A new study says minority employees are often perceived to be less competent, even in their own eyes. But managers can fix that.
一个新的研究表明,少数族群在职场上往往被贴上“能力不够”的标签,甚至连他们自己也这么认为。不过,主管们能够解决这个问题。

No question about it, companies’ campaigns to hire and promote more minorities (including, in some industries, women) have created workplaces that do a far better job of reflecting the growing diversity of the U.S. population than was true even a decade ago. Yet some employers are puzzled by the stubborn fact that such hires don’t move up as often or as fast as their credentials suggest they might, and some don’t even stay. Why?
不可否认的是,相比十年前,如今美国公司在雇佣和提拔少数族群(有些领域里的女性)方面,更加广泛地体现了工作场合的多元化。然而,让很多雇主不解的是,这部分少数人群的晋升速度通常不能和他们所取得的资格证书相匹配,有些甚至还不能晋升。这是为什么呢?

One possible reason that’s usually too subtle to be mentioned in an exit interview: “Diversity hires” are often assumed by other employees to have been hired for their sex or their skin color alone, not because they’re qualified for their jobs — and that stigma even rubs off on the individuals themselves, so they either stop trying to get ahead or else just quit. That’s according to a new study, led by three business school professors, that analyzed earlier research covering 6,432 employees.
其中一个可能的原因,也是他们不愿意在离职面谈中提及的是:“雇佣少数族群”会被其他的员工认为雇主只是因为他们的肤色和性别而录用他们,而非他们能力本身。这种偏见甚至影响到了少数族群个人本身,以至于他们不去尝试往上爬,甚至直接辞职。这个结果是基于一项由三位大学教授牵头的研究,该研究覆盖到了6432名雇员。

“People have all kinds of assumptions about what ‘affirmative action’ or ‘diversity programs’ mean,” notes David Mayer, one of the study’s authors, who teaches management at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Unfortunately, plenty of employees think it’s about hiring people who are less qualified, just because they’re a member of a minority group.”
“每个人对于平权举措或多元政策的理解都不一样,”David Mayer,本研究指导者之一,目前在美国密歇根大学罗斯商学院教授管理学课程。“不幸的是,不少雇员认为平权举措是指雇佣能力较低的人,而且仅仅是因为他们是少数族群。”

The study, which will be published later this month in the Academy of Management Journal, found that belief, which usually goes unspoken, can make some employees perceive minority colleagues as “less likeable,” Mayer says. “They’re seen as having an unfair, unearned advantage in the competition for scarce resources like raises and promotions.” The predictable result, as time goes by, is that few minorities stick around long enough to reach senior positions — the opposite of what diversity efforts are intended to achieve.
这个研究报告将会在本月的《管理学学术期刊》上发表,研究发现,通常不被提及的信仰,使得少数族群员工不受其他族群的员工的欢迎。Mayer说。“他们通常遭受不公平的对待,与其他人相比,缺少更多加薪和晋升机会等非劳力利益资源。”研究结果预测,随着时间的推移,会有越来越少的人继续坚守职位到晋升的那一刻,这也是趋向员工多样性的表现。

That’s discouraging, but there’s a relatively simple fix. Instead of assuming that everyone knows a new employee was hired based on his or her qualifications, spell it out.
这也是人们所不想看到的,不过,确实有一个简单的解决方法。那就是把每个人的录用资格清楚说明白,而不是凭空猜测。

“An email memo from a fairly senior manager welcoming the new person and describing his or her education, experience, and special knowledge can really make a big difference,” Mayer says. “If someone was hired partly because she has a lot of experience in a particular market the company wants to get into, for example, say that. Don’t assume people will discover it on their own, or that the new employee is even aware that that’s why he or she was hired.”
“如果一个高级经理在邮件通知里描述清楚新入员工的教育背景,工作经历,特殊技能等,这会起到很大的作用”Mayer说,“如果一个人被录用一定程度上是因为她具有大量公司所需要的特殊领域的工作经验,那么就把它说清楚。不要以为他人会发现,又或者以为雇员能够意识到自己为什么会被雇用。”

The likeability factor is more complicated, but Mayer says his research suggests companies can tackle it by “creating an environment where people are encouraged to get to know each other as more than just coworkers, and where employees are allowed to bring their outside selves to work with them. The better people know each other as individuals, the less backlash there is against diversity.”
雇员的受欢迎度则是更复杂的概念,不过Mayer认为他的研究表明,能够通过以下方法来解决这个问题——创造新的工作环境,在这个环境里鼓励大家互相了解,这样的话,他们不仅仅是同事的关系,还可以把外在的自我带到工作场合。人们互相了解得越多,种族多样性的强烈反映就会越小。

Both the welcome memo and the collegial culture are “really best practices in any workplace, regardless of whether there’s a diversity effort going on,” Mayer adds. “It’s a matter of just a little more transparency. Companies often forget that employees want to know the reasons behind decisions” — even, or especially, diversity hires.
“不管落实多元化聘用有多困难,新人欢迎邮件和大学文化在任何工作场合都是非常好的实践活动,”Mayer说,“我们需要的是更多一点的透明度。公司经常忽略员工想要知道公司决策背后的原因”,尤其是,雇佣少数族群。