BOOK REVIEW
CREDIT: ANNA MOFFAT
Brighton campaigner calls for end to silencing of views at work in 2022 as 40% of adults admit to self-censoring in the workplace in UK cancel culture poll
THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE
By Simon Fanshawe OBE A growing intolerance of different political and social views in the world outside of work is having an increasingly negative impact on how we behave in the workplace, according to Brighton diversity expert, Stonewall co-founder and former Sussex University Chair, Simon Fanshawe OBE. “All the big social arguments about race, gender, sex and sexual orientation have crashed into work and while the extremes are fighting each other, the vast majority of people in the middle don’t know what to do. No one knows if they can speak up – if they are offended or if they might offend someone, both sides,” Simon explained. “This fear of speaking up on social issues matters because that inhibition creates an overall culture at work where
collaboration is damaged, businesses and organisations don’t find the best solutions, innovation is hindered and markets are missed. “ The irony is that the progressive thinking and actions that have supported diversity and inclusion at work have now become tools of conformity, with HR acting as the enforcer of particular rules and managers and staff walking on eggshells, frightened about being penalised for saying the ‘wrong’ thing. At its most extreme, people are being silenced or sacked. We have got a crisis of dialogue at work.” Recent research on the views people are afraid to express provides insight into the extent of this silencing effect here in the UK. Four in ten (40%) of the Britons polled by YouGov at the end of
❛❛ I urge leaders to read it and act on its solutions ❜❜
Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, President of the CBI
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2021 said they had stopped themselves from expressing political or social views for fear of judgement or negative responses from others at work. Topics people were reluctant to talk about included race relations and discrimination, sexuality, women’s and gay rights and transgender issues. “I have had conversation after conversation with concerned and progressive CEOs and HR directors who sincerely want to break out of this cycle and guide their people towards being able to value and talk openly about their differences. But too many staff feel lectured at rather than engaged,” said Simon. Awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his work on diversity and human rights, Simon now works with businesses and organisations to encourage honest conversations about diversity and to redesign recruitment to achieve real change. He has been listed as one of the UK’s Most Influential Thinkers by HR Magazine and called ‘inclusion Royalty’ by The Sunday Times.
