A positive and productive workplace culture is essential to a thriving business. Nobody wants to work in a place that’s a constant downer. And everyone wants to be appreciated for their work and to advance in their careers.
But like it does everything it touches, “wokeness” destroys workplace culture.
Granted, the stated goals of DEI programs are highly admirable, but like so many well-intentioned liberal initiatives, the real outcomes are a disaster.
What has been the biggest outcome of these DEI programs so far? Division.
In fact, most DEI “experts” focus on dividing up the workplace by race and gender and creating deep suspicions, mistrust, and polarization among employees.
Why? Because under these DEI initiatives, hiring, advancement, and recognition are no longer merit-based. Why work hard to achieve and outperform when that’s not going to influence your bonus or next promotion?
Gallup points out, “Employee engagement is critical to the productivity, morale, development and retention of every organization’s workforce. Engaged employees are invested in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace—they consistently outperform and stay longer than less-engaged employees.”
Another Gallup finding was that hybrid workers—those not in the office full-time—actually feel more connected to company culture than those who are in the office full-time. Think about it. In-person office experiences are now more harmful to company culture than hybrid work.
Could it be that DEI office policies have taken the excitement and motivation away from employees? If you’re taught that some workers are automatically better than others, regardless of effort, training, or the products of their work, then what’s your motivation to be your best? Or to challenge yourself?
What about the sense of fairness? If recognition isn’t based on merit and effort, then do you feel like your employer is really on your side? Perhaps that’s also why Gallup’s survey showed just 24 percent of workers strongly agreed that their employer cares about their well-being.
What happened to the excitement of teams striving to create some new product, to achieve a major technological breakthrough, or to produce a service that improves the lives of people around them?
The growing disengagement is real. Thousands of job seekers are refugees from the woke workplace, all with their own horror stories of how liberal company policies have damaged their careers.
Our work should be our calling. It’s where we spend most of our waking hours. And it’s the place from which we should draw a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
But woke policies are destroying the workplace. If employers are choosing to recognize their employees not on the bases of accomplishment, self-improvement, and overall value brought to the company, but instead are elevating social justice ratings and other woke ideologies to be the determining factors in who gets the promotion and who gets canceled, then workplace culture is destroyed.
Perhaps that’s what we’re seeing in these fresh workplace surveys.
