All inclusive, what does that even mean in the workplace? Well, when on vacation it means that everything is included in the price you pay.
In the workplace, all inclusive would be: Treating colleagues with dignity and fairness, and maintaining a workplace that is free of harassment, discrimination, and violence. It also means welcoming colleagues with different backgrounds and abilities.
There could be many reasons why an employee would not feel included in a workplace, and as an employer, it’s up to you to set the tone and promote inclusion. Without turning this blog into a political one, I will use myself as an example of how an employee could feel excluded.
I am notorious for injuring myself, annually, semi-annually, bi-weekly, yes it’s almost like mortgage payments at this point. Anyone who knows our firm knows that every year we have a Summer Fun Day. For these fun days, I have had my fair share of aliments that kept me from being able to be fully active. Instead of planning something that I may be able to do when date arrives, the great firm that I work for has ensured that our fun day is something that I will be able to take part in. Whether having a game of darts as I had a human growing in me, to having an amazing cake decorating challenge to ease a shoulder injury that had me out for months. I was included and never in any way felt like I wasn’t.
Yes, these are just examples of a physical ability issue, however, even when it comes to personal food choices, fasts and plain old “I just don’t want to eat that right now”, our firm prides itself on being able to include everyone.
Making sure all of your employees and co-workers are feeling included is not anything that could be described as undue hardship, it’s really just a thought process and treating everyone as you would yourself.
Christine Allan, Senior Law Clerk