Review: Diversity in the Workplace, a Case study on Jill by Tony Astro

u09d2 Intervention Strategies

After watching the Diversity in the Workplace video, this is how I would  respond to the client, keeping in mind ethical codes for working with clients who are gay.  I also described what resources I might suggest for this client and how I would address the concerns with the rest of the employees.

TRANSCRIPT

Case Study: Jill

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Knock on door:

• JILL: Mr. Peterson? Hi.
• MANAGER: Jill.
• JILL: Good morning Mr. Peterson.
• MANAGER: Thank you for coming in.
• JILL: Well it is always good to see you.
• MANAGER: Well thank you. You too. You know Jill, in the time you have been with the company, I have not had any problems with your work. Typically, you are well organized and your projects come in on time.
• JILL: Well thank you Mr. Peterson. I try really hard to be a good employee. I really care about this job. It means a lot to me.
• MANAGER: However, lately we have noticed that you seem to be a bit distracted and depressed.(Manager's sentence interrupted by Jill’s insertion of an anxious comment.)
• JILL: Well I...yes, I have been going through a rather hard time these last few weeks. And ah, yeah, so there, it has been a period of time where things have not been as they should be. I agree. As time goes by I am going to get a handle on this.
• MANAGER: Yes, well I have noticed you have missed your last couple of deadlines the last couple of weeks and that is a concern for our department.
• JILL: (sighs and looks down.) Well, it is true. I know what you are talking about - the projects. I know exactly what you mean, and you are right. I missed them, um, I put them on my schedule for this week however though Mr. Peterson and I know by the end of the week I will be up to date. Everything will be up to date by the end of the week...(manager interupts Jill).
• MANAGER: The reason that I called you in here is that I have noticed that your productivity has decreased, and I may need to look at designing and implementing a correction plan for you.
• JILL: Oh. Oh, Mr. Peterson. (sighs) Well look Mr. Peterson, I totally understand, and I want you to know that I am completely committed to this work, and I will do everything I can to meet whatever you put before me in a performance plan because I really love this job and I need this job to do this (manager interupts Jill).
• MANAGER: Well, I notice that you been unhappy and distracted and we need to address how this is affecting your work product.
• JILL: (heavy sigh). Well I have been distracted Mr. Peterson, and I guess I have been unhappy. I have also been afraid.
• MANAGER: (looks shocked)
• JILL: There is a co-worker in our department and about, oh, about ten days ago he found out that I am a lesbian. And it has really been ugly. He - at first he just talked to me about it, and humiliated me privately, but then he shared the news with other people and soon I started getting hateful comments and hateful notes from other people and it has escalated and it has gotten worse. And, it is to the point now Mr. Peterson where I really, in the morning I have a hard time even getting out of bed. I have been threatened. There was a threat. It was just a full blown threat Mr. Peterson and I, I have had such a hard time dealing with this on my own. It has affected my work and I do not know what to do. I do not know what to do Mr. Peterson.
• (Looks to manager for response. Manager does not respond.)
• MANAGER: Well, Jill, ….

 

RESPONSE TO JILL:  LISTEN, EMPATHIZE and GIVE RESOURCES by TONY ASTRO

Jill was obviously discriminated and harass in her workplace just by listening to her story.  As the manager in this case – it will not and never be tolerated.  The company maybe subject to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Though Title IX does not directly address discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expectations linked with stereotypes of lesbians and gay men often are related. When gender stereotyping occurs in incidents of discrimination and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual students or students who are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual, Title IX may provide legal grounds for challenging this discrimination (Title IX and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation - Women's Sports Foundation).

 

ACTION FOR MANAGER AND EMPLOYEES:  TRAINING
The manager must be careful in protecting his company versus Jill.  Jill has all the right to complain and file discrimination based on her ability to continue her work efficiently.  Because she “has been going through a rather hard time these last few weeks” and the manager himself also noticed that Jill was “distracted and depressed”.

