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Workplace Taboo Part IV – Race and Ethnicity

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The mere mentioning of a name that implies ethnicity can prompt stereotypical responses. A classic experiment reported in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology sent email messages to landlords advertising apartment vacancies in Los Angeles County over a ten-week period. Names that implied Arabic, African American, or White ethnicity were attached randomly to these messages and not surprisingly the “White” names received significantly more responses. We just passed a grim anniversary of the 9/11 attacks… Read More »Workplace Taboo Part IV – Race and Ethnicity

Workplace Taboo Part III – Religious Expression

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We already learned that Americans misinterpret their freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. Outside of state law and case law, the Constitution only prohibits the Federal Government from passing laws abridging that freedom. The same could be said of our religious freedoms that are often taken for granted. The government cannot pass laws to form any kind of state religion or deny a citizen of his or her right to worship, or not… Read More »Workplace Taboo Part III – Religious Expression

Off the Grid: Not Necessarily HR – Run-Flat Tires

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The last time I went shopping for a new car, I almost didn’t select my first choice because it only came with run-flat tires. I had seen the commercials where a mother and her young child were on the side of a deserted road with a flat tire… in the rain of course for added impact. Safety has always been of paramount importance to me, but this was a new concept. These tires were more… Read More »Off the Grid: Not Necessarily HR – Run-Flat Tires

Unemployment Bias in Hiring

How bad is it for the unemployed today? If we were able to discount the disappointment, helplessness, and feelings of inadequacies caused by the loss of a job, there is still the daunting task of looking for work in an almost hostile environment in a weak economy. It seems that everybody is looking for a new opportunity. That includes those already working that feel the paycheck pinch and fear the ever present corporate ax that… Read More »Unemployment Bias in Hiring

Experience Can Be Our Worst Enemy

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Many of the stereotypes we believe to be absolute truths are the result of personal experiences that confirm the worst in other people. When we act on our prejudices about someone that is “not like us” we never stop to think about our thoughts from another point of view. Ironically we demand proof from others when we never do that of ourselves. Intellectually we know that anecdotal evidence is flawed, but if it reinforces a… Read More »Experience Can Be Our Worst Enemy