How to Become More Inclusive at Work: The Brutal Truth About What Actually Works

Connect with us: SB Nation | Medium | Poodleforum | Manifold Markets | The Old Reader

The other day I was sitting in yet another diversity workshop where someone used the phrase "unconscious bias" forty-seven times in thirty minutes, and I realised something: we're doing inclusion all wrong.

After eighteen years of watching Australian workplaces fumble around with inclusion initiatives like teenagers at their first school dance, I've come to a controversial conclusion. Most inclusion training is absolute rubbish. There, I said it.

But here's the thing that'll really get your knickers in a twist - the companies that actually nail workplace inclusion aren't the ones with the fanciest diversity officers or the most elaborate policies. They're the ones that treat inclusion like any other business skill that needs proper development and practice.

The Problem With How We Think About Inclusion

Let me tell you about Sarah from accounts. Lovely woman, been with us for twelve years, always remembers everyone's birthday. But put her in charge of making the Christmas party "more inclusive" and suddenly she's Googling "culturally appropriate decorations" at 2 AM, stress-eating Tim Tams and questioning everything she knows about humanity.

Sound familiar?

We've made inclusion so bloody complicated that good people are paralysed by the fear of getting it wrong. Meanwhile, the actual excluded employees are sitting there thinking, "Just ask me what I need instead of assuming."

The truth is, becoming more inclusive at work isn't rocket science. It's about developing basic human skills that somehow got lost in the corporate shuffle. Active listening. Genuine curiosity. The radical ability to admit when you don't know something.

But corporations love to overcomplicate things, don't they? Instead of teaching managers how to have real conversations, we give them acronyms and sensitivity training that makes everyone walk on eggshells.

What Inclusion Actually Looks Like (Spoiler: It's Not What You Think)

Real inclusion happens in the tiny moments. It's noticing that Ahmed always brings his lunch because the cafeteria doesn't have halal options, and then quietly sourcing some alternatives. It's realising that scheduling all your important meetings at 4 PM on Fridays might not work for your Jewish colleagues.

It's definitely not putting up a poster about "celebrating differences" and calling it a day.

Here's something that might shock you: the most inclusive manager I ever worked with was a 58-year-old bloke from Townsville who'd never heard the term "microaggression" in his life. But Dave (not his real name, obviously) had this superpower - he actually paid attention to people.

When new team members joined, Dave didn't just show them where the coffee machine was. He watched. He noticed that Li seemed uncomfortable in the open office space and quietly arranged for a corner desk. He picked up that James struggled with the team's rapid-fire communication style and started sending follow-up emails with key points.

Dave didn't do this because he'd read a manual about inclusion. He did it because he genuinely cared about his team performing well, and he understood that people perform better when they feel comfortable and valued.

The Skills You Actually Need

Forget everything you think you know about inclusion training. The skills that create genuinely inclusive workplaces are the same ones that make you a decent human being:

Curiosity over assumptions. Instead of guessing what someone needs, develop the radical habit of asking. "What would make this project work better for you?" is infinitely more useful than assumptions based on someone's age, background, or apparent confidence level.

Comfortable discomfort. Get used to feeling awkward when learning about experiences different from your own. That slight cringe when someone shares their perspective? That's growth happening. Lean into it instead of running away.

Pattern recognition. Start noticing who speaks up in meetings and who doesn't. Who gets interrupted. Who gets credit for ideas. Who seems to struggle with certain processes. This isn't about keeping score - it's about seeing the workplace as it actually operates rather than how we think it operates.

The beautiful thing about these skills is they're useful everywhere. Better communication training doesn't just help with inclusion - it makes you a more effective colleague, manager, and human being.

The Australian Context (Because We're Not America)

Here's where I'm going to ruffle some feathers: copying American inclusion strategies wholesale is like trying to use a snowplough in Darwin. Different country, different context, different challenges.

Australian workplace culture has its own peculiar blend of egalitarianism and subtle hierarchies. We pride ourselves on being "fair dinkum" while simultaneously having some of the most complex social codes on the planet. Understanding this matters.

For instance, our tall poppy syndrome can make celebrating diverse achievements tricky. How do you highlight someone's unique contributions without making them feel singled out in a culture that values blending in? It's a delicate balance that requires actual cultural intelligence, not just generic diversity training.

