SHORT DESCRIPTION

Having a diverse workplace has many benefits but can also come with challenges for managers as they navigate ways to help people from different backgrounds and experiences find common ground in the workplace. Understanding the results of cultural differences is an important part of managing a diverse team. Employees’ cultural backgrounds can give employers insight into the reasoning behind their habits and behaviours in the workplace.

Once you have knowledge of the various ways culture can impact how people act at work, you can mediate conflicts and provide relevant motivation to each employee. Dealing with people who have values, beliefs, and backgrounds different from our own is often stressful, sometimes exasperating, and occasionally even threatening. Yet research shows again and again that grappling with diverse opinions and backgrounds makes us better decision makers, more creative problem solvers, and more empathic people.