The manager must conduct an immediate training by making it mandatory to stop from work and attend a Sexual Orientation training using audio-visual aids, scenario, role-play and having the workers possibly signing a document that they have been trained and will subject for further reprimand if such behavior (discriminating sexual orientation) occurs again.

Times are changing, however, and a growing number of employers are finding themselves responsible for providing a workplace that's free of harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation (Sexual Orientation, 2009).

As much as the manager may not tolerate the harassment and discrimination that Jill experienced, the manager may have morality or prejudice issue with lesbians and so manager maybe partial towards reproving the person who humiliated her privately, then he shared the news with other people and soon because of that Jill started getting hateful comments and hateful notes from other people.

Although polls suggested that the majority of Americans accepted civil rights for gays, those same persons became uneasy with the morality of homosexuality (Malvasi and  Greene, 1990).

 

RESOURCE FOR JILL:  STATE OFFICE

Counselor is responsible to assist Jill in giving her the resources and information on her rights as a citizen.  Many states prohibit sexual orientation discrimination and so the state office can give her further legal advice.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have laws that currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in private employment: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Some of these states also specifically prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. (In addition, six states have laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in public workplaces only: Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, and Pennsylvania.) (Sexual Orientation, 2009)

 

References:

Malvasi, M. and Greene, G. (1990). Homosexuality (1990s). American Decades 1990-1999. Ed. McConnell. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Naval General Library Program. 31 May. 2009 .

 

Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace. (2009). Retrieved May 31, 2009, from http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectId/E76BEBE6-E194-46C1-983629F17557E86D/111/259/283/ART/

 Title IX and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation - Women's Sports Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2009, from http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Homophobia/T/Title-IX-and-Discrimination-Based-on-Sexual-Orientation.aspx

 

Here are some of my responses from my colleague counselors: 

RESPONSES:

Toni, Good evening from USS Nimitz.

 

Jill’s self-esteem has suffered because she “has been going through a rather hard time these last few weeks” and the manager himself also noticed that Jill was “distracted and depressed”.  Your action of sending an email is definitely a start but I would go further than that by actually making a statement through stoppage of work for an hour of mandatory training.  The manager’s role is to put Jill back to a stronger confidence

 

Women who have not conformed throughout their life to this ideal may have suffered negative consequences, such as being labeled "incompetent," "unusual," or "less than" other employees. These difficulties arise from others being uncomfortable with this "alternative" gender expression, especially because sex role expectations have traditionally been deeply rooted in the majority culture of the United States (Rheineck, 2005).

 

Everyone must know that this kind of behavior towards co-worker has zero tolerance and the next time it happens, maximum reprimand will take place.  The manager will try to get the reaction from majority through the training because this may have a negative impact towards the morale of the company because many may still be prejudice towards Jill.

 

It is vital to address such issues as (a) low self-esteem, (b) fear of identity disclosure, (c) career advancement opportunities, (d) feelings of isolation, and (e) various types of harassment. The knowledge gained from this study can provide an impetus for change in how counselors work with diverse clients. The awareness that sexual orientation may have greatly affected the career development, career self-efficacy, and life satisfaction of clients may enable mental health professionals to more fully embrace the process of working with lesbian clients (Rheineck, 2005).

 

Reference:

Rheineck, Jane E. (Fall 2005). Career decision self-efficacy of lesbians throughout the life span."Adultspan Journal 4.2 79(13). Academic OneFile. Gale. US Navy General Lib - Bremerton. Retrieved on 2 June 2009 at  .

 

 

Cheryl, Good evening from USS Nimitz.

 

Yes, there should never be a situation where an employee is ostracized in the workplace.  It is all a matter of training our workplace and giving them the right information:  Prejudice is not right and we must not impose our belief towards others.  Teamwork is the essence of a successful workplace and when they are not familiar or have negative information with other lifestyle such as gay and lesbian it must not be tolerated.

