Performance Matters - Digital Experiences - 12

Why inclusion, accessibility,
and fairness at work matter
" Workplace fairness is about providing a level
playing field for all. It is fostering an inclusive
environment in which leaders value remote and
in-person workers alike, providing individuals
with similar tools to do their job and allowing all
employees to thrive. "
To create a level playing field for all, we can't put those who
work remotely at the margins of our organization when it
comes to power, status, and visibility for growth, connection,
support, and promotion.
Improving inclusion and accessibility is a collective effort and
many of us feel urgency to get it right, now. Employees are
turning to leaders for answers on what changes can be made
to make the workplace more fair. Leaders are being put under
the microscope as a result, and in some cases employees are
coming down hard on their leadership if the " right " answers,
proposals, or processes aren't initiated. This process takes
time and a lot of human judgment. There are no rules.
During my time at TiER1, we designed a simple exercise to
help teams have open conversations about relative advantages
and disadvantages when it comes to the digital environment.
Similar to the Privilege Walk Exercise1
conversations about privilege, through this exercise you can
surface learning for a team or a leader as they realize that
benefits and risks are not spread equally.
I offer this as an invitation to connect with everyone's humanity
and use elevated awareness and dialogue as the skill to
emphasize rather than architecting broad mandates and policies.
This is not to say that leaders do not have power and authority
to initiate some of the most meaningful changes. It is to say
that starting with a conversation rooted in curiosity is usually the
most human place to begin these types of cultural interventions.
I especially encourage leaders to use this exercise for reflection.
Remember: While some of these dimensions of advantage might
be true for some of your people, there might be just as many
people you lead for which these statements are not true. If that
is the case, a digital environment may add extra decisions,
complexity, and stress disproportionately to your workforce.
Exercise for surfacing privilege
How it works:
Review each point and note whether the statement is true for you. To facilitate this
exercise as a group, ask every person to indicate if the statement is true for them.
ability
* I have full range of physical motion to accomplish
my job tasks without accommodation.
* I have full use of hearing.
* I have no or low vision loss.
1 This exercise was first outlined in Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (1989).
- Sarah Grimstead, Fast Company, 2021
widely used to encourage

Performance Matters - Digital Experiences

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