HR Concerns Around DEI Rollbacks Heighten

HR teams are concerned about the spike in DEI rollbacks across organizations and their concerns are extremely valid. Many employers have announced their decision to eliminate the DEI policies at the businesses and while this might work in the short term, organizations may find their business severely impacted in the future. 

In the past, employees have been extremely vocal about their preference for diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, and this was the primary motivating factor for employers to maintain policies that created a supportive structure for a diverse workforce.

More recently, organizations with DEI policies have faced some backlash and there has been a large-scale movement to distance organizations from such initiatives. HR professionals and other experts on the matter fear that the DEI rollback could affect the psychological safety of employees but employers appear determined to move forward with the change. 

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HR Concerns over DEI Rollbacks Are Not Misplaced

DEI policies began as a benefit of working at the most top–tier organizations but over the years, different versions of such policies have trickled down to small businesses as well. Now that these DEI initiates are being cut back by major corporations, it’s expected to set off a chain reaction of other businesses shutting down their DEI policies as well. 

The trend away from DEI regulations has been witnessed across the U.S. primarily, but the change is spreading externally as well. Organizations like First Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, and Ford made a very public showcase of eliminating their DEI policies, showing other businesses that it was alright to initiate the change as well. Microsoft laid off a DEI team citing “changing business needs,” which was a monumental sign of the changing times. 

The Society for Human Resource Management, a central source for all major trends in HR, announced its decision to drop the “equity term from its “DEI” policy, and this was seen as another sign of DEI cuts and their corporate impact. SHRM dropped the equity term due to the uncertainty around its meaning and reiterated its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, however, the move received some backlash as well. 

What is DEI and Why are Employers Considering DEI Rollbacks?

DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and policies based on these principles were designed to represent an organization’s commitment for fostering a diverse workforce. Organizations that found themselves unfairly filtering out candidates that didn’t match the majority workforce, made a concentrated effort to shift towards a more open and considerate approach to hiring and retaining candidates.

The future of DEI initiatives had once been closely tied to the growth of a business and its human resources, but that no longer seems to be the case. Many communities perceive DEI policies to have evolved to become more exclusionary, giving some members of the population an unfair advantage over others. 

The policies have earned a poor reputation of being cursory systems that are executed on an unfair basis. DEI initiatives are accused of giving only some candidates an opportunity over others just to fill an arbitrary “diversity quota.” With an image like that, and existing preconceptions about the individuals who fall in these categories, it’s apparent why many employers are looking into DEI rollbacks.

DEI Rollback Could Threaten Psychological Safety of Some Employees

If a system is flawed, it is best to eliminate it and replace it with a new, more effective policy, so why are HR experts concerned about the DEI rollback? Some senior HR leaders believe that eliminating a DEI policy could lead some employees to wrongfully believe that discrimination and inappropriate behavior is permissible within the workspace.

Employers considering DEI rollbacks need to look into how the changes will affect existing workers and alter the relationships between them. Strategy changes are a common part of the legacy of any organization, but an employer is still obligated to safeguard its employees while keeping with the trends. 

Some companies have backed away from explicitly claiming DEI support but many still continue to adhere to the principle of equality and fair treatment of all workers, which is the central concern. 

Despite the shifting trends, a survey by Bentley University and Gallup found that Americans still believe diverse workers make a company stronger. Over 59% of Americans say that diverse companies are more profitable, with 63% expressing that such companies make more innovative products. 

As the landscape of work continues to evolve, organizations will have to look into what principles they intend to stand by and how they will respond to the shift in public opinion and popular policy. 

The post HR Concerns Around DEI Rollbacks Heighten appeared first on The HR Digest.

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