What is Unconscious Bias?

The vast majority of companies in the country will know about discrimination and will actively take steps to avoid it. Managers will, in general, want to avoid forming assumptions about an individual due to a certain characteristic such as their race, sex or where they come from.

The trouble is, sometimes these assumptions can be made even when it is not the intention of the people making them. This article will investigate the issues around unconscious bias, and how employers can avoid unconscious bias in their workplace.

If you need immediate support in tackling unconscious biases in the workplace, get in touch with one of our HR and Employment Law experts on 0800 470 2778.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias is when you form a quick opinion about a situation or individual, without necessarily being aware of it. It can occur in all areas of life but in a workplace context, unconscious bias can affect who is recruited, or who is promoted.

If left unchecked, it can impact upon who gets training and opportunities to develop and who is looked over. It can even influence a hiring team’s or manager’s response to issues with conduct or employee capability.

There are many different forms of this type of bias. Whilst it can arise due to characteristics such as race, gender or sexual orientation, it can also be more subtle. Maybe you take a liking to someone as they are from the same town you are, or vice versa.

Perhaps  you like someone because of the way they talk, or automatically assume someone will not be a strong candidate due to their accent. These assumptions, if left to fester, can be dangerous and have a seriously strong impact on your decision making process.

The impact of unconscious bias?

Allowing unconscious biases to exist can be detrimental to an employer, affecting recruitment and promotion decisions as well as overall workplace morale.

We all know that recruiting the right individual is difficult enough, without factoring in the potential that unconscious bias could cause employers to miss out on the best candidate.

The same can be said for internal promotions hiring managers and decision makers who should be careful not to let outside factors influence who is the best person for the job.

After all, a diverse workforce is often seen as a sign of an inclusive and forward-thinking employer, however unconscious bias can result in employers regularly hiring a certain ‘type’ of individual e.g. all single, white males from middle-class backgrounds.

It’s also important not to underestimate the impact that perceived unconscious bias can have on employee morale.

Trust is an essential part of the employment relationship and employees who do not trust their employer with making fair decisions  are unlikely to contribute effectively.  

Workplace inequality remains a key issue and the last thing an employer wants is bad press as a result of this.

How to avoid unconscious bias?

Reviewing job applications and then comparing candidates' CVs to decide who to invite to an interview can be a difficult task at the best of times, however you must be careful not to allow unconscious bias to impact who is chosen for the interview stage, whether for a new job or for a promotion.

Studies have suggested that applicants from certain groups are less likely to be asked to an interview because of the unconscious bias that may be associated with their names.

To prevent this, employers should consider removing names and other identifying characteristics from applications so this cannot be factored into decision making.

To undertake blind recruitment, you should first identify how you intend to remove a candidate’s gender from their application.

Options to consider include:

• Asking other members of staff to do this, such as HR, although the practice could be time consuming and take them away from other important tasks
• Utilising specialist software, such as applicant tracking system (ATS)
• Reading CVs side-by-side with names hidden, focusing more on the performance and skills mentioned within them and avoiding gender differences so it is not clear whether the applicant is male or female
• Placing personal information on a detachable page which is kept separate from the information given to decision makers.

Going forward, you should consider if your employees and management would benefit from unconscious bias training sessions. This could be key for helping  them to identify biases and combat unconscious bias and other types of unconscious bias that they may have not realised exist.

Unconscious bias examples in the workplace

Although few of us would admit it, bias pervades many areas of the workplace and often influences major business decisions.

There isn’t one plain example of this, there are in fact many unconscious bias examples you could draw from. One example would be the gender pay gap.

Not only is this discriminatory, but it’s also conscious bias. The manager is aware of their reasoning. If the same thought lingers in the back of their mind however, deep in their unconscious brain, there’s a good chance it will influence their decision-making.

Even if they’re unaware of it. This is a key example of unconscious gender bias in the workplace.

Employers can have similar thoughts with regards to age, weight, skin colour, gender, disability, sexuality, education level, accent, social status, current job title, and so on. In fact, many job ads have an unconscious bias.

Another common misconception involving bias is that hiring disabled workers is an expensive undertaking.

Don’t believe this type of bias exists? According to research by Jaluch, 67% of the British public admits to feeling uncomfortable talking to a disabled person.

A massive 80% of employers make hiring decisions relating to regional accents, and LGBT job seekers are 5% less likely to get an initial interview.

Recognising your biases is difficult, not only to identify but also to come to terms with. There are tests that can help discern unconscious bias, but you can pinpoint it with some simple self-reflection.

One of the main ways to do this is to identify and educate yourself and your employees to different types of implicit and explicit bias here.

How to overcome unconscious biases

To overcome bias, you must be aware of any you have and never rush to a decision—it’s where unconscious bias can slip in.

Always justify your decision with evidence and base it on merit.

Having more than one person conduct or sit in on the interview is a great way to eliminate any bias, especially if the group is diverse.

Work with a wide range of people and get to know them as individuals, not as part of a group or department.

Policies

Ensure you have and effectively implement policies and procedures that limit the influence of individual characteristics and preferences.

Where you identify biases, make sure you thoroughly investigate them so people know they are accountable—this also helps identify if certain decisions were valid.

Utilise offboarding meetings and appraisals

This is a great method of gaining information and awareness regarding any existing biases that exist in decision making.

Remain vigilant

Checking yourself and your workforce for any signs of issues that might creep up on your business.

The different types of bias

This term refers to when people favour certain individuals (or groups) over others because they look like them, or share similar personal experiences or values.

Affinity bias

Affinity bias or similarity bias is a type of unconscious bias where you gravitate towards people who are similar to yourself, or if you identify with another person and interests you on any number of levels.

Another example of affinity bias is, you might relate more to people who share similar interests and also went to university. Or, you might relate more to someone who has the same regional accent as yourself.

Halo effect

Halo effect is where you are more likely to dismiss the poor performance or behaviour of an individual because you like them. Or hold the individual in higher regard than everyone else around them?

Perception bias

Perception bias is where form judgements about particular groups. For example, do you subscribe to certain social stereotypes? Do you find it impossible to make completely objective judgements about a member of these groups?

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is where you actively seek information and evidence that supports your beliefs regarding an individual or social group. Do you dismiss information and evidence that challenges these beliefs?

This type of bias isn't to be confused with conformity bias, where a person would change their beliefs to fit in with those around them or to fit in with the status quo.

 

Group Think

Group think is where you try to fit into a particular group by mimicking the beliefs, thoughts, and judgements of other people. For example, do you hold back certain thoughts, personal experiences, and opinions that are contradictory to that group’s ethos?

Originating from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, it causes a loss of identity among individuals and drains creativity and innovation from an organisation.

Get expert help

If you believe there’s unconscious bias at your workplace, or you’d just like to ensure you avoid it, follow the steps highlighted in this article.

If you follow all of the above steps, but still feel you need further support, speak to a Croner expert on 0800 470 2778