What are micro-behaviours and how do they impact inclusive cultures?

Micro-behaviours and how they impact inclusive cultures

Caroline Arnold is a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, specialising in equality, diversity and inclusion, and unconscious bias at EW Group.

You’ve probably heard of the term ‘micro-behaviours’, maybe in the same context as unconscious bias – but what does it mean and more importantly, what kind of impact can it have on the creation of inclusive cultures in the workplace?

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What are micro-behaviours

Micro-behaviours are tiny, often unconscious gestures, facial expressions, postures, words and tone of voice which can influence how included (or not included) the people around us feel.

The term ‘micro-behaviours’ was coined by psychologist Mary Rowe in the early 1970s. It relates to the concept of micro-inequities or micro-aggressions, which refers to the ways in which individuals may be singled out, overlooked or ignored based on an unchangeable characteristic such as race or gender. In a 10-minute conversation there might be 50 micro-messages transmitted between two people; psychologists call these positive and negative micro-behaviours.

Micro-behaviours are

  1. Verbal and non-verbal
  2. Very subtle
  3. Habitual
  4. Usually unconscious
  5. Influenced by our biases

DEVELOP YOUR TEAM’S AWARENESS OF UNCONSCIOUS BIAS →

Examples of micro-behaviours in the workplace

Examples of negative micro-behaviours include:

  • Being dismissive of people more junior, e.g. “I didn’t have time to read that email”
  • Not thanking people
  • Using nicknames for some people, and not for others
  • Consistently mispronouncing non-western names
  • Interrupting a person mid-sentence
  • Rolling your eyes
  • Being consistently late to a meeting

Micro-aggressions can adopt other forms, including racial micro-aggressions.

On a positive note, there are micro-affirmations which will help build a feeling of inclusion in a company such as:

  • Paying attention to someone talking
  • Letting someone finish their sentence
  • Giving eye contact
  • Demonstrating positive body language and facial expressions
  • Calling out interruptions and asking the person who was speaking to continue
  • Mentioning the achievements of all of those involved in a piece of work
  • Putting your phone away during a meeting
  • Remembering names and information

CREATE INCLUSIVE CULTURES IN THE WORKPLACE →


How can micro-behaviours impact inclusion in the workplace?

More and more organisations are striving to create inclusive cultures in the workplace to help improve employee engagement, career progression and overall performance, both on an individual level but also companywide. But there are some areas particularly hard to tackle because, much like unconscious bias, we are not aware of them.

A quick glance at the clock during a conversation. Checking your phone during a meeting. Implying you are busier than everyone else. These little actions can reveal a lot about what you’re thinking and can send powerful messages to the people around you. But it can often be hard to identify micro-behaviours. And when the targets do recognise these micro-behaviours, it can be difficult to explain why these little actions can result in big problems. Since these behaviours are ‘micro’, they are often labelled as insignificant.

Yet, micro-behaviours can significantly impact how the level of inclusion and value we feel. It can impact our motivation to be engaged with those around us and our work.


The impact of micro-behaviours on team performance

Inclusive cultures and inclusive leadership go hand-in-hand; when senior leaders role model inclusive behaviour this can positively impact company cultures to become more inclusive, perform better, increase innovation and attract diverse talent. See our guides on how to build diverse and inclusive cultures and inclusive leadership to learn more.

The next time that you are in a meeting ask everyone to put their phones away and actively listen to all the ideas contributed. Near the end of the meeting, rather than simply asking “any other business”, go around the table and say everyone’s name and ask them individually if there is anything else, they would like to contribute or alternatively if they’d prefer to share their comments via email. This creates the space for everyone to feel that their ideas and thoughts are valued, without feeling pressure to divulge anything on the spot.

At EW Group, we specialise in the development of Inclusive Cultures through cross-cultural training. Get in touch to find out more from our friendly team.

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