How to deal with discrimination at work?

Although everyone is aware of the meaning of discrimination, they are even required to show anti- discrimination posters/ pamphlets in a 'prominent' location, it still happens very often.
Discrimination typically falls under one of three categories: racial (direct or indirect), sexual and victimization. Let's take a closer look:
It is not fair; women doing the same job I’m doing in this office are being paid more than I am.First of all we have racial discrimination, the biggest of the three. But what is racial discrimination? We could say: when the person in question is being treated less than other people in similar circumstances. Most of the time people deal with indirect racial discrimination, like Jewish people that can be discriminated when the company doesn’t allow wearing a headgear.
Secondly there is sexual discrimination. This has to do with vulgar language and inappropriate behaviors. For example: sexual comments or inappropriate touches. When women aren’t treated the same way as men we could also speak of sexual discrimination.
Thirdly we could speak about race relations or victimization. This happens when an individual is treated badly because they have supported someone who complained about racial discrimination
When discrimination happens it should immediately be reported. It's advised to ask someone within the union or workplace that you trust to tell you the rules or to give you the proper materials. Because when the individuals know their rights they are able to fight against this.
I must say that, in comparison to earlier days, there is a lot less discrimination. But it still happens. In my opinion most of discriminations these days are indirect. Companies follow their rules but in an indirect way there is still discrimination. Like they don’t allow wearing any headgear is discrimination for Muslims and Jewish people. Or another example: if we would ask a 1000 people on the street if they think a women could do her task as director as good as a man, I guess more than 80% would say : YES. But in reality it is different; they would still rather choose a man instead of women. That’s the way it goes in normal way of working. And unfortunately it will still take a very long time before this will change. Although I am sure women could be good leaders, some of them would even be better than their male colleagues do now!

As an extra a small movie below about discrimination on the work floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG70i91akLI&feature=PlayList&p=E88D574601724C77&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=17

Written bij Julie Joostens

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Deal-With-Discrimination-at-Work&id=626352

The ugly face of unemployment in Ghana

The reason I write this blog is because 2 friends went to work in Ghana. They paint houses, help the people, give them the necessary food,... They are 20 years old and have seen a lot of poverty and unemployment in a few months. Their courage to hold on is because they get lots of love and appreciation from the local people in Ghana. Employment in Ghana is almost a gost.

"Do nye ame" literally put: "to be gainfully employed is what make us somebody". Quote from Madam Gladys Adzo Doe. A lot of people have to work with their hands but African men and women in Ghana lose their job overnight. The consequences are enormous, not only they can't afford primary needs, they also become anti-sociale which leads to commit suicide.

Farmers lost their wares because it was destroyed or either confiscated. Because this was their bread they had to loan money from the bank in order to survive. But this activity isn't like at home in Europe. There was decongestion exercise, this means that they relocated the people to another area to have a decongested city.

Also the situation of the unemployment goes on. A lot of people are released from work becausethe companies won't negotiate about redeployment. These victims need to be helped but the voluntary services are declining. Companies and organizations aren't willing to accept people who are available to offer themselves free of charge for voluntary service. This means that a lot of people who are unemployed can't get a job. A lot of people don't have the needs to set up a company.

Looking at the consequences, criminal activities are increasing, especially with young men and women. We need to help them in order to preserve their city.

If you would like to help the situation in Ghana you really need to take a look on this website. http://www.jobsabroad.com/Ghana.cfm A lot of people have a good heart and I know you would rebuild a new home for these people.

Source: http://www.modernghana.com/news/232182/1/the-ugly-face-of-unemployment-in-ghana.html

Flexitime, soon on doctor's advice?

Being able to compose your own work schedule and swap and shift your hours...
Most people are attracted to this idea: families with young children, people who like to sleep a bit longer or perhaps people who want to be home early and enjoy the rest of the day.

Besides this limited possibility of freedom in your working hours, research has brought up some other benefits of working flexitime: workers on flexitime have lower blood pressure, sleep better and are less stressed!

Researchers of the Durham University brought to light this conclusion after analysing 10 published studies involving about 16 600 workers. Lead researcher Dr. Clare Bambra said: "Flexible working might be beneficial for employees' health if they are allowed to have input into their working patterns."
Police officers for example who were able to work flexitime showed significant improvement in psychological well-being compared to their colleauges with fixed hours.

Lower blood pressure, better sleep, less stress... flexitime almost sounds like a miracle medicine.
In fact, it's not just the flexible work schedules that do the trick: it's more the control at work that gives employees ease and a better health.
Plus there are some other possibilities as well: a flexible work schedule makes it easier for people to find time for family, hobbies, sports...

In the UK, the extended Employment rights act gives all parents with children under 16 now the opportunity to request flexible working arrangement. In my opinion this is a good measure. I believe it's only logical that Flexitime has all these health benefits.
The possibility to arrange work with a family and hobbies makes it easier for employees.
I wouldn't bother starting one hour earlier if that would give me more time to spend on family, household chores or hobbies.
The result remains the same: you work your hours a day.
And with all these health benefits that are now proven, I'm certainly convinced!