 

Living in communities that routinely discriminate against gay men and lesbian women makes it difficult if not virtually impossible to avoid internalizing negative stereotypes or attitudes about this sexual minority culture. Because misinformation or misunderstanding will quickly be evident to sexual minority clients, and may cause them to seek help elsewhere or not to get help at all, counselors must be familiar with gay and lesbian culture so they are credible and congruent in their attitudes (Pope, 1992, 1995c).

 

References:

Pope, M. (1992). Bias in the interpretation of psychological tests. In S. Dworkin & F. Gutierrez (Eds.), Counseling gay men & lesbians: Journey to the end of the rainbow, (pp. 277-292). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Pope, M. (1995c). The "salad bowl" is big enough for us all: An argument for the inclusion of lesbians and gays in any definition of multiculturalism. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73, 301-304.

Article Review on Gay Counseling: Legal and Ethical Implications of Refusing to Counsel Homosexual Clients by Tony Astro

Upon review of an article Legal and Ethical Implications of Refusing to Counsel Homosexual Clients by Hermann and Herlihy(2006), I imagine myself supervising a new counselor. The counselor says that she does not want to work with a client who has just stated he wants to come out as "gay" to his family. She has stated that she has religious concerns about working with the client ethically.

From a supervisor's role, this is how I would respond to the counselor using ethical and legal guidelines.  Use proper instructions specific to your state or use the court's mandate. The principle of beneficence is embodied in counselors’ commitment to keeping client welfare first and foremost (Hermann & Herlihy 2006). The text is straightforward of saying that counseling should not be our profession if we intend to classify our clients based on our moral principles or for example our belief that lesbian is wrong and should not be given the proper counseling.  To the contrary, the more we should counsel our clients, and our goal should be to treat everyone with dignity and respect whatever belief system or values they have.

The text depicts that our obligation is the welfare of our clients first and foremost.  Our ethical values or beliefs should not impede our decision of denying or sway our counseling towards the clients based on our principles or morals.  This will not only lead to the danger of our client’s safety or welfare but lawsuits and termination of our job as counselors. 

To avoid finding themselves in situations like Bruff’s, these counselors might choose to work in settings that are compatible with their values and advertise these values to potential consumers of counseling services. If it is not possible to work in a consistent environment, these counselors have an ethical duty to avoid harm to clients by ensuring that counselors’ informed consent procedures provide potential clients with adequate information about the counselor's values (Hermann & Herlihy 2006).

As the supervisor, my role will be to coach everyone about the equal handling of client’s issues, and never that sexual orientation will be considered unless it is the issue that the client wants counseling on.  My priority is to empower my counselors so that they can enablethe clients who need to overcome some of the pervasive coercion of the society.  To be biased with the client is double jeopardy and the unkindest attitude that a counselor can do to the client.

Applying social empowerment strategies when working with such clientele is one strategy that may prove successful in facilitating the reclamation of individual and community power, self-advocacy, and the ability to rise above those factors inhibiting a person's effort to control her or his life. Overcoming some of the more pervasive societal-level forms of oppression (e.g., heterosexism) poses, perhaps, a more daunting challenge for the lesbian and gay male community but may become more of a realistic possibility when empowerment and demarginalization occur at the level of the individual (Savage, Harley, and Nowak, 2005).

My POSTSCRIPTS

Imagine the amount of damage done when the client feels rejected by the one person they felt would be impartial and supportive of them. That is why many of the gay community would rather go to a gay counselor or someone they know for sure values their values.  Community, or collective, empowerment is one way for lesbians and gay males to support and help each other deal with distress politically as a group (R. E. Perkins, 1996).

We learn to open our minds to the difficulties and unkind treatment of societies especially to minorities like the lesbian community.  This field is the beginning of preventing another Bruff issue in the field of counseling.

