If you learned about the famous Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you might have concluded that Santa is much like many managers in the workplace — good at delivering the final product, but not very good at creating a respectful and inclusive workplace or holding employees accountable for their misconduct.
Rudolph presents a key case study in teaching managers and co-workers some valuable lessons on diversity and inclusion and creating a respectful workplace.
Employers must stop bullying and other nonsense in the workplace
In the iconic song about the character, Rudolph had a shiny red nose and because of that, “All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names; They never let poor Rudolph, join in any reindeer games.”
Too often employers tolerate this type of hazing or mistreatment, justifying it as playful or part of the culture.
However, this conduct is the type of workplace bullying that must be addressed and eliminated.
If having a red nose was a protected characteristic, it would be illegal harassment.
Bullying creates a hostile work environment, but one that isn’t legally actionable because it isn’t based on a protected characteristic. Merely because something isn’t illegal doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be stopped.
A lack of civility in the workplace has an extremely detrimental effect on productivity and retention.
Some businesses and organizations find it difficult to define or understand bullying.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has a civility policy for all state employees. The policy says: “Behaviors that undermine team cohesion, staff morale, individual self-worth, productivity, and safety are not acceptable.”
It defines bullying, in part, as “Disrespectful, intimidating, aggressive and unwanted behavior toward a person that is intended to force the person to do what one wants or to denigrate or marginalize the targeted person.”
Rudolph was clearly bullied.
Workplace bullying has a significant impact on the mental and physical well-being of those who are targeted for the mistreatment. Rudolph ran away from the work environment feeling demeaned and defeated.
Based on the story, Santa was generally aware of the abuse toward Rudolph, but instead of addressing and stopping the misconduct, he largely ignored it.
Santa needed to create an expectation of respect and civility in the workplace.
These expectations need to be explained, and those who violate them need to be held accountable.
This requires crucial conversations with even the highest-performing and long-term employees. Dasher and Dancer should be held to the same standards as anyone else.
Employees shouldn’t have to prove themselves to be respected
Rudolph was not unlike many under-represented individuals in the workplace. He looked different from the others and therefore had to continually prove his worth from day one. Instead of being valued for his unique talents, he was maligned.
It was not until Rudolph proved his worth guiding Santa through the night with his unique characteristic that finally all of the other reindeer loved him.
Rudolph shouldn’t have to prove himself by using his best feature to prove his worth. He could have done so as a reindeer — the light was just a bonus.
Many under-represented individuals or those who have unique talents or characteristics feel like they have to work twice as hard and prove their value from the interview to hire — and then every day thereafter. Their counterparts who are more aligned with the majority are immediately accepted and assumed to meet qualifications and add value.
Creating an inclusive and respectful workplace will be a good start to revolutionizing a diverse workplace.
Workplaces should welcome the unique characteristics among diverse employees, valuing their talents and allowing them to be part of the team from the beginning.
Let 2021 be the year of civility, diversity and inclusion by creating respect, accountability and talent management and development within your organization for all workers.