Available for Interviews: Leni Rivera
Leni Rivera is a Workplace Experience specialist and author of its very first book in the industry, Workplace Experience. Her passion is creating work environments that enable employees to be both productive and happy, regardless of where that is.
What Leni Rivera can say in an interview about
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace:
This new remote work environment has opened up opportunities for companies to hire from anywhere, leading to a workforce that is more diverse today than ever before. Hence, it is more important today to create workplace experiences that are inclusive, equitable, and places in which every worker feels that they belong.
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- Policy & Mindshift Changes Necessary. As the entire work environment shifts into a completely new work experience, the ways in which people work should shift accordingly. This means that the policies that were once prevalent prior to the pandemic, should be re-considered moving forward. One such policy, whether documented or verbally acknowledged, is that quality of work is directly proportionate to the time spent in the office, or interactions made with management. One of the major facts that have been exposed during the time of forced lock-down during the pandemic, is that you don’t need to be “seen” to deliver great work. As companies shift into this new remote work environment, it is becoming increasingly common to shift focus onto the results of someone’s work, and not on where or when they accomplish it. Shifting focus onto a worker’s results also shifts focus away from what they look like, what their gender preference is, or whether they are disabled in any way.
- Addressing All Aspects of the Workplace. The key to driving DE&I efforts in this new work environment is to incorporate them holistically in every aspect of the workplace. Supporting diversity means creating an environment that is truly inclusive, meaning that in addition to establishing DE&I training, programs, and policies, it also means ensuring that no employee feels that they are an “outsider.” This means equal access to tools, technologies, and supportive equipment that empower those who are differently-abled, neurodiverse, or struggling with mental health. It also means celebrating religious holidays equally, not just Christmas and Easter, and providing time and space for prayer, meditation, and other cultural rituals throughout the year. It means making sure corporate offices have gender-neutral bathrooms, are easily accessed by the visually impaired as well as by the physically disabled, and that meeting rooms are equipped with sound enhancements and video conferencing tools to include those who are working remotely.
Only when the holistic experience in the workplace is genuinely inclusive and equitable, will the diverse workforce in today’s new work environment feel that they truly belong to something bigger than themselves, and feel empowered enough to bring their whole selves to work.
Interview: Leni Rivera
Leni Rivera is a Workplace Experience specialist and author of its very first book in the industry. Her passion is creating work environments that enable employees to be both productive and happy, regardless of where that is. Additionally, Leni is currently working on her Master’s in Industrial & Organizational Psychology.
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