Understanding unconscious bias in the workplace

Often when we think about the term ‘bias’, we think of a deliberate and intentional action against someone else. However, sometimes biases occur without any conscious realisation at all. This is what we call an unconscious bias.

Unconscious biases are social stereotypes that we can have about certain groups of people. These are formed outside of our own conscious awareness – thus unconscious.  

So, what are the different types of unconscious bias? Let’s break them down…

Affinity bias

This is where we might prefer individuals who share the same characteristics, life experiences, personal experiences, cultural values or social background as we do. Here’s an example: A manager who wasn't successful at school may listen to, or be more supportive of, an employee who left school without qualifications because, subconsciously, they are reminded of their younger self.

Halo effect

With this bias an individual will likely place too much significance on a particularly noteworthy (to them) feature about an individual, whilst excluding other important factors. Here’s an example: A manager may interview someone who went to the same university, at the same time, as they did. Because of this commonality the manager prefers that candidate to other candidates who went to different universities, despite their experience and expertise.

Horns effect

This is where we may place too much significance on an individual’s negative trait, and this influences all decisions from that moment on. Here’s an example: A job candidate may have made a jokey comment about a football team which the interviewer doesn’t agree with, the interviewer then allows this point to influence their decision going forward.

Attribution bias

This is when we may evaluate an individual’s behaviour and attribute it to something personal about them. Here’s an example: A job applicant doesn’t smile at the interviewer when they are introduced. This is attributed to them being unfriendly and unwilling to impress. Instead, they may simply have been nervous, meaning that they forgot to smile, yet the interviewer can’t get past this point.

Beauty bias

This is where someone may treat individuals too harshly or too favourably depending on their appearance. Here’s an example: A manager decides that someone isn’t the right fit for an organisation because they don’t make enough effort with their appearance. Or possibly, doesn’t treat them fairly, because they make ‘too much’ effort.

Gender Bias

This is – as it says on the tin – when a person displays a preference for one gender over another. The existence of gender bias is often attributed to the existing gender pay gap, with suggestions that women are overlooked for certain ‘top’ roles due to certain perceptions, creating a disparity in average pay. Here’s an example: A male interviewer may prefer to choose a female candidate for a role that involves office management, thinking that a female will be able to cope with the demands of the job better.

Conformity bias

This is when an individual’s views are swayed by other people and that individual backs down on their ideas and opinions as a result. Here’s an example: A group of four people are deciding who to promote to a managerial position. Three of the group do not think a particular candidate should be offered the role, but one has seen potential and, if outside of the group, would offer that person the role. However, they want to be seen to conform and so agrees that the role should not be offered to that candidate, backing down to conform to the group opinion.   

Contrast effect

This is where individuals compare the second thing with the first thing, resulting in a skewed opinion of the overall picture. Here’s an example: The first CV a manager looks at illustrates, on paper, the perfect candidate. The second candidate is viewed less favourably because it doesn’t list all the qualifications of the first CV, even though all the required qualifications are present. The manager should consider whether each candidate, on its own merits, can do the job.

Confirmation bias

This is where individuals primarily search for evidence that backs up their opinions, rather than looking at the whole picture objectively. Here’s an example: a job applicant is 10 minutes late for an interview and so it is assumed that they lack time management skills. Throughout the interview, the interviewer selectively focuses on anything that backs up this idea.

Accent bias

This is where individuals are drawn to certain accents over others and allow them to frame opinions of people. Accents in the UK can vary dramatically from one place to the next, such as Manchester and Liverpool. Here’s an example: A recruiter selects someone for a role as they sounded more ‘down to earth’ and subsequently might fit in better with the team.

Although unconscious bias is never intentional, acting on our biases can still have some worrying consequences within our workplaces. Left unchecked, unconscious bias can mean that organisations miss out on great talent and potential. It can also create an unhealthy and low-morale environment and can result in a lack of diversity within organisations.

Overcoming unconscious bias requires intent and won’t happen overnight. But the key thing is that people must become more aware of their unconscious biases and commit themselves to understanding them. Only then can they avoid acting on them and start to change their behaviours permanently.

Unconscious bias training programs can be a positive first step in this – not only will these sessions raise awareness and educate employees, but they can also provide tools to mitigate bias too. Having an open-minded unbiased mindset gives just about everyone, competitive advantage. It’s a win-win situation.

How can Amelore help?

At Amelore we can help you by running an unconscious bias audit and then use the results of that audit to train up your managers. We can also run team development sessions for your hiring managers and even run your recruitment process for you to ensure it is 100% objective and free from unconscious bias. Just get in touch with us here if you would like to discuss it further.