Managing Transsexual Transition in the Workplace - Essay Example

MANAGING TRANSEXUAL TRANSITION IN THE WORK PLACE Background and context of the problem being addressed The post globalization era has posed a lot of challenges to the human resource management of any organization, considering in many continents, such as Asia, it has only recently been given any consideration and importance. Organization operating nationally or internationally provide employment to millions of workers who are directly responsible for the success or the failure of a business, and thus, the task of managing them and their issues is one of great importance for any type of organization. The task of managing human capital falls into the hands of the human resource department who is broadly concerned with issues like recruiting, training, remuneration and firing of employees and who also have to keep in mind the local laws governing employment issues, such as health and safety laws, equal opportunity regulations, laws against discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race and religion, laws regarding minimum wage etc. Hampshire County Council (HCC) is one such example of an organization. It benefits 1.2 million people residing in the County while employing around a thirty thousand employees. The Human Resources is managed by the Employment Practice Centre in Winchester where the head office of the Council is also located. It is about providing community leadership. The 21st century, mainly because of the growing influence of media and globalization has seen a rise in a lot of employment issues. Moreover, organizations before never paid heed to employee’s concerns as their importance were not very much in the picture. It has only recently been realized that the issues like improving the motivation and communication between employees should be contemplated upon as it affects the success of the business. Many serious concerns have also been raised and one of them is the issue of managing transsexual transition in an organization. Identification of the problem to address However, transsexual people, whose gender identity is different from assigned sex and who live, or wants to live, as a member of the other sex, form only a small percentage in the total population so it might be very rare for an organization to deal with their issues. In earlier days, when transsexual people were not protected by any law or regulation, they had to suffer from violence at the hands of other employees. Also, the management did not know how to deal with them, so they were usually fired and had to start from scratch. Even the hard-working, efficient and regular people were asked to leave just because they were going through a transsexual transition. Increased awareness created by non-governmental organizations and media has highlighted the fact that transsexual people are also a part of the organization and their concerns are to be respected and protected by the organization the same way as of any other employee. To avoid discrimination at work, it is imperative that human resources managers are aware of the issues related to transsexual people and how to deal with them. Moreover, government laws about gender equality are to be kept in consideration as well. HCC, as in our example, is also required to follow the new gender equality, which includes policies regarding equal pay. Even more so, it disallows discrimination at work against transsexual people and gives them the right to avail vocational training according to the Gender Equality Duty (GED). Recent developments (European directive) in the law will also require that no discrimination should also occur against transsexual people in the provision of goods, facilities and services. Some of the costs which may arise to take up a project protecting the rights of transsexual people at work include 1450 an hour, apart from the photocopying and printing costs and the time given by senior officials. The benefits of taking up such a project will be to disapprove discrimination, harassment and bullying at all levels and conformation to the Gender Equality Scheme. It is often beneficial for the organization to keep transsexual people and assist them in their transition for a number of reasons. Transsexual people may be occupying key positions in the organization and to fire them because of their transsexual condition will often result in added costs and hassle of hiring a new employee and training him. Transsexual people may be contributing enormously to an organization and may be creative. In today’s age where cut-throat competition between businesses prevails, it will be for an organization’s detriment to fire a transsexual employee who may give an organization a competitive advantage in the long run. In countries, where the rights of transsexual people are protected and there are laws governing the problems they face, firing a transsexual employee may be an invitation for expensive lawsuits that will unnecessarily waste an organization’s resources, apart from spoiling its reputation. Also, refraining from providing assistance may cause tension to arise in a business setting. Managing transsexual people in an organization is no easy job, mainly, because it is very rarely that the management of an organization has to deal with such issues. There is no outlined or defined set of behaviour that one should maintain and the discrimination and harassment done by other employees is difficult to control. As an organization is a host to many different types of people, mixed opinion exists to such issues and it is difficult to align them to one set of fixed thinking or behaviour. An organization cannot invade an employee’s privacy and still has to gather information to deal with discrimination problems. Organizations may have to create policies to ward off any kinds of discrimination or harassment pursued by other employees. It is the job of an HR manager to ensure that equal opportunities are not only mentioned on paper but is also extended practically towards all employees regardless of their differences. As is obvious from the typical role of a human resource manager, the task of hiring or recruiting transsexual people in the business also comes under his job outline. Further, the behaviour of employees ought to be monitored so that the dignity or privacy of the transsexual person is not violated. Many large organizations who are sincerely concerned about their successful image and the welfare of their employees will take this up seriously. As the issue of transsexual people is gaining awareness, there are not yet proper or complete laws governing them. It also becomes the responsibility of an organization’s management team to keep up-to-date with the recent changes in any law that affects transsexual people. An organization has no right to keep on pursuing discrimination at work, stating their ignorance of the new law as the excuse. If the discrimination in the work place is too much to handle, an organization may carry out a training program for its employees as it deems fit. A training program on gender issues may make all the employees realize the importance of their non-discriminating and may make them more tolerant. A positive, discrimination free environment always assists the performance of the business so many organizations see the training programs as a long term investment for the ultimate profitability of the business. Moreover, because of the same reason of promoting a healthier and free of resentment environment, organization may start operating a support network to provide counsel and help to people who are suffering from discrimination and or have other such problems. It may even enable the organizations to be aware of how the rest of the organization is taking the presence of a transsexual employee. Even more so, when the employees notice that their organization is trying hard to resolve their issues and is seriously concerned about them, they, on their part, may become more tolerant and adopt a more positive approach to what the organization has to say. Not only employees, but most of the time even the management and HR personnel