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The article outlines these kinds of bias, most of which are addressed in our anti-bias programs like Defeating Unconscious Bias (PEER and MAIN), Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts and Inclusion Insights.
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Kinds Of Organizational Bias That Could Be Ruining Your Remote Meetings
Distance bias. • You know what they say—out of sight, out of mind, right? Well, that’s a problem when your staffers are out of sight, and there may be a tendency as a result to want them in sight. • Good luck with that in a virtual environment. • It seems to be a problem in decision making and collaboration. This is doubly true when the office reopens, and some employees inevitably stay home.
Expedience bias. • Sure, you may expect your staff to hit the ground running and be hard at work throughout the day—an approach called expedience bias—but that approach could actually be counterintuitive, according to leadership strategists David Rock and Khalil Smith. • In a column for Forbes, the two point out the danger of booking meetings both at the start of the day and consecutively. • “Start virtual meetings later in the day so people can complete those big and innovative projects when they naturally want to.
Safety bias. • Rock and Smith also warn of another form of bias that can play a role in virtual discussions, safety bias, • In which leaders focus on losses over gains that come with potential risks. And that can lead to a bad combination of bad motivations, they say. • “This cocktail can have managers anxious about what they don’t see, and questioning whether employees will be as productive when they are working from home and incapable of being observed,” the authors add.
Unconscious bias • Unconscious bias includes using language, symbolism and nonverbal cues that reinforce normative social identities with respect to gender, race, sexual preference and socioeconomic status • For example, when the virtual background of a Zoom meeting attendee has pictures of his or her wedding, it unintentionally reinforces the idea that marriage is most fitting between opposite sexes.
Confirmation bias • Confirmation bias arises when new information is ignored that does not support the verdicts and outcomes that are already preferred by a group,” the authors wrote. • In a virtual working setting accessing new information is easy. There is after all email, messaging, and quicker access to internet. Out there somewhere is something or someone that confirms what you are thinking right now is right!