collaborative post | If you are a business owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees are as safe, happy, and healthy at work as possible. A big part of this is taking the time to make your business as inclusive as possible to everyone who enters the building for any reason.
With that in mind, below, we will take a look at some of the best ways you can make your business more inclusive to everyone right now:
- Consider the use of pronouns
For any people who identify as trans or gender non-conforming using the right pronouns can go a long way to making them feel more comfortable and accepted in the workplace, and it is such a simple thing to do.
Simply ask everyone to include their preferred pronouns in their emails, on name badges, etc., if they want to and then everyone will know how to address them.
- Install hygiene products in all toilets
Companies like P H S Group can help to make your business more inclusive by ensuring that everyone has everything they need when they use the toilets at work.
Some men, for example, will need male incontinence products if they have prostate cancer, and some people who identify as male will even need to access feminine hygiene products along with the women, so making sure everyone has access to all personal hygiene products is a good thing to do to make everyone feel welcome at work.
- Flexible working arrangements
Not everyone’s life fits neatly into a 9-to-5 schedule because they may be looking after young children or elderly parents, for example. That’s why it’s a good idea to offer flexible working arrangements, like part-time hours or remote work options if it is possible for your business to do so. Not only will it help to avoid burnout, but it will also boost morale and productivity!
- Diverse representation at all levels
Look around your office. Does everyone look, well, pretty much the same? Diversity is not just about ticking a box; it’s about enriching your workplace with different perspectives and ideas.
So, at every level of your company’s structure, you should make efforts to hire people who are representative of all races, sexes, genders, people with disabilities, and so on. It will make your business so much richer as a result.
- Mind mental health
Mental health matters, full stop. Providing resources, support, and understanding around mental wellbeing creates a compassionate and empathetic work environment.
So, you should do whatever you can to help with that, whether it is offering free mindfulness classes, mental health days, access to counselling services, or regular check-ins to show that you genuinely care.
As you can see, an inclusive workplace is a happier, more productive and more progressive workplace that will make people actively want to work for you, and ensure that your staff are more loyal than average. It will also be a much more fun and enjoyable place to work, so what are you waiting for?
