True Office Learning Blog

Originally published by Thrive Global, as part of their series "5 Steps We Must Take to Truly Create an Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society"

It isn’t fun to realize that you or someone you love has biases. It’s not an easy conversation to have with yourself or anyone else to acknowledge those biases and challenge them, but we simply don’t have a choice if we want to build a better world. Self-reflect: What are your biases? What does an equitable society mean for you? Ask the difficult questions: Why do you say that? Would you say the same if the person wasn’t ___? Do you know that you do ___ every time you come across a ___ person? Encourage others to do the same and welcome the uncomfortable conversations. It’s the only way to grow.

Copyright 2020 CEP Magazine, a publication of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).

Inspiring employees to care about compliance isn’t a challenge new to 2020, but in the midst of a global pandemic, that challenge is understandably magnified. This year, many employees turned their attention to figuring out a remote work environment and adjusting to new expectations and uncertain futures. Those concerns remain valid, and as a result, compliance is not at the forefront of the average employee’s mind.

As we all struggle through this week, a few things must be said. First and foremost, systemic inequality and senseless violence IS wrong. It is everything that we at True Office Learning stand against. It is horrifying, inexcusable and it must be stopped. Second, there are no perfect answers and no dialogue on this is going to be elegant, but we need to listen, to learn, to be there for our black colleagues and communities and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We each hold the key to change. Each one of us must pause, reflect, and recognize our biases, conscious and unconscious, and make a determined choice to act differently.