For decades many organizations have worked to make the workplace fairer and more equitable, motivated by both ethical and financial reasons. How have they done? According to a survey of 4 million management and non-management employees conducted by Mercer in 2019, better than I expected.
Here are highlights from the survey that indicate reasons for optimism (1):
- 81% of organizations are focused on improving diversity and inclusion
- 70% of both Black and white American employees feel they are receiving a fair deal when it comes to their health benefits, job security, work/life balance and developmental opportunities
- Only with the perception of pay fairness was there a discrepancy of 5 to 8 percentage points between Black and white American employees
- 75% of both Black and white Americans feel their manager supports their professional development
- 80% of both Black and white Americans think their manager is sensitive to their need for balance
- Trusting your manager showed a small variation. 83% of white non-management employees said they trust their manager, compared to 77% of Black non-management employees
- The perception gap between white managers and Black manager is bigger when asked if they had an equitable workplace free from harassment and discrimination. 86% of white managers and leaders agreed while 66% of Black managers and leaders agreed.
- 85% of Black employees and 91% of Black leaders and managers said they were motivated to go above and beyond to help their organization succeed, which is slightly higher than motivation levels for white employees (83%) and for white leaders and managers (90%).
Conclusion
The disparity in perceptions of the working world between white and Black employees is not as large as I expected. That’s good news, but there is still work to do.
Another interesting data point came from Morneau Shepell’s recent index, which found that 74% of American workers believe that racism remains a problem in the United States, while only 17% believe racism is a problem in their workplace. (2) Not sure what that means. Perhaps workplaces are viewed as more equitable than outside the workplace? Did the expression, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” get flipped?
(1) https://hrexecutive.com/these-are-the-differences-in-the-black-white-employee-experience/
(2) https://hrexecutive.com/3-ways-to-support-the-mental-health-of-employees-of-color/