I had an interesting discussion with colleagues about human nature today. We were talking about the way the brain works, and for instance, how learning languages, or people from different language backgrounds, can think differently from each other.
I mentioned how I think that "diversity in the workplace" doesn't make sense, as what they generally consider is diverse, is the inclusion of people based on sex and skin color, under the assumption that this brings "benefits" based on differing perspectives. However, the thinking is flawed, because two people can look very different, yet think very much the same. The value of diversity isn't in how people look or their genitalia, but rather their experience through life. Then, we discussed some other factors, and someone mentioned something that I wrote about a long time ago, but I can't find the article now.
We are products of our environment and as such, we are going to be influenced by our surroundings. There are the cultural aspects, like family and community, but there is also the physical side of things, like the climate and nature. And, from my own experience, the climates that tend to be warmer, and the nature that tends to be more wild like jungle, tends to have people who resemble their surroundings. For example, even in Australia, there are differences on average depending on which city, but definitely on which region people have lived most of their lives. The people from the city, outback, or the tropics, are quite different from each other - even if they are all Australian.
Is it culture?
Well, partly of course, because the environment impacts on the way we act. For instance, one of the colleagues in the discussion was American, and had recently been discussing with his son who was asking why is there such a difference between people from the US, and those in Canada, considering that they are otherwise quite similar in culture. I don't know all the reasons for it, but I believe that nature has something to do with it also.
For instance, living in a region that gets very cold, means that one has to be organized. To illustrate this for example, there are no stray dogs in Finland for obvious reasons - they would freeze. To survive in very cold temperatures, people have to be prepared, and this also means that a community has to be prepared also. There has to be a high level of organization to ensure that services work, electricity networks are stable, and food is available. People have to work together to do this today. But, there is also more isolation in the past, and people had to do more themselves to survive. In Finland, many people still build their own summerhouses, do their own basic renovation work, cut their own firewood etcetera.
But, in many countries, we have a culture of paid service, where rather than doing something ourselves, we hire people to do things for us, often at a higher quality than we could. But, this in itself can have an impact on our culture, as we come to expect something, that we couldn't deliver for ourselves. It is a type of entitlement, isn't it?
And as you can see, there are a lot of "generalizations" in all of this, because that is what culture is. It is a generalization that averages behavior, or perceptions of behaviors, of a group - not on each individual. Which sets the stage for a massive conflict, where decisions on "diversity" are made, based on assumptions that might not be that diverse at all. It also raises the question about things like identity politics in a world of individualism, because it doesn't work at all if people want to both be seen as unique individuals, as well as generalized group members.
The value of diversity in business comes down to two basic things - thought diversity, and skill diversity. It has nothing to do with color representation or sexual orientation representation. This is not to say that these things have no affect on a persons thoughts and skills, it is just that those are not good markers of whether there is value in the differences between two or more people. Experience matters of course, because that directly impacts on someone's personality, but making assumptions about an individual personality, their perspectives, their skills, and the value they bring to a team, just because they belong to a particular group, is well, prejudiced.
There is so much personality diversity within any single large label group like race, ethnicity, nationality and the like, that they are pretty useless indicators of an individual. So why use them as measures of diversity?
Humans generalize, because we are lazy. But more than that, it is because we don't have the capacity to hold all factors that matter, and the dynamics in play between them, in mind at once. We have to create heuristics, and they are always imperfect, because ware incapable of getting full resolution on all details, let alone make sense of them in a very broad range of contexts. Getting upset because someone makes generalizations, is like getting upset because someone is breathing - it is just part of our nature. Everyone's nature.
Everyone.
And all of us together.
There are jungles and deserts. Forests, seas, and frozen tundra. They shape us, and we shape them, and we are constantly changing, evolving, shifting our thoughts, discussing new concepts, and creating new tools. So, what culture are we holding onto - that of what we have done, or the human one that is never the same as the moment before it?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I also believe where we live affects the whole life of us. I can say that peple living in a cold region are not good at communication with each other. Nevertheless, people living in a warm region, particularly nearby a sea, are not like that at all.
I find the same. They tend to be more reserved and measured - slow to make decisions, but they make decisions they stick to. At least in Finland.
This reflection is really interesting Taraz, I have read it and reread it and it reminds me of a thousand things.
I believe in general that diversity is given by experiences and I believe that in the human race there can be a lot of diversity but also a lot of equality.
It is said that every man is an island and that we are all different and this may be true just as it is true that in some things we are all the same regardless of race, sex, color or sexual tastes.
Very interesting reflection but full of complexity, I like it, I will continue to reread it!
I think overall, we are far, far more similar than we are different, and the differences in our physiology is probably the most useless to measure diversity on.
Yes, I agree and then I ask myself, why measure one's differences?
Things that distinguish us and things that we have in common, in my opinion should be experienced without thinking about it because ultimately everyone will have respect for everyone else.
I hope I made the point, I'm not very good at English as you know, lol!
I wouldn't be so sure about the higher quality thing. I think a lot of people hire stuff out simply because they don't want to deal with it. Maybe with the skilled trades, but things like cleaning, lawn mowing, and snow clearing aren't necessarily superior services.
That is the "laziness" side of it. But, yes, I was talking about for trades mostly. But it really is for many things. For instance, there seems to be a culture in the US to buy breakfast - that is almost unheard of in Finland. It is rare. People even take sachets of porridge to work, so they don't have to buy it.
Oh man, nothing beats a big breakfast out. Some of the diners over here would knock your socks off. Give me a three egg omelette with some hashbrowns or American fries and I am in heaven. It's pretty rare I get it, but every now and then I splurge.
Office diversity is an interesting topic. You brought up the diversity hires, and I don't support those as well. An employee being hired should rely on their skill, ability to do the work, and how well they mesh with the team; to name a few. In this regard, I have actually seen some teams/companies prioritize how the new employee will be able to integrate with the group over skill. And when you think about it, it could be the opposite of diversity. Diversity is very important when contributing different views and perspectives. Without it, a company can become stagnant and lack innovation.
Let's say that in Finland where there is lots of engineering work, 50% of hires were female. The problem is, less than 20% of engineering students are female, so what would the average quality be of male to female ratio? The percentage at university in STEM isn't about opportunity, it is about interest in choosing subjects.
That is interesting. So it is possible that all female graduates can be hired, while there are a lot of males still looking for a job, regardless of skill. I guess this is one example where diversity hiring is hurting the company.
What you said is correct, sir, that our behavior and actions depend on the environment we live in. For example, here in the Philippines, due to the extreme heat, tourists wear comfortable clothes, while we Filipinos, even in the heat, still wear thick clothes and even drink hot coffee. Perhaps it's because that's what we're used to and accustomed to. So, I do believe that how we behave is really dependent on the environment where we grew up or live in.
When I first moved to the tropics, even in the winter I wore shorts. By the second year, I was wearing a jumper like everyone else. When I moved to the Nordics, the first year I barely felt the cold - I do now!
Truly our environment has a lot to play when it comes to how we behave and do things.
When it comes to employing people, I think people should be employed based on their competence, experience, and the value they can bring to the organization, before thinking about their race or other form of generalization.
Unfortunately and increasingly, legislation is making this impossible. Merit no longer matters with some areas.
I think people or companies hire workers because they feel that’s the best person for the work or job.
And the diversity comes in when some people begin to prove that they are bigger than others like from the manager to the cleaner and so on
I totally agree with you that diversity goes beyond just physical appearance or gender.
Wow it's interesting and adorable. I love autumn color's beautiful