And let's be honest about something else: regional Australia faces different inclusion challenges than inner-city Melbourne or Sydney. A mining company in Western Australia and a tech startup in Surry Hills aren't dealing with the same dynamics. Cookie-cutter solutions are useless.

Where Most Companies Go Wrong

I've seen million-dollar inclusion programmes fail spectacularly because they focused on changing attitudes instead of changing behaviours. Here's the thing though - you can't mandate someone's feelings, but you can absolutely expect professional behaviour.

The most successful inclusion initiatives I've witnessed started with this simple question: "What specific behaviours do we want to see more of, and how do we make those behaviours easier than the alternatives?"

For example, instead of a workshop on "appreciating generational differences," try restructuring meetings so information is shared both verbally and in writing. Suddenly your detail-oriented colleagues and your auditory processors are both included without anyone needing to examine their unconscious biases.

Instead of sensitivity training about cultural differences, establish clear protocols for religious observances and dietary requirements. Make it normal business practice, not a special accommodation that requires explanation and approval from three different managers.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Resistance

Now here's something that might make some people uncomfortable: sometimes resistance to inclusion isn't about prejudice. Sometimes it's about poorly designed change management.

I've worked with genuinely well-meaning managers who pushed back against inclusion initiatives not because they didn't value diversity, but because the initiatives were implemented without consideration for existing workflows, were poorly communicated, or seemed to create more problems than they solved.

Good intentions paired with bad implementation create resistance. And when we label all resistance as prejudice, we miss opportunities to improve our approach.

This doesn't mean we should accommodate every complaint or water down important changes. But it does mean we should apply the same rigorous thinking to inclusion initiatives that we'd apply to any other business change.

Making It Practical

Want to know what works? Start small and focus on systems rather than hearts and minds.

Review your recruitment process. Are you advertising in the same places and looking for the same credentials? Try expanding where you post jobs and questioning which requirements are actually essential versus nice-to-have.

Look at your meeting culture. Who's doing most of the talking? How are decisions really made? Small changes to meeting structure can dramatically shift participation patterns.

Examine your feedback and recognition systems. Are you consistent in how you acknowledge contributions? Do you have multiple ways for people to share ideas and concerns?

These aren't revolutionary concepts. They're basic good management practices that happen to create more inclusive environments as a side effect.

The Leadership Component

Here's where I'm going to be brutally honest: inclusion efforts fail when senior leadership treats them as someone else's responsibility.

You can't delegate creating an inclusive culture to HR and expect miracles. Culture flows from the top, and if your executives aren't modelling inclusive behaviour consistently, no amount of training or policy development will matter.

But - and this is crucial - leadership commitment isn't about making grand speeches or sending company-wide emails about values. It's about the daily decisions that signal what's actually important.

Do leaders admit when they don't know something? Do they ask for input from team members with different perspectives? Do they notice and address exclusionary behaviour when they see it? Do they make decisions based on who speaks loudest or who presents the strongest evidence?

The most powerful inclusion tool any leader has is their own behaviour. People watch what you do, not what you say.

What Actually Moves the Needle

After nearly two decades in this space, I've learned that sustainable inclusion comes down to three things: clear expectations, consistent accountability, and genuine commitment to learning.

Clear expectations mean people know what inclusive behaviour looks like in your specific context. Not vague statements about "respect," but concrete examples of how to contribute to team discussions, how to give feedback, how to handle mistakes.

Consistent accountability means the same standards apply to everyone, regardless of their position or relationship with leadership. And it means addressing problems early before they become bigger issues.

Genuine commitment to learning means staying curious about what's working and what isn't, being willing to adjust approaches based on feedback, and accepting that building inclusive cultures is ongoing work, not a destination you reach.

The Bottom Line

Creating more inclusive workplaces isn't about becoming the thought police or walking on eggshells. It's about creating environments where people can do their best work regardless of their background, communication style, or personal circumstances.

The irony is that most of us already know how to be inclusive - we just need permission to apply basic human decency in professional settings. Training that focuses on practical skills rather than theoretical concepts tends to be far more effective.

And here's my final controversial opinion: the best inclusion initiatives are the ones that don't need to be labelled as inclusion initiatives. They're just good business practices that happen to work for everyone.

Because at the end of the day, inclusion isn't about being politically correct or ticking diversity boxes. It's about creating workplaces where talent can thrive regardless of packaging. And in a competitive market, that's not just morally right - it's commercially smart.

Stop overthinking it. Start with curiosity, add some basic human decency, and see what happens.