Workplace Diversity and Communication Barriers

This assignment analyzes the influence of workplace diversity on effective communication. It highlights how diverse backgrounds can create barriers in understanding and interaction. The solution proposes identifying cultural differences and fostering an inclusive environment to mitigate these challenges.

WORK WITH DIVERSE
PEOPLE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.......................................................................................................................................3
Q1 Characteristics associated with Diversity..............................................................................3
Q2 Concepts and definition of Diversity....................................................................................3
Q 3 Providing examples for following elements of diversity that have impact on work and life
.....................................................................................................................................................4
Q 4 Diversity in different aspects of life.....................................................................................4
Q 5 Three resources available to support people of diverse background..................................6
Q 6 Four ways to help overcome communication difficulties with clients from different culture
and linguistic background...........................................................................................................6
Q 7 Complete the following table..............................................................................................6
Q 8 Answer the following...........................................................................................................7
Q 9 Three changing cultural practices in Australia.....................................................................8
Q 10 Cultural awareness, cultural safety and cultural competence impacts on my job role as an
enrolled nurse..............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Cultural diversity refers to presence of different people in a group or workplace. There are
different people in the organisation which belongs to different background and culture. This
assignment will include reflection of background, experience and beliefs related to diversity. Also,
It will provide impact of diversity on work and life.
MAIN BODY
Q1 Characteristics associated with Diversity
a) Cultural perspective and biasses
In My opinion cultural perspective differs from person to person. I think everyone at the
workplace must be treated equally and fairly as the people at work and life are from different
background and must respect their religion, caste, gender, language etc. This is required to provide
positive work environment to all the employees working in the organisation.
b) Two limitation in own self and social awareness
In my opinion there are lack of emotional intelligence and empathy and also the limitation
include the lack of social communication as I cannot interact with the other people at work and in
life appropriately. Lack of understanding about other culture is an issue in communicating with
others. Also, I face an issue about social awareness as I am not able to understand the language of
other people at work.
C) Ways to Improve own self and social awareness
I can improve My own and social awareness by improving my listening skills and also by
paying close attention to interact with other people which will help in improving my social
awareness (Costa & et. al., 2018). Also, I can improve myself awareness and social awareness by
identifying about the culture of other people.
Q2 Concepts and definition of Diversity
In my opinion diversity is related to the different culture and background of the individual. I
believe that diversity can be defined on the basis of age, gender, religion, caste, socio- economic
status, physical abilities etc. The concept of diversity is related to the individual differences which

exist due to many reasons and it includes human characteristics and their behaviour. According to
My views, Diversity is present at the workplace due to cultural differences, background etc.
Q 3 Providing examples for following elements of diversity that have impact on work and life
a) Political : political norms, asylum facilities in country impact on life of induividual, for
example, Increase in gender diversity is the political aspect which affect the work and
life both.
b) Social : This is related to differences due to race, ethnicity, religious beliefs etc. social
difference at the work place relate to the language , region, caste etc. for example,
difference in language affect the individual as well as its work because it will not be able
to communicate the various information (Finch & Finch, 2018).
c) Economical : It refers to the difference in the economy which affect the individual work
and its life (Baboolal & et.al., 2018). For example, disability, poverty, age,
unemployment etc. are the factors which affect the individual work and life.
d) Cultural : It includes language, sexual orientation, religion , culture etc. of different
people (Work with diverse people, 2016). For example, there are various religions which
are exiting in the world which leads to cultural diversity at the work and in life of the
person.
Q 4 Diversity in different aspects of life
a) Provide at least one example of Diversity
Key areas Examples
Disability e.g. physical disability Person with physical, intellectual or psychiatric
disabilities.
Culture, race, ethnicity Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
Religious or spiritual beliefs Culture and beliefs of indigenous people is
different from that of Australian people.
Gender, including transgender Difference between men and women
Intersex Difference in bodies and identities
Generational Diversity of bodies and identities
Sexual orientation and/or sexual identity Diversity of gender identities
b) Providing international, national, state, territory and local legal framework for working
with diverse clients

