Here are some ways that you can reduce your own unconscious biases and help to prevent them impacting your decision making. There are, of course, steps you can take to avoid unconscious bias in your workplace - and many big businesses are now sending all staff on unconscious bias training to reduce its impact on the company. Group think - the tendency to try too hard to fit into an existing culture, mimicking others and holding back thoughts or opinions, resulting in the loss of identity and lost creativity and innovation Perception bias - the tendency to believe one thing about a group of people based on stereotypes and assumptions, making it impossible to be objective about individualsĬonfirmation bias - the tendency to seek to confirm your pre-existing ideas and assumptions about a group of people Halo effect - the tendency to think that everything about a person is good simply because you like them Here are some of the main biases that can affect workplaces:Īffinity bias - the tendency to 'warm up' to people who are like yourself There are many types of unconscious bias - and, without realising it, you're probably guilty of them already. Neither of these things are true, but if the person in charge of recruiting holds these unconscious biases then without even realising it themselves, they will disregard anyone who fits into those groups. Recruitment efforts can be undermined by unconscious biases that people hold, such as a belief that foreign workers won't have a good enough understanding of English to be able to complete the job, or that only men are suited to the role.
McKinsey's Deliverng Through Diversity report says that "gender, ethnic and cultural diversity, particularly within executive teams, continue to be correlated to financial performance across multiple countries worldwide." However, when unconscious biases are allowed into the workplace, diversity suffers. While this unconscious bias may seem innocent, problems can arise when unconscious biases make their way into workplaces. For example, if you're stuck in a car park with a flat tyre, chances are you'd be most likely to approach a man, rather than a woman, if you needed assistance in changing it. They are learned sterotypes that are automatic, unintentional, deeply engrained within our beliefs, universal, and have the ability to affect our behaviour.
#AFFINITY BIAS DEFINITION HOW TO#
How to stop unconscious bias affecting your workplace Unconscious bias has become something of a buzzword in corporate circles recently.