Tips to Improve Your Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural sensitivity refers to the idea or concept that all cultures in a workplace are welcome and that there is an awareness of both the differences and similarities between employees. In addition to awareness, team members with cultural sensitivity can use that knowledge without making assumptions or judgments.

Being culturally sensitive in the workplace means:

• Being aware of differences in employees based on cultural backgrounds.
• Learning to define cultural sensitivity and its importance to the workplace.
• Being aware of one’s own culture and how someone’s background may lead to biases.
• Having the skills and resources needed to work with employees from all different cultures.
• Having the ability to avoid making assumptions based on someone’s culture.
• Having specific steps in place to encourage team members from different cultures to effectively work together.
• The ability to communicate with employees and team members with different communication styles.
• The knowledge that differences do not make someone superior or inferior in terms of their skills.

The goal of cultural sensitivity is an understanding that each team member brings their own values, morals, work ethics, and style to the company and that no one way is better than another. Becoming culturally sensitive requires an evaluation of your own biases and cultural assumptions. It requires the development of certain skills that promote diversity in the workplace and accepting the values of those who are different from you.

Learning to recognize and then take the necessary steps to develop cultural sensitivity can make you a stronger team member and employee. Because in many workplaces, one culture tends to dominate, it can be difficult to encourage cultural sensitivity among employees. But doing so, you can promote a greater acceptance of employees from all backgrounds and cultures.

Here are a few tips that you can use to develop your own cultural sensitivity:

Learn to recognize cultural differences

Learning to recognize cultural differences is the first step to developing a strategy to accept them. Before making assumptions about someone’s work style, it is important to consider how culture can influence that. By learning to recognize these cultural differences, you can also increase your knowledge of other cultures, which will help as you increase the number of teams that you work with.

It can be helpful to consider the many ways in which cultural differences can affect a business. Just a few of the main differences you may notice include:

• Communication styles.
• Level of importance placed on meetings and schedules.
• Development of professional relationships.
• Length of work meetings.
• Management of work goals.
• Work schedules or preferred environments.
• Educational expectations in the workplace.
• Dress code expectations.

Evaluating the many ways that employees differ in these areas can be a good first step in learning to recognize cultural differences in the workplace.

Learn more: How to Find Out What A Company’s Culture Is Really Like

Understand your own challenges

Becoming culturally sensitive is a process that takes conscious awareness of your own challenges and biases. By focusing first on your own culture, you can learn to also recognize your challenges when it comes to cultural sensitivity.

You might ask yourself things like, in what ways am I privileged, or what assumptions am I making about a coworker? Consider the specific ways in which your culture has shaped your work style, and consider how it may be different for others.

Focus on cultural competency

Cultural competency refers to a person’s ability to identify and accept cultural differences. Awareness and education help you step outside of your own culture and understand the differences of others.

You can become culturally competent by increasing your knowledge of other cultures. Make an effort to communicate with others in your workplace who come from different backgrounds. Find out what their work experiences have been and how they have shaped their work style. Volunteer to work with international teams within your company or pay attention to different work styles when traveling to a new location.

Choose an employer that is culturally sensitive

For some, an important characteristic in the company they work for is cultural sensitivity. These companies tend to encourage cultural development and training through programs. They seek out employees who come from different cultures to create a diverse work environment.

You can learn a lot about an employer through research. Find out what other employees have to say about a company, as well as evaluating the company culture when visiting for an interview.

Learn more: Top Companies for Diversity & Inclusion

Implement specific steps that promote cultural sensitivity

Theorizing about cultural sensitivity is very different from setting a plan in place to increase your sensitivity. Develop your own plan toward cultural sensitivity.

Here are a few examples of specific steps that you might take to develop your own cultural sensitivity training:

• Consider a person’s background before making assumptions about their work ethic or style.
• Develop your vocabulary to include inclusive language.
• When in doubt, ask questions to learn more about someone’s culture.
• Consider cultural norms that may be different from yours, including hugging or touching someone.

You might also make it a point to take cultural sensitivity training. Some employers may require it, however, if they don’t, doing so can be beneficial to your career.

Continue your cultural sensitivity training

You are never fully finished developing your cultural sensitivity. In addition to taking advantage of any programs that your employer might offer, it can be helpful to further your own training through nonprofits or local organizations that offer cultural sensitivity training.

You can also continue your awareness by always keeping an open mind, whether you are working among your own team, or traveling to a new location for work. Continue to monitor how cultural differences affect you and your beliefs.

Learn more: 10 Companies with Unique Volunteer Opportunities

Take a proactive approach

Many companies don’t implement cultural sensitivity training until they are required to do so. This may follow a situation such as an act of discrimination in the workplace, or a report of microaggressions. At this point, it can be more challenging to adopt a mentality and focus of cultural training. While it is still important to implement training in a company that has not previously had it, it is easier to implement proactively instead.

When employees are required to take training after an incident, there may be feelings of hostility or placing blame, rather than integrating it into the values of the company.

While there are many approaches that you can take to develop cultural sensitivity in the workplace, there are models that have proven to be effective. A particular model by Milton Bennet, an American sociologist, referred to as intercultural sensitivity, breaks the concept of cultural sensitivity training into different phases.

The stages of intercultural sensitivity include:

• Denial: During the denial stage, it may be difficult to recognize cultural differences or to identify a problem. Stereotypes and biases may be present in the workplace.
• Defense: During the defense stage, employees are able to recognize key cultural differences, but may view these differences as negative, or counter-productive in nature. They may consider their way of doing things to be superior.
• Minimization: During minimization, employees may believe that awareness of cultural differences is enough. They may minimize these differences and believe that there isn’t any room, or need, for development.
• Acceptance: During acceptance, employees have come to accept the main differences in the workplace. They may be able to correlate these differences to different cultural backgrounds. They may express some interest in learning about other cultures and improving their sensitivity skills.
• Adaptation: During adaptation, employees are not only willing but ready to improve their multicultural skills. They may want to learn new communication styles or learn in-depth about other cultures.
• Integration: During integration, employees have the skills needed to quickly adjust viewpoints and styles, while also considering cultural differences.

People tend to move between these stages, based on their current level of interest or the importance of cultural sensitivity in their current workplace. This level of interest can also change over time as teams change. Teams or workplaces that are made up of employees at the adaptation or integration stages are likely to be the most culturally sensitive.

A culture of sensitivity in the workplace is important not only in developing teams that can effectively work together but in also encouraging the differences of each team member to make a workplace that is competitive and inclusive. Choosing the right employer will also help you continue developing your cultural sensitivity skills.