relates to the worker, is by no means comprehensive, or definitive ; it is intended to be used for discussion only.

This brings me to a report in the South Asia Mail, an independent internet daily, dated March 20, 2010 which I would like to add to this post for readers’ information and discussion:

AN ELOQUENT EXAMPLE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN CANADA


C. Grover

Racial discrimination is very much alive in Canada. It is highly prevalent in the federal public service. Human rights laws exist in Canada and they are expected to protect employees from discrimination in the workplace based on factors that do not relate to personal merit or requirements for the job. These include, workplace policies, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Canada is a signatory.

These legislative outlets are expected to serve as deterrence against discrimination and to provide lasting remedies to the victims of discrimination, but this is rarely the case in the Canadian setting, specifically where federal government agencies are the alleged perpetrators. The puny victim, oftentimes jobless and without any financial backing, is pitted against the mighty Canadian government with limitless public funds at its disposal, a truly David and Goliath fight, which is almost impossible for David to win. Dr. Chander Grover is the living example -- He has been fighting against his racial discrimination in employment for over 23 years, won many times in courts, but his plight has continued because of the government�s intransigence and disrespect for its own laws.

The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has given failing grades to Canada and has recommended that amendments are needed in the Canadian legislation at the federal, provincial and territorial levels and the legal system enhancement so as to allow victims of discrimination full access to competent tribunals and effective remedy. The UNHRC has been saying for over a decade that Canada is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because the Canadian Human Rights Act does not allow direct access to a competent tribunal.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has recently said � �If the government comes after you and uses resources, financial and otherwise, of the state, they can crush any Canadian citizen. This is the greatest threat to the individual liberties of the ordinary Canadian citizen that can exist anywhere, and we have to fight it.� (CTV, September 9, 2007). Clearly, Mr. Mulroney, who was Prime Minister for 9 years, knows about the Canadian government�s operations. The paradigm in the Grover case manifestly confirms Mr. Mulroney�s assertions.


To commemorate 2010 UN International Day for the Elimination of Racism on March 21st, South Asia Mail Daily will publish a series of articles which highlight the racial discrimination of Dr. Grover by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). This is not a simple employee-employer dispute, but involves the entire management of the NRC, several Central Agencies of the Government of Canada, the federal Minister of Industry and, above all, the Auditor General of Canada, AND AN ESTIMATED COST TO THE CANADIAN TAXPAYER OF 60 MILLION DOLLARS!!

LAYOFF & UNEMPLOYMENT

From Susan M. Heathfield, your Guide to Human Resources
Vol. 11 No. 30 - ISSN: 1533-3698 March 16, 2010
Dear People:
Each of us eventually selected a career. Whether that career has worked well for you, or not, you always have the chance to throw that dice again. Usually, thrown a bit later, that roll results in a career that you value. The earlier one was often a career that you fell into, not one you chose - and maybe not even one you trained to pursue.
I have several friends who are training in various aspects of health care careers currently. Dissatisfied with their earlier career choices, upset and left unemployed in the current job market, they figure health care credentials will keep them employed until retirement.
In this job market, retraining for a different career may be the option you choose. Want a couple of words of advice? Don't sit around waiting to get called back to your former job. Assess honestly whether that will ever happen. Sometimes the retraining may be unnecessary, but some people who are experiencing a second or third year of layoff, could already have that much time invested in retraining and a future.
Interested in exploring? Make a plan to reignite career passion. Or, create the life you want with a mid-career crisis. You may not like the life the dice dealt you, but you can create a better path from here.

Worried About a Layoff and Unemployment?
Wednesday March 10, 2010
Unemployment took a dip in Michigan in January. Woo-hoo! We now have 14.3% unemployment, doubled to count underemployed, part-time employed, and people who have stopped looking, to 28.6%. And, these are just the people who remain in the state looking. On a daily basis, the freeways are jammed with people, who are mobile, leaving Michigan for fairer climes with potential jobs. Thus, I awaited the Department of Labor February unemployment announcement with interest.
Nationally, unemployment is holding at 9.7% for February. Given that many economists and pundits predict no recovery in unemployment numbers prior to 2011 or later, this is better news than expected. Keep in mind that various experts say that 7-9,000,000 jobs have disappeared forever and this magnifies the difficulty of the unemployed in finding work.
Are You in Danger of a Layoff?
In this job climate, remaining employed is paramount. So, is knowing if a layoff and unemployment are headed your way. There are actions you can take, while you are still employed, that will help you navigate the sea of unemployment should it strike your family.

Please feel free to offer your comments.

WORK: FAILURE NOT AN OPTION ?

You wake up in the morning and feel uncomfortable about going to work. You have this gut feeling that you're not going to make it. You will fail at the task(s)assigned to you. But you need the job. And so you must go to work.
Can you, or anyone you know, relate to this situation?
Let's find out what Susan M. Heathfield has to say.