need specific training to deal with the transition of transsexual employees and it is the responsibility of the organization to provide training and guidance to the management as they are the main contenders of the organization. As far as the legal considerations are concerned, there is no overt law protecting transsexuals from discrimination. Only recently it has been recognized by the court to label the discrimination against transsexual people as a form of discrimination. Most countries have applied to sex-discriminating laws to transsexual people. Examples of some of the companies that extend non-discriminatory policies towards their workers are IBM, Xerox, Nike, Lucent, Kodak, Aetna, American Airlines, Walgreens, Apple and Intel. The Standards of Care made for transsexuals require that the transsexual person begin working in the new role before the completion of the transition. The Human resource managers should be consulted about this and should allow the transsexual person the freedom to live and work under the new role. Even more important is the face that the transsexual person, when he informs an HR professional about the transition has already been coping up with the transition and meeting up deadlines and fulfilling many responsibilities. Thus, the employee is well-trained to manage stress, work and responsibility in the future and is thus an asset for an organization. An HR professional may also consult the transsexual employee whose transition is complete to give advice on future employees who may want to undergo the transition. The transsexual employee may prove beneficial for the organization in this way as it will become easier for the human resources department to design policies and to implement them after handling the successful experience of one employee. It is imperative that the HR professionals keep all the private information, documents and other sources leading to some information about the transsexual person confidential from every other employee according to the Data Protection Act. This is important because a premature declaration may result in hostility in the work place which will obviously distract the working environment, bringing a decline to the productivity of the business. The announcement of the transition or the coming out should be dealt with and told very sensitively and tactfully, so as not to excite unwanted curiosity or negative feelings by others. Moreover, it may be helpful to provide general authentic information about transsexuals to other employees so they may not form their own rumors and get affected by it. The transsexual person should be asked about his ideas or the timings of his taking a leave for any surgical procedure to complete his transition. The human resource personnel are responsible for altering any documents of the organization related to the employee to the new role acquired by the transsexual person. Also, to gauge how other employees should be dealt with, the transsexual person needs to be asked about his work place relationship with other colleagues, and whether anyone knows of his transition. The transsexual employee should be consulted about whether he would like a change in his working responsibilities, location, pay or any other provision related to his new role. Usually, while acquiring a new role, people often it comfortable to operate and work in a new environment to escape prejudices and circulating rumors. However, some transsexual people feel comfortable working in the old environment without any disruption as they have good and understanding connections in the work place. Moreover, financial assistance by the organization should also be talked about and should be given when needed. Most colleagues argue that the surgical procedures concerned are related to cosmetic surgery and should not be financed by the organization. But most organizations that are becoming increasingly aware of transsexual issues like to assist their employees and give them paid leave. The transsexual employees might want to consult the HR professionals of an organization about some of the problems he anticipate would occur in the future related to the transition or some problems with a particular task that he might be face. HR professionals should provide proper assistance and accommodate the employee with a new task. The human resource managers might also take specialist advice from the transsexual employee who may be, by know be aware of the relevant and authentic information and the problems usually faced by transsexual people. Future hiring and treatment of transsexual people will become easier for the HR managers. When it comes to the usage of restrooms, transsexual workers should use the one which is appropriate for their gender. Before acquiring the new role, the person is required to use the restroom reserved for the other gender. After the complete transition, the transsexual can use the restroom according to the other gender. However, there can be reservations or hostility posed by other employees as they might not feel comfortable with a person whom they have known before to belong from another sex. This is when training comes in useful and other colleagues can become more appreciative of the transsexual person. After a successful regime of training and some time, things may settle down and everyone can feel comfortable again. Adequate changes in the restroom may go a long way to forestalling violation of privacy for transsexual people. Some of the stakeholders when it comes to the change in company’s policy regarding transsexual people are managers, Human resource advisors and union representatives. Manager’s have a direct concern in the change of policy as it is their responsibility to implement any changes in the workplace. HR advisors are also concerned so they will lend a helping hand and provide support to both employees and managers regarding the new policy. Employees need to be informed about their new responsibilities towards transsexual people and of any action that might be taken against them if they indulge in discriminatory practices of harassment. As some union representatives will be working to safeguard the interests of transsexual people, they might have a direct interest in an organization’s policy towards equality and non-discrimination on the basis of gender and gender identity. Organization can allow for some benefits to be extended to the transsexual person. The health and disability benefits should be modified to allow transsexual people as well. The benefits given to the spouse should continue as before, until a proper divorce takes place. Any other benefits given to regular employees, such as invitations to outings or discounts should be provided to transsexual workers, without any discrimination. To sum up, transsexual workers can prove to be a long term asset for the company, especially so when they are working on a strategically important position in an organization. Firing such employees is not always the best option and may even have an adverse affect on the business, if the fired employee is hired by a competitor leading to innovating breakthroughs. Managing transsexual transition in the work place is one of the new challenges being faced by the human resource management of today and they are required to deal the issue with propriety, sensibility and far-sightedness. Having a discussion with the concerned employee is the first step, which should lead to collective and mutual arrangements by the employer and the employee to allow the transition of the employee to occur comfortably and without causing any awkwardness in the business setting. Then, the colleagues should be properly informed about it through formal or informal channels. If the employee continues to face hostility, he should be moved to a new environment or new tasks, while trainers should be hired for the benefit of other colleagues and workers. References: Halberstam, J. (2005). In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender bodies, Sucultural Lives. Israel, G. E. (2001). Transgender Care. Whittle, S. (2002). Respect and Equality: Transsexual and Transgender Rights. Read More