Discrimination at work place can take many shapes. It can be in the form of a simple rejection of leave application or it can be delay of your promotion for a longer period of time. When due to the judgments of your peers or bosses, you miss out on opportunities, or feel uncomfortable or your work is affected, you are sure being discriminated. It can be in many forms like missing out on specific opportunities like transfers, promotions, not being paid the same as someone else doing the same job, with the same experience and qualifications, an employer or fellow workmate deliberately withholding information you need to do your job, physical or verbal abuse, being excluded or isolated by workmates or your boss, being given an impossible task.
Discrimination at work can also come from the employee or from the colleague side. Discrimination by colleagues can happen to new employees. They may face sarcastic stares or constant digs made at them by their colleagues during initial weeks. However, if it persists for a long time, it can affect not only the employee but also the employer.
The effect on the employee can be huge but the impact on organisation remains for a longer time. Discrimination leads to psychological and emotional disturbance, resulting in demoralisation and descend in performance standards.
It brings down the overall performance, and fuels more discrimination, which in turn increases the number of gaps in one’s work further. Discrimination at workplace also affects the society. The socio-economic inequalities get widened and social cohesion and solidarity are eroded. It results in wastage of human talent and resources. Discrimination is a violation of human rights.
Most companies have procedures in place for dealing with a discrimination claim, it’s better to implement strategies to avoid workplace discrimination in the first place. If you feel that you are being discriminated against, it is your right to get someone to investigate and fix the situation. There is no cost to make a complaint. The first thing to do is to familiarise yourself with the processes to deal with discrimination in your workplace. A first step might be to tell someone in your office, for example a manager or human resources officer. If this does not help the situation, you can register a complaint with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
MOMNA ZAFAR
UCP, Lahore