From Susan M. Heathfield, your Guide to Human Resources
Vol. 11 No. 21 - ISSN: 1533-3698 February 23, 2010
Dear People:
oyee job satisfaction most recently.
Please forward this newsletter, in its entirety, to your colleagues, coworkers and friends, because you want to add value to their work and lives.
Regards and wishing you and yours happiness this week,
Susan

If You Knew You Couldn't Fail...
Thursday February 18, 2010
"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" Robert H. Schuller asks a great question and, in one of the top Vancouver Olympic moments of 2010, Shaun White, snowboarding Halfpipe 2006 gold medalist, asked himself the same question.
Then, he dug deep inside of himself and performed as if he knew he could not fail.
Earning a 46.8 (out of 50) on his first run, he had earned the gold medal, assuming his challengers scored lower. When all of the contestants had taken their second runs, and Shaun's score continued to earn him the gold medal, he could have walked; danced; done a ceremonial, easy run; or anything he wanted. What did he choose to do?
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? He did a second run that earned him a 48.4 as he riskily tried out some of the newer moves that are defining his sport. What did Shaun do when he knew he couldn't fail? He pushed himself to do even more.
According to Olympics Fanhouse: "He exploded out of the chute, zipped up the massive structure, going higher, higher, and absurdly even higher, twisting sideways, slantways, and then here it came, the beyond dangerous, spiral Double McTwist 1260 he invented earlier this winter on the private halfpipe Red Bull built him. He has said it's the hardest trick he's ever done, a double-flipping, 3.5-spinning extravaganza that winds him into a human pretzel... 'I wanted a victory lap that would be remembered,' White said. 'I achieved that.'"
Each of the Olympic medal winners like Shaun, and Lindsey Vonn (gold) and Julia Mancuso (two silvers) in downhill skiing, and Evan Lysacek, gold in Figure Skating, dedicated years of practice and devotion to achieve top performance in their sports. Can you emulate them in your own work?
Questions for Work Success
In the midst of the 2010 winter Olympics, here are questions that each of you might want to consider. Your answers say a lot about who you are, how you work, how you get along with other work players, and they highlight our methods, innovations and contributions on the playing field.

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
How many years are you willing to invest to achieve your goals?
Are you a follower or does your work define your game, project, or industry?
Do you play well with others so team mates are happy when you win? (If not me - you.)
Does the camaraderie you exhibit with your team members make all of you more successful? Or does it emphasize failure, remorse, and excuses?
Does your interaction with your coach bring out the best in you, challenge you to do and accomplish more, and provide recognition as you conquer each new mountain?
Let's put the EMPLOYER on a spot:
Contradictory Employer Actions
Wednesday February 17, 2010
In a recent interview with a reporter from a retail magazine, I identified some of the actions that employers take that impede the team building they say they want. The interview has me thinking.
Let's start with commission-based pay. In the retail environment, paying a commission on sales guarantees that employees are competing with each other for customers and money. This can result in dysfunctional behavior.
Customers are descended upon by hoards of employees competing for the sale. People are not rewarded for helping each other. As an example, why would an employee put away clothes after they are tried on in a dressing room, if their only compensation comes from direct sales? Another potentially anti-team work action I have noted is when an employee is held accountable for the contents of the cash register. In this environment, no other employee can touch that machine even if it would benefit customers.
Additionally, if the majority of an employee's pay is commission on based on sales, what is the worth of running the cash register? Not picking solely on the retail environment, as it is just one example, but so frequently employers are rewarding and recognizing behavior that they say they don't want.
For me, it goes back to the Dr. W. Edwards Deming statement: What about the work system is causing the employee to fail? If you see behavior that is contrary to what you think you want, ask what you are doing to reward, recognize, and make the employee believe the behavior is appropriate. I guarantee most employees don't make it up. They are taught.


What needs to be done to EMPOWER employees, so they don't gas about failure?
(more review later).
Glad if you can share your thoughts on the human condition in the work place.

ABOUT OBSTACLES

OBSTACLES ARE THE STEPPING STONES OF SUCCESS by Harvey Mackay (yoursuccessstore.com), May 16,2009.

A man was walking in the park one day when he came upon a cocoon with a small opening. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It looked like it had gotten as far as it could, so the man decided to help the butterfly. He used his pocketknife and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily, but something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to emerge was natural. It was nature's way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
If we were allowed to go through life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.
History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.
My good friend, Lou Holtz, football coach of the University of South Carolina, once told me, "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity."
Beethoven composed his greatest works after becoming deaf. George Washington was snowed in through a treacherous winter at Valley Forge. Abraham Lincoln was raised in poverty. Albert Einstein was called a slow learner, retarded and uneducable. If Christopher Columbus had turned back, no one could have blamed him, considering the constant adversity he endured.
As an elementary student, actor James Earl Jones (a.k.a. Darth Vader) stuttered so badly he communicated with friends and teachers using written notes.
Itzhak Perlman, the incomparable concert violinist, was born to parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp and has been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of four.
Chester Carlson, a young inventor, took his idea to 20 big corporations in the 1940s. After seven years of rejections, he was able to persuade Haloid, a small company in Rochester, N.Y., to purchase the rights to his electrostatic paper- copying process. Haloid has since become Xerox Corporation.
Thomas Edison tried over 2,000 experiments before he was able to get his light bulb to work. Upon being asked how he felt about failing so many times, he replied, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, elected President of the United States for four terms, had been stricken with polio at the age of 39.
Persistence paid off for General Douglas MacArthur. After applying for admission to West Point twice, he applied a third time and was accepted. The rest is history.
In 1927 the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, instructed student Lucille Ball, to "Try any other profession. Any other."
Buddy Holly was fired from the Decca record label in 1956 by Paul Cohen, Nashville "Artists and Repertoire Man." Cohen called Holly "the biggest no-talent I ever worked with."
Academy Award-winning writer, producer and director Woody Allen failed motion picture production at New York University (NYU) and City College of New York. He also flunked English at NYU.
Helen Keller, the famous blind author and speaker, said: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Silver is purified in fire and so are we. It is in the most trying times that our real character is shaped and revealed."
Mackay's Moral: There is no education like the university of adversity.
-- Harvey Mackay

Get more of what you want in your life .
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"The history of the human race is the history of ordinary people who have overcome their fears and accomplished extraordinary things." Brian Tracy