Those interventions aimed at counselors themselves or the type of activities used with gay and lesbian career counseling clients must either be learned during graduate school education or through continuing professional development at conferences or workshops. Interventions directed at institutions or programs and at social/community action have implications for school-based career education programs, career planning texts used in colleges and universities, and occupational information (Pope, et. al., 2004)

All slides courtesy of: Verity Wilcox

References:

Hermann, M., & Herlihy, B. (2006, Fall2006). Legal and Ethical Implications of Refusing to Counsel Homosexual Clients. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84(4), 414-418. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Perkins, D. D., & Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Empowerment theory: Research and applications. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 569-579.

Pope, M., Barret, B., Szymanski, D.  Chung, B., Singaravelu, H., McLean, R. and Sanabria, S. (Dec. 2004). Culturally appropriate career counseling with gay and lesbian clients. Career Development Quarterly 53.2 (Dec 2004): 158(20). Academic OneFile. Gale. US Navy General Lib - Bremerton. 2 June 2009

Savage, T., Harley, D., and Nowak T.(2005). Applying social empowerment strategies as tools for self-advocacy in counseling lesbian and gay male clients" Journal of Counseling and Development 83.2 (Spring 2005): 131(7). Academic OneFile. Gale. US Navy General Lib - Bremerton. 1 June 2009 

The Astrofamily Top 12 Movies

Staying home for this 3 day weekend to catch up with the areas around my new home Norfolk to get local as well as focus on my dissertation milestone and homework.

Last night was another family movie night:  Paranormal - an animation that adult can relate and must explain to an 8 year old kid to some of the questions about spirits and what happens when we die.  But I am not here to go deep but give a relax blog on some of the memorable movies we've seen in the past few months and what we can learn in life about it :

1.  Jack Reacher - identity

2.  Skyfall -

3.  Life of Pi -

4.  Cloud Atlas -

5.  Looper -

6.  Parental Guidance -

7.  Paranormal -

6.  Total Recall -

9.  Moonrise Kingdom

10.  Five Year Engagement

11.  Cabin in the Woods -

12.  The Intouchables -

2013 Greetings: 20 Blessings & 13 Wishes

1.  Move to Virginia

2.  Road Trip

3.  Myla's Dad

4.  Tony's Dad

5.  Recognition from Navy

6.  Social Network

7.  Prostate Health

8.  Tony's Mom

9.  Sam's Recognition & Honor

10.  Friends

11.  Travel

12.  California

13. Transfer to MSC

14.  Financial health

15. Global connection

16.  Cool Gadgets

17. Social Media

18.  Reality TV

19.  Dissertation

20.  Daisy

JOY CHRISTMAS: Our Twelve (12) Prayers & Worldly Wishes in 25 Words.

As we celebrate the joy Christmas, we will avoid to make it a cliche by just saying a simple, “we wish you a Merry Christmas” (and whatever spicy words to dress it up).  We want to be MORE specific in what we WISH for US and YOU this Christmas.  May this worldly wishes come through to you & from Tony, Sam & Myla (here at home in Norfolk, Virginia).  Using a random Christmas photos we took from our Facebook timeline here is the J.O.Y. C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. wishes for you.

1. Job Excellence - material blessings we need by excelling in our job daily.
2. Outstanding Network - increase social connection on relationship with others.
3. Youthful Body -  stronger metabolism through healthy lifestyle & good habits.
4. Charismatic Presence - be influential and lead many people through our presence.
5. Happier Family -  keep family together away from sickness and more joy at home.
6. Radiant Spirit - show the light of God through our presence as role models of society.
7. Inspiring Thoughts - inspire others through our words in writing and speaking our minds.
8. Superb Thinking (make our minds alert, focus & always make the right decisions.
9. Talents Used - focus use our skills and talents to benefit others, ourselves & the society.
10. More Blessings - material & spiritual gifts that we may use and share as needed.
11. Active Network - that we may not live on our own sharing our blessing around others.
12. Serious Christ Relationship - strengthen our relationship with our Savior by developing our habits on quiet time, prayer, relationship with other people  and more reading of His words.

