How can a toymaker inspire greater inclusivity and equality in the workplace?
For over 80 years, a Danish toy giant has fostered a sense of togetherness and joint imagination that has inspired and intrigued generation after generation across the globe.
It has inspired wonder and creativity, turning even the simplest creation into a spaceship, a race car or even a dream house.
Lego is indeed a sensation. Since its founding in 1932, it is estimated around 400 million bricks have made their way off the production line.
Last week, the Billund based company announced it will be launching a range of braille bricks in 2021. The plan is designed to ‘encourage blind and visually impaired children to explore new ways of learning to read and write’. Great news we say, and not a day too soon, but well-done Lego as other companies are still way behind the necessary curve of inclusivity.
But what does Lego have to do with the workplace and what can we learn? Quite a lot it turns out.
What is inclusivity and equality?
The term inclusive is often seen as equality, however the two do differ.
Inclusivity relates to including those with a protected characteristic, but it also relates to the business culture. How included an employee feels as part of the workforce is down to the culture an employer creates. Things such as a good induction programme, team bonding and a real understanding as to how each individual can personally contribute to the end goal, of both the individual business unit and the company as a whole, are essential to ensuring the workplace culture is not only understood but lived. Workplace culture is driven top down by management and bottom up by those on the coal face – as a unionised relationship. Fairness, honesty, openness and, above all else, respect are therefore the essential ingredients when ensuring a “good” business model.
Equality, while it may also play a part in the building of culture, is also a legal requirement.
The Equality Act, 2010, sets out that employers must not unfairly discriminate, or unfairly treat anyone with a protected characteristic, including the characteristics of:
- age;
- disability;
- gender or gender reassignment;
- marriage or civil partnership status;
- pregnancy or maternity;
- race;
- religion or belief; or
- sexual orientation.
So inclusivity is therefore a two pronged approach i.e. being inclusive in terms of selection and recruitment as well as being inclusive in terms of how you approach your staff once they are in the business i.e. aligning your business with your people.
So, going back to Lego, you won’t see Lego launching a product strictly for those of a certain ethnic background. It includes everyone and everyone should feel comfortable with it. The workplace should be the same. Lego have an inclusive approach both “externally” in terms of who they design the product for, as well as internally, by encouraging creative thinking.
The power of collective thinking
As the saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. As a child clicking the bricks together, no two minds are the same.
At some point in life, we will all experience the feeling of being left out or excluded. Times when we have been made to feel unwelcome or unappreciated. Think about how that affected you going forward. Maybe you have suffered exclusion at work. While your ideas may have been good, it may be they were ignored or scoffed at – meaning that in future you kept your ideas to yourself for fear of rejection.
A negative culture which builds in the workplace can be toxic. It can lead to tunnel vision and singular thinking. Not only is it toxic, it is also putting the employer at the disadvantage of missing out on the collective mind and differing opinions.
If everyone is treated equally (by law) and is made to feel included (morally) then everyone will feel empowered to speak up and put forward their opinions and ideas.
Diversity can not only foster a sense of inclusivity and equality in the workplace, it can also bear greater results for employers. By having a company based on cultural diversity, each with their own experiences to draw upon, questions can be raised and answered as a collective group – rather than based on assumptions or previously determined actions which are potentially outdated – an employer may be able to identify potential problems before they even become an issue. Encouraging open, fair and honest discourse amongst colleagues allows creativity, best practice and even “next practice” i.e. a new generation which offers an abundance of tacit knowledge others cannot replicate and sets a company apart from its competitors.
It’s worth noting that continued efforts to make an employee feel excluded could result in a constructive dismissal claim, if the employee leaves the company as a result.