How to Embrace Difference Boundaries for a More Empowered Workplace

Picture your current or most recent workplace. Did you feel supported and, better yet, empowered in that setting? If so, what aspects of your workplace contributed to this positive experience? If not, what could have been done better for a more uplifting experience? If you’ve felt unsatisfied with the support of your workplace, keep reading! In this article, we’ll dive into some key components of creating an ideal, supportive and empowering workplace environment.

Difference Boundaries exist to be acknowledged and appreciated

What is a difference boundary? A difference boundary is essentially any characteristic that identifies who you are. A few examples of difference boundaries are: nationality, race, ethnicity, native language, gender, age, occupation, education level, etc. However, do not let the term “boundary” mislead you; these characteristics do not serve to separate you from each other. Rather, they should be acknowledged as something with the potential to separate you, but with even more power to bring you closer. 

Here’s a classic, real-time example of that: Especially in our current society, we are experiencing social unrest surrounding racial inequalities. A common misconception of race as a difference boundary is that it should be ignored in order to avoid the boundary all together, i.e. claiming that one is “colorblind” to race. This perspective results in a seemingly dismissive response to inequalities and discrimination, or simply even differences that may exist, whether within or out of the workplace. 

Other common difference boundaries in the workplace are gender and sexuality, where employees are sometimes treated differently as far as job responsibilities and opportunities. While these inequalities have become lessened over the years, it is important to acknowledge that these difference boundaries still exist and influence how a workplace functions, even if we believe that they shouldn’t. In fact, there was just a Supreme Court ruling in favor of LGBTQ rights in the workplace - a landmark decision that protects gay and transgender employees from workplace discrimination.

Instead of dismissing or avoiding difference boundaries, it is important to acknowledge that these differences exist, and thus also validating the experiences and disparities of others across these boundaries. By acknowledging and validating the differences and group identities that exist in the workplace, you can effectively open up the dialogue to how we can cross these boundaries for a more supportive environment overall. Like the Supreme Court case did, the goal is to eventually diminish inequalities that can arise from difference boundaries to create an inclusive, positive and empowering workplace.

Respect boundaries to empower employees

Which boundaries are we talking about? All of them. Respecting difference boundaries was the first step in creating a supportive and empowering environment. But, we must also respect the actual workplace boundaries of coworkers and employees in order to empower them to the full extent. 

Some leaders may view empowerment in the workplace as assigning more tasks and responsibilities, but this can sometimes be overwhelming and have opposite effects on employees. According to the Harvard Business Review, different employees respond differently to an empowering employer depending on their ethnic background or time with the company, and can sometimes respond negatively as they question their employer’s leadership and ability to complete tasks. 

This discovery further lends to the idea that understanding employee and coworker expectations and boundaries is crucial in establishing a positive and empowering workplace. It is important to recognize and embrace difference boundaries; however, it is also very important to understand that different people respond differently to empowering behavior. Understanding expectations and boundaries can prevent you from overstepping those boundaries.

The power of communication and appreciative Inquiry

Open communication is another meaningful action that helps to create a strong foundation of support in the workplace. Successful communication involves important skills such as appreciative inquiry and appreciative listening - skills that anyone can learn and benefit from! 

Appreciative inquiry (Ai) in this context serves to actively create and lead the conversation in a direction where the interaction is positive and productive for those involved. PositivePsychology.com gives a simple example of how Ai can be used in conversation: Instead of a parent simply asking their child: “What happened at school today?” and receiving a one word response from the child, they can ask “What’s the best thing that happened at school today?” This method of communication leads conversation in a positive, productive direction - a very valuable skill in creating a supportive and empowering workplace environment.

Along with appreciative inquiry comes appreciative listening: actively listening to understand and respond to important parts of a conversation. This is also a simple skill to learn and is especially useful in the workplace, where your understanding and positive response to others will shape the system of support in that environment. Once there is enough constructive dialogue surrounding difference boundaries and how to bridge them or respect them, there will be a higher level of empathy and comfort within the workplace and, in turn, a stronger sense of support.

Acknowledgement ≠ Support 

Acknowledgement and respect of various boundaries within the workplace is an important step, but only the first part in creating a supportive environment for you and your coworkers. In order for that first step to be meaningful, it must be followed by meaningful action. According to Forbes Magazine, practicing and promoting empathy is the best start to actively creating a more supportive and inclusive work environment. Greater Good Magazine by UC Berkeley lists some empathy behaviors you can do such as being curious about the lives of others and challenging prejudices to step outside of your comfort zone. Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone different from you. What challenges might they be facing? How can you help them overcome or cope with these challenges?  

Maybe you find it difficult to put yourself in someone else's shoes and answer these questions. This could indicate that, while you may have acknowledged a difference boundary between yourself and a coworker, you may still need to have a conversation to further your understanding of this difference boundary and the challenges that it may bring. 

Sustainable support systems

Acknowledging the difference boundaries that exist, check. Practicing empathy towards those “across” difference boundaries, check. Having open communication in the workplace, check. So how do we keep this support system going without having to be reminded? In their positive psychology related report, “Embracing Diversity”, authors Ronald Hicks, Jocelyn Davis and John Cable discuss a few factors in approaching a positive and supportive workplace culture. One of their insights is that we must become more aware of our unconscious minds and biases in order to be genuinely accepting and supportive of our coworkers.

Introspection, after all, is the key to changing your attitude and behavior towards others and your environment. In an episode called “How to innovate for an ethical future” from Kris Østergaard’s The Corporate Innovation podcast, PII co-director Margarita Quihuis joins in to discuss how businesses can be more ethical moving forward. Quihuis states that often “in the U.S. we’re very individualistic and don’t think about how we operate within a system,” when really we should be figuring out how “by [our] existing and making a profit [we] also strengthened the ecosystem around [us].”

Once we can begin to change our attitudes, behaviors and perspectives about ourselves and towards others to be more accepting and empathetic, we pave the way for a sustainably supportive coworker relationship and workplace foundation. Employers can help to do this by creating or sending out educational materials on employee empowerment and accepting diversity in the workplace as a catalyst for holistic introspection and positive, outward change.

Conclusion 

Creating a more supportive and empowering workplace can be a sensitive and daunting task, but with a few simple guiding principles we can collectively create the most ideal and welcoming environment for all. Acknowledgement and understanding is always the first step in creating some sort of change, so we must first acknowledge the difference boundaries that exist. Then, we can take steps to be empathetic towards coworkers, productively communicate, educate ourselves and in turn, be more introspective to further sustain this foundation of support in the workplace. 

Figuring out how to make your workplace as supportive and empowering as possible begins small. Through education, reflection and introspection, this task becomes less and less daunting. 
One small step you can take right now is to listen to the insightful The Corporate Innovation podcast episode on “Innovation for an ethical future” featuring Margarita Quihuis linked here →