Many people experience it first-hand on a regular basis: racist comments are unfortunately still not uncommon in the German workplace. Usually disguised as a joke, the intentions behind them are easy to deny. However, responsible managers are well advised to react consistently to indications. But what can line managers do when they are confronted with racist comments from their employees?
“Do you want to go back to your home country one day?”, “But you speak good German”, “Asian colleagues are always much more hard-working” – supposedly harmless everyday racism of this kind is something that people often have to put up with in the office because of their skin color or religion, regardless of whether they were born and raised in Hanover or Hanoi. Such remarks are often ignored and not punished “in favor” of the working atmosphere – although it is extremely important for companies to quickly draw consequences from politically incorrect behavior.
The danger behind ignoring such incidents is, in the first instance, the disturbance of industrial peace, which can have drastic consequences further down the line. This is because such a problem rarely resolves itself and often leads to those affected resigning and making their displeasure public. On a legal level alone, employers are obliged by their duty of care to act in the event of indications of racism in the company (warnings, reprimands, up to and including dismissal) and to take preventive measures to reduce such incidents. In the second and third instance, depending on the severity of the racist acts, the economic success of the company may also be affected, prompting employers to intervene. This is because racist behavior on the part of employees can have a serious reputational impact, especially if it is spread on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Even if the opinions expressed in these cases are usually those of individuals, in the public perception racist comments and attitudes are often attributed to the company itself. Companies such as BVG, Gegenbauer and Porsche have already had to experience this painfully. Their solution to the problem in these cases was to dismiss the troublemakers, which was legal in the respective situations, but could possibly have been prevented by timely prevention work.
A number of approaches are available for the preventive approach. In order to detect and counteract racist tendencies, companies should clearly promote open, tolerant and respectful interaction among the entire workforce. In a code of conduct, employers can define in advance which values are to be adhered to by the workforce and how to proceed in the event of violations. If new employees are hired, it is also a good idea to use mentors who are available as contact persons. Mentors should be trained prior to their assignment, be familiar with any cultural particularities of new colleagues and take part in intercultural training. Offering language courses in the event of communication difficulties or opportunities to meet cultural and religious needs (prayer, food, clothing) also ensures greater openness to previously unknown practices throughout the company. For problem-free, anonymous whistleblowing, it is also a good idea for larger companies to introduce a whistleblower system through which incidents can be reported. However, if there are indications of racist behavior, one step in particular is not recommended: ignoring the matter.