Jolien Van Poecke

sources:
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/813605-flexitime-lowers-stress-and-lets-you-sleep-well
http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5406245àç!§a

Let's talk about sex, baby ...

The EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) website tells us about the “Equal Pay Pact 1970”. This pact sais that people should be paid the same, regardless of their gender. The website explains what pay discrimination actually is, which benefits it includes, who it applies to and what a comparator is.

When you are paid less than someone of the opposite sex working for the same employer, who
- does the same work or similar work
- does different work that is of equal value to your employer,
you are a victim of pay discrimination.
This definition can be applied to women and men too, of course. If you think you are experiencing pay discrimination, you can take a claim for equal pay to the employment tribunal.

The equal pay law covers a lot of different ways to interpret ‘pay’. It’s not only the basic salary but also benefits like occupational pension, holiday pay, sick pay and even share options.

The Equal Pay Pact covers almost all workers in Great Britain, regardless of their contract specifications.

The comparator is what the person is called who is of the opposite sex, is paid more than you and works for the same employer. He has to be doing similar work as you, or work with equal value. When you want to take a claim, you need to identify the comparator. You cannot simply claim that your employer generally pays women less than men.
“Working for the same employer” should be interpreted very broadly. This could be a colleague working in the same workplace as you or working in another workplace. It’s also possible that he works for an associated employer (like when the comparator works for your employer’s parent company) or in the same service.

Source: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/gender/sex-discrimination-your-rights-at-work/equal-pay/equal-pay-your-rights/

For women, this is a very important achievement. It’s more than natural that equal work deserves equal pay, don’t you think? Men have had the upper hand for so long now. But we all know times are changing: More women fight for their career, more men stay at home to look after the children, …

And still, us women have to put up with this pay discrimination. Luckily, Belgium is on the right track, the gender wage gap is less than 10 % here. Some countries are much worse.

Take a look at these figures I found: the sex distribution of leaders of businesses in Belgium: 29 % women, 71 % men. This isn’t pay discrimination, this is what is referred to as “The Glass Ceiling” or another way to discriminate women. The glass ceiling refers to situations where the promotion of qualified people within an organization is stopped at a lower level, because of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism. It is believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing in businesses.

Sex distribution of leaders of businesses, in 2008:

Women 29.2

Men 17.8

Gap 41.6

Our struggle for equity is not over yet. We won’t stop until women are free to do everything men can do and they get the same credit for it. And I’m sure men will do the same thing. They already are doing it. Just think about how gay men are allowed to get married and adopt children now. Or how more and more men exercise more feminine jobs. I even have a guy doing my nails and giving me a pedicure nowadays ! How fun is that !

I guess we should be glad that the world is heading the right way. We’re absolutely not there yet, but we’re on our way. All sorts of efforts are made, and that’s what’s most important: we WANT the change to happen ! So keep fighting four women’s rights in every way possible.

Lore Pieters

Just as additional information, I have a table here, giving the wage gap in some countries. Certain figures (highlighted) took me by surprise. Have a look:

Country Gender Pay Gap
Belgium 9.0
Bulgaria 13.6
Czech Republic 26.2
Denmark 17.7
Germany 23.2
Estonia 30.3
Ireland 17.1
Greece 22
Spain 17.1
France 19.2
Italy 4.9
Cyprus 21.6
Latvia 13.4
Lithuania 21.6
Luxembourg 12.4
Hungary 17.5
Malta 9.2
Netherlands 23.6
Austria 25.5
Poland 9.8
Portugal 9.2
Roumania 9.0
Slovenia 8.5
Slovakia 20.9
Finland 20.0
Sweden 17.1
United Kingdom 21.4

How not to lose the top job

In every company there is a time to pass the torch of leadership. As CEO's, heirs and key stakeholders are human, succession isn't an entirely rational process. There are six key stakeholders who influence the decision: the potential successor's peers, his or her direct reports, the current CEO, analysts and stakeholders, customers and the board of directors. If you want to get the job top, you really need to strengthen your relationship with these stakeholders. There are different ways to achieve this.

First of all you must maintain the trust and support of the current CEO. So, talking too openly about "what the company will be like when you're in charge", isn't a good idea at all. Never act like you have the job before it is given to you. To avoid any miscommunication, it is recommended to have a heart-to-heart talk with the CEO. During this conversation you should also determine if you need to make changes in your personal style.

Secondly you should try to do everything to get your peer's support. You could ask them for ideas about how you could be a great team player. It is also very important to get enough feedback.

Finally stenghten up your relationship with customers and the board of directors. If you want some more tips about how you could do this, then reading this article could be very useful.

How not to lose the Top Job by Marshall Goldsmith, Harvard Business Review, January 2009, p72-p80

On the one hand I agree with the fact that the succession of a CEO isn't always decided with only business logic. Although not many people like to admit it, emotions are often important. Sometimes you just don't like somebody.

If I would be a CEO candidate, I certainly would use the tip to have a heart-to-heart conversation with your CEO. In this way, you can confirm that what the CEO is saying and what you're hearing are the same.

