How can leaders create a more fair workplace for all

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on unfair treatment in the workplace that remained hidden for far too long.

According to Dr. Laurie Barclay, a professor of management and the Lang Chair in Leadership at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, companies must redefine fairness in the workplace by developing more inclusive, efficient ways of managing the needs and expectations of their employees. “Fairness” or “equity” does not always mean giving every employee the same thing, she says. Instead, fair managers account for their employees’ diverse needs.

As organizations slowly return to in-person office work, many employees report feeling like they’re being pushed back into pre-pandemic, top-down systems that are no longer effective or fair to employee differences. In recent research, Barclay notes a key shift in employee expectations throughout the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, for example, many employees viewed flexibility as a bonus or reward. Now, most identify flexibility as one of several conditions that employers must satisfy to ensure job satisfaction.

Barclay suggests an open-door policy for managers as they reimagine organizational models. However, managers must follow through on this practice rather than merely giving lip service to the idea.

If they claim to welcome employee perspectives but don’t follow through, the outcome will be worse than not having an open-door policy at all, says Barclay. “False promises break trust and foster resentment, which in turn inhibits productivity and further communication,” she adds.

Managers should also avoid being overly directive with day-to-day tasks, Barclay finds. Micromanaging can be counterproductive for employees. It can also short-change managers by distracting them from their own responsibilities and accelerating burnout, which diminishes their capacity to display empathy toward employees. “Managing well requires an open mind to trust your employees and make yourself a trusted source for them,” Barclay says.

To help cultivate that trust, Barclay encourages managers to implement “sense-giving,” or helping employees understand the motivation behind workplace policies and procedures. By clearly outlining organizational expectations, managers and employees can work together to discern how employee needs can be met within that framework. “Organizations, managers, and employees all have social and economic needs, and sometimes those needs compete with one another,” Barclay acknowledges. “On the employee side, it’s important for them to recognize that their managers also operate under a set of shifting constraints.”

While many organizations have tried to address these challenges through equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives, Barclay believes organizations need to more deeply embed EDI into their values and practices to reap the benefits. For example, many organizations promote EDI by focusing on issues like preventing harassment. But targeting harassment itself neglects the myriad of microaggressions and conflicts that often precede it.

“Waiting for these issues to reach a boiling point is a lost opportunity that typically results in detrimental costs for employee wellbeing, productivity, and retention,” Barclay explains. “Moving forward, we should focus on actively embedding and implementing EDI values and processes that promote consistent, fair treatment at every rung of the corporate ladder.”