The workplace

1.4.1 Diversity and conflict in the workplace

While workplaces may be diverse in physicality and in service provision, including private and public institutions, education and health setting, and the business industry, they are also largely diverse in terms of employee demographics. The workplace, then, is an interactive hub where people from diverse cultural backgrounds intermingle. Coleman’s (1995) study of coping with cultural difference in the counselling field is also applicable to the managements of cultural diversity in the workplace. Coleman found an increase in conflict problems, and suggests that devising a method for dealing with diversity can help to avoid an upsurge in stress; Coleman also notes, in relation to increased levels of stress, that the attitudes of individuals involved are a major contributing factor conflict, along with communication.

In a phenomenological study of 7 people across 6 cultures, Doer (2004) reveals that interviews that were conducted identified factors which lead to cross-cultural conflict, including poor conflict management. Doer’s study, an in-depth analysis of a conflict situation, also found that effective communication is a fundamental skill necessary to avoid and resolve conflict. The importance of recognising early emerging themes that may lead to conflict is advised, and Doer notes that some positive outcomes of cross-cultural conflict include increased understanding of other cultures. The study also informs us that achieving a low conflict state requires the belief that success is achieved through a willingness to learn. Being open to other cultures, in fact, can lead to enculturation, and the ability to understand stereotypes and cultural value systems

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in relation to work colleagues, and to the general public. Intercultural communication is interaction with people that is entrenched in culture, and a good level of appreciation of diverse cultures helps in avoiding conflict situations. According to Dana (2001: 19), 42% of employees’ time is spent in conflict in the US, or in an attempt to resolve conflict, and this has the effect of loss of productivity.

1.4.2 Negotiating interrelations in the workplace

In essence, the workplace, according to Vartiainen (2006), can be defined as any physical space where a person carries out work-based activities. The workplace that is of relevance to this study is a physical space where Deaf people are employed and are working alongside hearing people, and comprises an interconnected dimension - "a central concept for several entities: the worker and his/her family, the employing organization, the customers of the organization, and the society as a whole" (Jackson &

Suomi, 2004:37). As Jackson & Suomi note, the workplace in this context is fundamentally the second most shared space after the home environment and thus there are implications for the occupiers of such a significant shared workspace.

Workspaces have naturally evolved, in terms of both physical structure and the technological revolution of the era. Developments in technology, and changes to physical environments, can of course be accepted openly or resisted; working relationships, however, must be continually negotiated and relationships form from developing networks and from effective work practices. Focussing on the interior organisation of the ‘workscape’, Becker and Steele (1995) propose that the success of team work, and other workplace initiatives, relies on the effective use of the physically shared work spaces, and on the interrelations at play:

“(Workplace) size, shape, layout, furnishings, and equipment shape our work lives; at the same time our behaviours, attitudes, and values shape the nature of that designed environment, how it is used and the meanings we attach to it.”

(Becker and Steele, 1995: x)

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Looking at the sociology of the workplace, Parker (2013) suggests that there is much to learn about working relationships of various levels. Based on a national survey - the Social Survey – Parker evaluated interrelations among management and staff in relation to organisational systems, and working practices and procedures, and found that the physical and social context of the workplace can lead to negative effects on employees’

performance. Parker developed a quasi-experimental field study and a framework to conduct further research based on two particular models: 1) a cluster model of the variables involved, based at a macro level, which focusses on mapping out organisational systems more effectively; and 2) a path model, which deals at a micro level with responses to changes, and categorises the level of workers and the decision-making processes. Parker’s case studies help us to gain a deeper understanding of the state of “interrelationships of structure, behaviour, and attitudes” (2013:14).

1.4.3 British Sign Language users in the workplace

There are several environments in which Deaf and hearing BSL users work together. In the ‘mainstream’, most workplaces are made up predominantly of hearing people and an isolated Deaf person, or a few Deaf people at most, may be employed to work alongside. In the usual scenario, the hearing members of staff in such employment environments will not be sign language users and will not have any knowledge or awareness of Deaf people, hence this would not be a mixed environment where Deaf and hearing BSL users are working together. There are, however, some exceptions to this situation, such as mainstream organisations that provide services for deaf people, and make a conscious effort to employ Deaf people for that reason. In such situations, referred to in this study as ‘hearing-led’ organisations, and due to the higher than average number of Deaf employees and the nature of the service provision, some of the hearing members of staff may learn BSL to some extent (Woolfe, 2004; Watson, 2016).

In contrast, there are organisations that provide services for deaf people that are predominantly ‘Deaf-led’, that is, large numbers of Deaf people are employed and the hearing people that work alongside will be expected to learn and use sign language to a good extent, and should have knowledge of issues related to Deaf people. This leads to a mixed environment, where Deaf and hearing BSL users are working together daily. This

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may apply to the whole organisation, or to one specialist department within an organisation. This situation is most noticeable in higher education institutions that have BSL and Deaf Studies departments that run courses in the subject and conduct related academic research. For the purposes of this study, then, organisations are distinguished according to the following definitions:

 Mainstream – an organisation that provides mainstream services and recruits predominantly hearing people with one, or just a few, isolated Deaf people;

 Hearing-led – an organisation that provides services for Deaf people and employs a large number of Deaf staff members, but is run largely by hearing people;

 Deaf-led - an organisation that provides services for Deaf people and employs a large number of Deaf staff members, and is run largely by Deaf people.

1.5 Introducing conflict theory