On the other hand I'm not sure about the six key stakeholders. I believe you should strengthen up your relationships with those people, but I think some of them will be hard to convince. YOur peers for exemple, it is important to maintain your relationship. But I don't think asking them more feedback about 'how you are perfoming' is a good idea. I think you should ask them their opinion on many subjects, but you shouldn't be highlighted all the time.

The article also mentions some tips to ensure you have the support of your key customers. Marshall Goldsmith, the writer of the article, advices to build a personal relationship with these customers. 'Don't discuss immediate business with them'. In my opinion, you should always create a relationship with your customers. If I would be a potential successor, I wouldn't exaggerate with it. Customers should always be handled with care. I think, they shouldn't remark your 'potential position'. They shouldn't get the feeling that you are buttering them up.

In short, getting the tob job, you've always dreamt of, isn't simple at all. Do you have any other tips? And how would you behave if you were the candidate CEO? Would you adapt your personal style completely or would you try to relax and stay yourself?

Written by Anaë Huybrechts.

Unemployment in Belgium, some statistics

An evolution in time….
In my link you can see a graph of the unemployment in Belgium true the years. Before analyzing this graph some explanation about the word ‘unemployment’. What is unemployment? It is the percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work. In The last three years we can see that the unemployment rate has raised a lot. The lowest rate was 6, 6 percent, in June 2008. The highest unemployment rate was 8 percent at the end of 2009 en it is still the same now in 2010.
But what can we say about unemployment? Is it good or bad? There is no certain ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to this question. Mainstream economics believes in the main that unemployment is inevitable, and a necessary evil to prevent inflation;( a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time) this is disputed by some schools of heterodox economics. The causes of unemployment are disputed. Keynesian economics emphasizes unemployment resulting from insufficient effective demand (=Quantity of a good or service that consumers are actually buying at the current market price) for goods and services in the economy (cyclical unemployment). The economists talked about some hard words like ‘inflation’ and ‘effective demand’. It is a fact that unemployment always will go together with inflation and the effective demand. But we will never come to a definition were we can see if those tree terms will be good or bad. Maybe we could say they are good as long as they aren’t too high. But then we can come to the next question; what ‘isn’t too high’? Let’s take a look at the other countries in the world and make a comparison with those countries and Belgium. (http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=bl&v=74) This is a list of all countries all over the world and as you can see Belgium stands on the 110 the place of all 198 courtiers. Most unemployment countries are countries of Africa who suffer with overpopulation. Most of the bottom countries have a very low population. As you can see; the unemployment has nothing to do with the fact that the country is rich or poor. Belgium has a place somewhere halfway of the list. So maybe we could say that the unemployment rate in Belgium isn’t that bad...
And how will it be in the further years? At my opinion the inflation won’t rise much more. Because of the crises we had to deal with a very high unemployment but that means also that after the crises, there will be a bigger need of workforces again. It will always be higher in comparison with, for example; 30 years ago but we could almost be certain that it will go down in the first years after the crises. For the years after that, even we could do some predictions, will always be an ignorance.

Written by Julie Joostens

Link: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-rate.aspx?symbol=BEF

Employment Branding: The only long-term recruiting strategy

Less managers use a successful strategy as it comes to hiring people. They look for talented, qualified people to fill in the job openening, but never look intern, what their company's image is. Everyone talks about making an effort to have a long-term recruiting strategy but putting it in practice is hard to do.

Employment branding is a long-term strategy that is made to have high quality applicants over a period of many years. The image of an organisation that is a great place to work in the minds of its current employees, is a very important item. However, this strategy seems like an advantage for a company, many companies spend less than 5% of their budget on this strategy. As we look at recent firms who used employment branding, we see that they don't have shortage problems and that they dominate the market. (Examples are Google and Southwest Airlines)

For the cynical people among us, what are the benefits of employment branding? Here a few examples of the benefits for your company.

1) When you have built a successful employer brand, you will see the positive impact over the years.
2) A company with a good employer brand will receive more applicants and this up to 500%, this can be positive because the recruiting managers will find more suitable and qualified employees.

3) Because your company's image is very positive, the staff is proud to work for your company and this will affect the motivation of the employees.

4) Also managers get less stress because of the high amount of applicants.

5) Media will notice your positive image and will advertise your company as a great culture at work.

6) More benefits will be found at the website at the end of this article.

The employment branding is still an unknown strategy and is still an investment where many managers don't believe in. When someone wants to learn more about this strategy there are some workshops given by Dr. John Sullivan and Master Burnett.

You will find more information at www.airsdirectory.com/mc/training_employment_branding_series.guid

I think this strategy is a great investment. Because of this strategy you will be able to find high-quality employees and employees that fit in your company's culture. When you have a good image, you will be seen as a good company and this will result into a better production and sales. I think companies that don't use this strategy belief that they have to invest a lot of money and the managers will spend more time at job interviews, and they are scared of the enormous amount of non-qualified applicants.

What is your opinion about employment branding? Let me know!

Source: hhtp://www.ere.net/2008/01/07/employment-branding-the-only-long-term-recruiting-strategy

By: Evy Van Haut