Just like with everything there are advantages and disadvantages involved when discussing diversity in the workplace. Although I like to focus mostly on the advantages, I think it is also important that we touch briefly on the disadvantages as well.
One advantage that we have already discussed previously is the fact that co-workers with diverse cultural backgrounds bring unique experiences and perceptions to the table when thinking in terms of working as groups or teams. As the workplace becomes more diverse, it also obtains more strengths that are derived from each culture and set of personal experience that can be used to benefit the team or organization. If strengths and weaknesses of each individual are managed properly, diversity will be able to leverage the strengths and compliment the weaknesses to make the organization for productive and efficient.
Another advantage to diversity has to do with the personal growth of each employee. As they work with others from different backgrounds and cultures, they are exposed to different things such as new ideas and perspectives. The more time they spend working with those from different backgrounds, the more the barriers between them will continue to weaken. This will not only make them stronger in the job they do for your company, but will also help them to feel more comfortable and able to interact with others outside of work.
One major disadvantage of diversity involves communication issues. As we all know, communication is one of the biggest factors when it comes to working with others, especially when people are expect to work together as a team. If one or many members of a team are unable to communicate with everybody else for whatever reason it may be, it would seriously hinder the performance of the team. As people work together over time, these communication barriers will generally start to dissolve, but until that happens, there has to be some sort of a short-term fix in place. Some companies, for example, will hire bi-lingual customer services representatives to help assist Spanish-speaking customers in their native language.
A second disadvantage deals with integration issues. If you think about it, people who have things in common and are able to communicate well with each other tend to be more comfortable around each other than they are around those that they may not be able to communicate with as easy. This can lead to the forming of exclusive social groups and “cliques” that can unintentionally divide the staff. People in these groups don’t get the benefit of being exposed to those of different cultures and backgrounds. This lack of being able to share information and knowledge can cause a decrease in productivity and effectiveness of the workforce.
Ingram, D. (n.d.) Advantages and Disadvantages of Diversity in Workplace. Retrieved from Chron Small Business: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-diversity-workplace-3041.html