An inclusive workplace is good for business. An inclusive workplace is free from stigma and bias - it is where individuals are accepted for who they are, regardless of their background. This is good for business because employees can focus on productivity and performance - and not spend time worrying about trying to fit in or be something they are not. After all, the business of business is business.
Businesses, driven by the bottom line, are in constant search for the best people for the job. And the best people may take different forms - some of these differences are more visible than others.
More visible differences, for example, are that of gender, race and physical ability. Less visible are one's religious or political beliefs, mental state of health, sexual orientation and gender identity. It's therefore much easier to 'hide' or lie about one's religion, mental state and sexual orientation than it is about one's gender.
Imagine being a top performer in the company you work for. Your bosses are pleased with you and are grooming you for leadership. You are male and in your mid-30s. You have worked in the company for six years and you would like to continue to work there. You are gay. You come to work each Monday morning and lie when your colleagues ask what you did over the weekend. You make up a story about a fictitious girlfriend.
You do this, every Monday, for six years. You never bring your fictitious girlfriend to staff outings and annual dinners. You lie because you have no choice if you want to keep your job - your boss tells jokes about gays and you think he doesn't like gays. You worry when you are not at work that one of your colleagues will see you with your partner. You are concerned when your partner's mother dies and you need to take time off to help him with the funeral. You need to lie again. After a while, you get fed up with lying - and you leave the company. The thing is you really enjoy your work, but it is just too hard to live a lie. This example is probably not uncommon in Hong Kong.
But it's not just you who loses out from this lack of an open and supportive working environment. The company does, too. That's because there is a very real link between workplace climate and performance.
Research by Human Rights Campaign in the US and by Stonewall in Britain shows that an employee who feels able to be 'out' or open at work about his or her sexual orientation or gender identity, and is supported by his or her colleagues, is likely to be more effective, more motivated and build better working relationships with colleagues. According to Stonewall, concealing sexual orientation at work reduces productivity by up to 30 per cent.
