The workplace environment determines how employees interact with each other and how productive they are.
It’s hard to imagine a happy workplace that suffers from unfairness. Happiness is one of those metrics you cannot really measure, but it’s pretty clear when work treats its employees fairly and when it does the opposite.
Why is fairness in the workplace important?
A fair workplace creates an environment that makes employees feel safe and valued. Productivity goes up when employees aren’t distracted by supervisors playing favorites.
Another benefit of fairness comes in the form of disciplinary actions. Unfairness, like special treatment for certain individuals, leaves a bad taste in everyone else’s mouths.
Overall, a fair workplace makes it much easier for employees to invest in themselves and stay loyal to a company. At the end of the day, there’s only so much unfairness one can take before they decide to leave.
How to ensure fairness?
Exhibiting fairness comes from company-wide policies. Some are pretty easy to implement, while others require a bit more time to settle down or adjust depending on the circumstances.
Consider the following tips to ensure that your company’s work culture is fair to everyone.
1. Provide a feedback platform
Supervisors and other higher-ups are unlikely to keep up with everything that is going on in the background. It is up to the employees to raise their concerns and bring attention to potential issues leading to an unfair work environment.
The sooner somebody registers current concerns and shares them with the right department, the sooner they can start working on solving the problem.
More often than not, such systems ensure anonymity. It’s beneficial to create a process that lets employees submit anonymous feedback because they want to keep their privacy. Not everyone is comfortable with talking to supervisors directly.
2. Offer fair compensation
Paychecks are arguably the biggest pain point for employees. One thing to get out of the way first is that no company compensates every single employee the same. Experience, occupation, potential hazards, and other factors affect how much money somebody makes.
The unfairness comes when it’s clear that somebody makes more money than they should. Or when somebody makes more money than their colleague who is working the same job.
Some companies discriminate and adjust salaries depending on the demographics rather than the work itself. Such practices are big red flags that an organization fails to understand the concept of a fair work environment.
Fair pay is a must. Moreover, the company should create a transparent structure that shows how much each employee makes.
So long as the policy complies with data privacy and other regulations, eliminating secrecy should also be on the table for a company that wants fairness in the workplace.
3. Encourage mutual respect
Mutual respect among employees, regardless of their status within the company, goes a long way in creating a fair work environment.
A lot depends on the individual. Different people have different perks, and it can be tricky for someone to show respect when there is a big difference between positions in the company.
Even small conflicts can snowball and create a toxic atmosphere. Gossip also comes with such accidents. Instead of focusing on the work, employees start talking behind each other’s backs.
Instilling respectful behavior is a challenge, but it’s imperative nonetheless. A company should start with the higher-ups and encourage them to be respectful towards everyone. An employee’s position shouldn’t matter when it comes to mutual respect. Everyone should be equal.
4. Ensure help is available when necessary
A company is made up of different people who have their duties and responsibilities. However, it doesn’t mean that everyone is fine on their own. Teamwork is another instance of when a company can make or break itself.
If somebody needs help with something, they should receive it. Naturally, there are priorities, and in instances when there is a shortage of available resources, some employees might be neglected for a while. Having said that, it’s up to them to understand that such things are inevitable.
The tricky part also happens when somebody new joins and is unsure what to do. They need guidance, and if a company is in a busy period and cannot ensure a proper onboarding process, some new recruits might struggle to find their place in the company.
Of course, with simpler issues, such as not knowing how to uninstall apps on Mac to free up the device’s storage or how to fix Wi-Fi issues, you can google the solutions on the internet. That is if the IT department is too busy solving more pressing matters.
Generally, it’s reasonable to expect help when you need it. Yet, if it’s clear that there are biases against someone who gets ignored, it’s hardly a sign of a healthy and fair work environment.
5. Be flexible and change rules
Flexibility is a positive sign to have. The work industry changes over time, and that includes aspects that affect fairness in the workplace.
Failing to keep up with the trends could lead to employees leaving the company and seeking a better life elsewhere. On the other hand, being one of the first to adopt modern policies makes the organization more attractive to potential recruits.
Take disability accommodations, for example. If somebody has an accident and cannot come to work in person anymore, an option to work from home is a reasonable solution. It doesn’t really matter where you are working so long as you can do your job.
The trend of remote work is quite prominent these days. Some employees might ask for a hybrid work model—spending a few days at the office and a few days at home.
Company-wide flexible work policies help build credibility and make employees feel like they are treated fairly. Ultimately, the more choices employees have, the better they feel about working for a company that offers such liberal policies.
6. Have transparent promotions
Similar to fair compensation (salary), promotion procedures are also a difficult obstacle for human resources and other departments to face.
Outstanding work and loyalty lead to promotions. Employees chase better career opportunities by going up the corporate ladder. Bigger salaries and other benefits come with better positions.
Handing benefits without a proper structure is what hamstrings companies. Instead of implementing clear promotion policies, they promote employees and make it feel like a promotion is at random.
This leads to misunderstandings and gossip, making others feel like they are treated unfairly. The whole thing becomes an even bigger problem when a company hires somebody from outside rather than promoting an employee internally.
A transparent promotion procedure leaves next to no room for interpretation that the company is treating its employees unfairly.
For starters, a company should be open about what positions are available for promotion. It should work with employees by pairing mentors and trainees together so the latter has first-hand experience and knows what to expect when they get promoted.
If employees seek promotion, they should have a clear path to look to so they know what needs to be done. Tracking their goals and checking off each accomplishment towards the promotion for everyone to see is a fair system.
Conclusion
To sum everything up, a fair workplace environment should be something companies strive for and commit to. Implementing certain policies and changing the work culture can take a long time.
Still, such a thing is inevitable if an organization wishes to keep up with modern workplace trends and be an attractive location for talented workers.