International legal framework : Australian human rights commission Act, 1986 has
declared various rights for protecting the diverse clients (The International Legal Framework for
Protection, 2018). For example, Equal opportunity for Women at workplace act.
National legal framework : In Australia, there are laws and regulations made for providing
equal employment opportunities to every person working in an organisation. For example, Racial
discrimination Act, 1975 is made to provide equal opportunities at the workplace.
State Legislation & territory laws : It includes laws and regulations which are made to
protect people working in organisation from harassment and discrimination (Grey & Janus, 2018).
In Australia, anti – discrimination Act is applicable which provide framework for treating all the
people in life or workplace equally. The following are the laws which are applicable at state and
territory level in Australia :
 Australian capital territory: Discrimination Act, 1991
 New South Wales : Anti – discrimination Act ,1977
 Northern territory : Anti – discrimination Act,1996
c) Consequences of breaching legislation
The consequences of breaching these laws and regulation can result into following :
 Termination of employment in relation to the organisation policies.
 Legal proceeding against the offender.
d) Ethical issues which must be considered when caring for diverse clients
 When working with diverse clients I must consider about cultural views and belief of the
clients which will help in understanding their opinions at the workplace.
 Issues can be faced due to the language difference so, I must provide information to the
client in the language which is understandable to them.
e) The Universal declaration of Human rights
The following are the Universal human rights :
 Right to protection
 Right to make decision and have choice
 Right to justice

 Right to education
f) Relationship between Human needs and Human rights
` Human needs related to the basic requirement for survival it includes food, shelter, water etc.
Human rights are made in order to protect and provide equal opportunities to all people. Human
rights help in satisfying the Human needs by providing them various rights.
g) framework, approaches and instruments used in workplace to maintain human rights
Instruments for maintaining Human rights Includes:
 Workplace gender equality Act (2012)
 Work health & safety regulation (2011)
Framework for Human rights includes reaffirm, engage, protect and respect which help in
maintaining human rights. Approaches for Human rights include is about empowering the people to
know and claim their rights.
Q 5 Three resources available to support people of diverse background
 bilingual staff
 ethno-specific information
 Developing Anti – Discrimination policy
Q 6 Four ways to help overcome communication difficulties with clients from different culture and
linguistic background
The following ways help in reducing the communication barriers :
 Maintaining Non verbal communication help will to overcome communication difficulties
with the clients.
 Listen to the way different people interact will help in understanding their perspectives
about other cultures and language.
 Maintain a personal touch with the clients will help in identifying the negative and positive
feeling of the clients.
 Maintaining proper eye contact with the clients will help in reducing the communication
difficulties.

Q 7 Complete the following table
a) Barriers that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may encounter
The following are the issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:
 Loss of culture, land, identity and indigenous law due to dispossession Indigenous
Australians from their land (Berge & et.al., 2018).
 The another barriers faced by these people is related to Referral protocol as they need to
consult with the family member regarding the referral.
 They have personal barriers that make it difficult for them to participate in screening
services.
b) The impact those barriers have on the ability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to
engage effectively with care services
Issues Barriers experienced Impact of barriers
Social
Discrimination on the basis of
racism
This affects their emotional health
and can lead to problems such as
stress, depression etc.
Political Unequal distribution of power
This increased the level of
inequality has increased unequal
treatment of these people at
healthcare.
Economic Less employment opportunities It leads to poverty, family
breakdown etc.
Cultural
Different background and beliefs
of people
It has lead to problems for these
people to access healthcare due to
inequity present at the workplace.
Q 8 Answer the following
a)The special needs for people seeking political asylum in Australia
Asylum seeker is the person that has left their own country and is seeking protection from
persecution and human right violations (Duffy & et.al., 2018). They require following needs :
 In the context of people, seeking political asylum in Australia, aspects pertaining to special
needs include job training and labour market access.

