Refugee crises, wars, and other such evils of our day and age have forced dislocation for millions of people who have fled their homes in search of a land where they can lead better, more peaceful and prosperous lives. This dislocation and other such factors have led to Workforce Diversity becoming one of the biggest drivers of change in the business world. Workforce Diversity is not limited to religious and political beliefs, gender, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation and geographic location, and has to do with more than race or ethnicity.[i] It is defined as the presence of people from a wide range of backgrounds and possessing different traits.[ii]

Now when one talks about Diversity being for businesses all across the globe, one fails to realize how hard it is to manage a workplace with diversity as the firm may be subject to many conflicts, be it cultural, generational, or any other kind.[iii] It is extremely hard to help people adjust to the different behavioral styles of a firm coming from different backgrounds, which makes it extremely hard for managers these days to manage their workforce. Another aspect is that of the Generational differences in the workplace where the Baby Boomers, the Generation X, and the Millennials have different needs and wants, which contribute to them having different motivations in the workplace, which makes it so much harder for managers to find common strategies to satisfy every employee they have to manage.

The main idea of this post is not to challenge the idea of Workforce Diversity being good, but to go further and say that it’s extremely hard to manage it as well.

[i] Brookins, Miranda. “Define Diversity in the Workplace.” Define Diversity in the Workplace. Hearst Newspapers, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/define-diversity-workplace-4926.html>.

[ii] Kokemuller, Neil. “What Is Diversity and How Does It Impact Work?” What Is Diversity and How Does It Impact Work? Hearst Newspapers, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/diversity-impact-work-15985.html>.

[iii] Murphy, Steven. “This Is Why Diversity Is Good For Business.” The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 01 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-steven-murphy/diversity-good-business_b_14549158.html>.