10 Things we Liked So Far and 10 Things we are Missing (California) after 10 Days in a New Place (Virginia)

After over 3,000 miles of road trip from the west coast to the east, it is time to evaluate what we have Learned, Loathe, Love here in Norfolk so far and so good.

Loathe about Norfolk

1.       Traffic – never in my entire Navy life I have to drive within traffic during rush hours since my yuppie days in Manila.

2.       Temptations – living near the city gives us access to many shops and other temptations.

3.       Temperature – not as cold as Chicago or Connecticut (where we lived in Gales Ferrry, CT for 3 years), we finally have to use our thick jackets now (again).

4.       Tree’s Dead Leaf – back to raking on falls.

5.       Tons of Navy & Military people –most likely we will bump to someone who is in the military at Chili’s or Lowe’s still asking for military discounts.

6.       Take Three – this is our third move as a couple and we hated every unpacking and possibly packing again in three years.

7.       Trapped – we live inside the NATO / Joint Forces / Staff Base where about almost Admiral’s headquarters sits and so security is very difficult to go inside the base.  No more Pizza delivery and if ever we invited a guest to our home, we will need their birth date and social security to get them a base pass.

8.       Tarnished – yes, being in a city have pros but being dirty is one of those cons.

9.       Total Chaos – well besides the traffic, we expect the roads and downtown to be full of unsightly population unlike those places we lived in Port Hueneme, Groton or Lemoore.

10.   Taped – there is at least 3 red tapes we encountered so far.  One is to get a visitor into our base housing – must have their birthday and social security (so much for hosting a party).  Another big example is the required age to use the Base gym basketball court.  Since Sam was not even 2, I have taken him to Port Hueneme, Groton and Lemoore base gym to play basketball and this biggest Navy base in the world with the biggest gym only allows 10 years or older and here our housing at Joint Forces must be 14 years old.  Sam suddenly wishes “I wish we’re back in California” just to use the gym for our usual bonding.

Time will tell - being here for only 2 weeks won’t really tell us if this is going to be our final place to live as Navy or Retiree.  The anxiety of not knowing where our future here makes us loathe it.  Norfolk is a diverse community but not as diverse in most towns in California which is predominantly Filipino and Mexicans but still balance with other cultures, not as balance here in Norfolk which is dominated by only few cultures. 

Love about Norfolk, Virginia

1.       Convenience – few miles to everywhere we need to go.

2.       City Life – finally get to live in the city again - being both of us growing up in Manila.

3.       Character – not a boring moment.  Most buildings are old but it has a true character.

4.       Cafes – plenty of places to eat, hangout and explore.

5.       Cheap Deals – all the shops you can think of including the best deals.

6.       Casual lifestyle – no one cares if what you would do or wear, being in a city.

7.       Children’s Education – we picked this place primarily for Sam’s future education if ever we decide to live off base and find my next civilian job here in Norfolk.  It’s consistently better in children’s public education compared to most states in the West Coast.

8.       Church –we’ve been to 2 churches (ICC and Upward) so far and we both liked it and almost like our old South Valley Church in Lemoore:  contemporary music, very progressive, diverse and cool people.

9.       Community –We feel some of the southern hospitality here in southern part of the East Coast compared to folks back in the Northeast to be slightly friendlier.

10.   College – easy access to pursue Myla’s and myself on college on an actual campus and who knows for Sam’s future education as well.

Learned from our Trip from California to Virginia

1.       To explore your options.

2.       Connect with other people even from those 3,000 miles away – you never know if you will connect with them somehow – again.

3.       Plan your trip but be open to changes.

4.       Listen to your friends’ advice but pray about it.

5.       No matter where you go, it is not the community that can affect you, it’s you who can affect the community and only you who can control this.

TO BE CONTINUED.

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