Inclusivity in the Workplace Can Go Beyond the Employee Handbook

According to the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey, 94% of workers said it is very or somewhat important that they feel a sense of belonging in their workplace.

As a half-Japanese, half-Chinese Asian American female executive creative director, I learned that creating open, safe and trust-based teams comes from being brave and vulnerable myself. Embracing my culture allows everyone to feel comfortable celebrating their own culture. It allows them to share their own heritage, customs and voices. And it allows them to feel more seen, appreciated and included.

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The importance of cultural vulnerability

Prior to the 2000s, professionalism at work meant leaving who you are and where you come from (culturally, personally, spiritually) at the door. When we felt happy about Chinese New Year, Juneteenth, Passover, Pride Month, Holi, MLK Day, Ramadan, Easter and so on, we stayed quiet. We left it outside.

When leadership steps outside the employee handbook and incorporates their own culture inside of work, it gives others the bravery and permission to step up and share theirs. These initiatives are not HR-led; they are small acts that make big impressions to others who feel they must hide.

Leadership in cultural vulnerability is imaginative and brave. Demonstrating our own culture lets others know their culture is welcome, too. People hide who they are and where they’re from until they see it’s not only OK to contribute, but that it’s fun to celebrate and share with others.

Celebrate, don’t tokenize

Acts of inclusivity can increase employee retention and inspire different cultures within the workspace that can be seen and felt throughout your organization.

Here are three examples of workplace moments when one can celebrate one’s culture while celebrating colleagues:

Career milestones

Work anniversaries are huge, recognizable moments to celebrate and honor your colleagues. Have the courage to go beyond the company handbook to find ways to welcome different cultures.

For example, I handmade individual Hawaiian leis to give out on yearly anniversary dates. In my culture, a lei is a common symbol of celebration and spreads the aloha spirit. The creative department felt proud to wear their leis throughout the office as a visual badge of honor.

A former employee had this to say about my cultural contribution: “Tokens of gratitude from a leadership director like a gift card are easy, but don’t allow us to get to know our managers at anything deeper than the surface level.” He understood these leis as a celebration of my cultural heritage that mean a lot to me and, by extension, they meant a lot to him, too. It also encouraged him to share his own Jewish culture and traditions.

Goal setting

Find ways to incorporate culture within your HR’s company policies and procedures. One year, I gave each person a Daruma doll as a unique way to set individual goals.

In Asian culture, a Daruma doll is a symbol of a goal, dream or wish. When you first receive a Daruma doll, it has no eyes. Once you make your intent for your goal, you then draw in one eye. This doll will sit on your desk as a one-eyed doll and as a reminder of your unfinished goal. Then, when you accomplish your goal, you are then allowed to draw in the other eye as a completed goal/doll.

The team embraced this initiative and celebrated one another when completing their doll. One art director walked into work and upon seeing Daruma dolls on all the creative department’s desks, felt immediately welcomed seeing our culture was being highlighted by a member of the leadership team. It sparked great conversation and a bonus—it left team members with a keepsake.

The everyday

Create opportunities to welcome culture that connects with the senses: taste, smell, sight, hearing and touch. For example, outside of bringing in lunch from different countries, think of the everyday like the drinks in the office and including items such as Mexican sodas, Japanese juices, Italian cream sodas, etc.

One senior art director set up the department’s snack bar with Mexican candies, excited and amused when an art director asked if the chili powder was sugar dust. It opened friendly conversation and contributed to an environment of genuine inclusivity.

Snacks are common within other cultures; some examples are Japanese rice crackers, Indian boondi, Korean beef jerky, etc. Taking snack breaks can reflect the true celebration of the different flavors of those who work there, and it’s an opportunity to shine a light on individual cultures.

These are examples that I did, but I encourage you to find ways to tap into the culture within your own company. To have conversations inviting others to share aspects of their own culture that could become a part of your company culture. Creating a truly inclusive culture that can be felt by each individual person starts with the leaders.

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The Fabric of Belonging: How to Weave an Inclusive Culture study found that fewer than 30% of employees feel fully included. This finding holds across industries, geographies and demographic groups, including members of racial, gender or sexual orientation majorities.

Who you hire is only part of the equation. Inclusivity is more than just a number. It should be embedded into every day at work, integrated into company processes and policies and interwoven into its culture.