 They require protection as they have fear of persecution.
b) Protective factors that could incorporate into care of this marginalised group
Protective factors includes the following :
 Sense of control
 Resilience
 social and community support
 Positive self-esteem
c) Impact of discrimination, trauma exclusion and negative attitudes on marginalised group
The person belonging to the marginalised group can be discriminated on the basis of age,
gender, religion etc. which may affect the person mental and physical health. Also, people of
marginalised group are excluded on the basis of their physical ,mental health needs (Titu & et.al.,
2018). The negative attitudes of people include prejudice or stereotyping etc. This can lead to their
emotional health issues
Q 9 Three changing cultural practices in Australia
It includes the following cultural practices to provide equal rights and responsibilities to the
people of Australia and due to increasing number of people from different culture it has made
Australia as Multicultural.
 Emphasis shared obligation : It has helped the society in to be self- reliant and provide
protection from discrimination. This change was made in order to support the refugees to be
active member of Australian community.
 Shared rights and responsibilities : It provides equal treatment of men and women in society,
commitment of freedom and support of freedom to thoughts, opinion , religion etc. This
change was emerged in order to provide equal opportunities to men and women which will
help in providing them support and freedom of thoughts and opinions.
 Multicultural Australia : It provides communities of different cultural to live in Australia.
This change helped the migrants people to live in Australia. This change was made to make
Australia a multicultural by inviting people of different culture to live there.

Q 10 Cultural awareness, cultural safety and cultural competence impacts on my job role as an
enrolled nurse.
Cultural competence is the ability to identify challenges my own assumptions, values and
beliefs and develop empathy for other people and cultures. Cultural awareness is related to the
cultural background of my own. Cultural safety is related to the safe environment without
discrimination (Warren, 2018). This have a positive impact on my job role as nurse and will
provide benefit in understanding the culture and belief of different people. This will support in
identifying my patients thoughts and language through which I will be able to provide the patient
with safe environment.
CONCLUSION
From this study it has concluded that workplace diversity exist at every place which create
barriers in communicating with other people at workplace. It has been shown above that diversity
create barriers in communicating with other and to solve this communication gap various measures
must be taken such as identifying the culture, background etc. of the clients has helped in reducing
the communication gap.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baboolal, N. & et.al., (2018). Comparisons between different elements of reported burden and
common mental disorder in caregivers of ethnically diverse people with dementia in
Trinidad. PloS one. 13(7). e0201165.
Berge, J. M. & et.al., (2018). Who is meeting the Healthy People 2020 objectives?: Comparisons
between racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant children and adults. Families, Systems,
& Health. 36(4). 451.
Costa, A. B. & et.al., (2018). Healthcare needs of and access barriers for Brazilian transgender and
gender diverse people. Journal of immigrant and minority health. 20(1). 115-123.
Duffy, R. D. & et.al., (2018). An examination of the Psychology of Working Theory with racially
and ethnically diverse employed adults. Journal of counseling psychology. 65(3). 280.
Finch, M., & Finch, P. (2018). Phoenix Goes to School: A Story to Support Transgender and Gender
Diverse Children. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Grey, M., & Janus, I. (2018). Improving interactions between transgender and other gender-diverse
persons and the healthcare system. FEATURE: Manifesto à la mode (p. 2). 18.
Titu, P. & et.al., (2018). Exploring Changes in Science Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Culturally
Diverse Students During an Equity-Focused Course. Journal of Science Teacher Education.
1-19.
Warren, C. A. (2018). Empathy, teacher dispositions, and preparation for culturally responsive
pedagogy. Journal of Teacher Education. 69(2).169-183.
Online
The International Legal Framework for Protection. 2018. [Online]. Available through
:<https://www.who.int/hac/network/interagency/a2_international_legal_framework_for_pr
otection.pdf>
Work with diverse people. 2016. [Online]. Available through :<
https://user-dlgphjc.cld.bz/Conference-2016-Free-course/CHCDIV001-Manual-
WkWithDiversePeople-14APR16b/12>