Gordon-DeLee Consulting, LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marjorie A. Gordon-DeLee, MA

The above picture was taken during my tenure with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission where I worked from November 1995 until March 2007.  Positions held during this period were as follows : Human Resource Director, Lobbying Coordinator (sometimes referred to as Lobbying Director inhouse), Website Administrator, Newsletter Editor and Publisher, Public Relations Coordinator, Assistant to the Investigative Department, Assistant to the Legal Council (i.e., assisting with Advisory Opinions, S. C. Code of Ethics Manual, etc.), Campaign Finance and Campaign Disclosure Department, as well as other duties and responsibilities.

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Gordon-DeLee Consulting, LLC aim to design the service that specifically meet your need, whether it is in relation to changing the culture of the organization, establishing company core values, or addressing Workplace Soft Skills Training for your diverse organization, Gordon-DeLee Consulting, LLC can create a service or presentation specifically to satisfy your need.

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However, before we can address these needs, I want to share with you where the root cause of this culture shift in the workforce has arrived from over the past 45 years.

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There has been a huge shift in the culture of organizations since I began to work in the workforce in the professional settings since the 1970s. Just to provide a little background before I go into further details, I would like to bring your attention to the EEOC Guidelines on Employment Testing Procedures that were issued in 1966.

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In an article written by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1966, the findings state:

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“In 1966, EEOC issued Guidelines on Employment Testing Procedures. This was the first public articulation of the principle that Title VII prohibited neutral policies and practices that adversely affected members of protected groups and could not be justified by business necessity. Revisions to the Guidelines in 1970 further defined the types of proof necessary to validate any screening test under Title VII to assure that systems and tests accurately predict job performance or relate to actual skills required by the jobs.” (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US).

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With that said, I would like to bring even closer attention to Title VII, which state:

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"Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. It generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state, and local governments." (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US)

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Thus, with those two quotes being emphasized, I now want to dive into how the culture of the workplace has gone in disarray over the past 45 years since my employment.  It all centers around the rights of people who were different from the majority in the workplace, the White males, and females. Because the Whites did not want people of color, national origin, or people that where different to get ahead, learn new skills to advance in the workplace and earn greater wages and receive excellent performance appraisals for higher level positions. The manner in which personnel operated was extremely biased (despite Title V11 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

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It really did not matter how much I perfected my work, arrived on time daily, worked diligently the entire time on the job, I never (in the early days) would not receive no more than a “Meet”.  This was very disheartening, especially when it was obvious that there were Whites on the job who did not have my skill set or level of education, earned greater income than me with a better position, supervising me.  With all of the experience and education I possessed, my earnings would always be right at minimum wages.

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To even think about going on paid training or workshops to learn a new skill was totally out of the question.  Therefore, I made up in my mind that if I was going to succeed and grow in the workforce to perform in professional positions I would invest in myself, because no one had any control over how I spent my money and my time.  It is unfortunate that I had to go that route and be indebted to financial aid, but I did not see any other alternative because I was being held back from developing professionally due to someone else’s belief that they were superior over me.

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Therefore, for so many Black people now to still be underpaid and working at minimum wages, it is not their fault, the system was rigged back in 1966 to stop our growth and the development in the public schools’ systems and in the workplace. Just because some Black people furthered their education does not mean that the other Black people who did not were less inclined to do so because of intellect, because that is definitely not true. I had a neighbor who was an absolute genius, did not need to study at all, made “A’s” and unfortunately did not go on to college or advance his education, because we did not receive the encouragement from school counselors.

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In fact, I was even encouraged to go to a Trident Tech because I was not college material because I was not an “A” student is what my Counselor said to me (which was the only discussion she had with me my Senior year of high school).  One might ask what does that have to do with the current situation with the workforce? Well, it has everything to do with the culture of the workforce now.

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When I began working in the workforce, all of the lower level employees addressed upper management by their last names and used their job titles when addressing them or as Mr. or Mrs. before stating their last names; which was intended as a sign of respect for the positions that they held.  But all of this began to slowly change by the mid to late 70s.  I slowly watched that policy changed as Black people and other ethnic groups began holding higher level positions.  The Whites did not want to give them that respect and used their titles to address them.

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Consequently, this begins the downfall of respectful behavior, mannerisms, even moral visible unethical situations on the job.  As employees saw upper management behaved, they took on the same identical behavior.  The employees saw the organizational leaders as their equals so they became relaxed on the job, did not take their positions serious for the work that they had to perform and therefore, productivity declined and from my perspective, many employees believe that this is the “Right” thing to do because it has been going on far too long and never addressed.  It is now, so called normal because everybody is doing it.

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This idea of dressing down in the workplace derived just because when people dress well, there self-esteem is at a greater level; therefore, in order to bring a person down a level or two, one might take away that ability to think in that manner by lowering the standard of the dress code. Then, we’ll all just be on the same level and just because you are the CEO and just happen to be a Black man or Black female, we do not need to respect you because we are all on the same level.

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It appears that the Human Resource Department is merely paper pushers and not allowed to fulfill the responsibilities that they are required to perform for the employees whom they are to advocate for. So, no one goes to Human Resource to report anything because they will not be taken serious and will most definitely loose their jobs for speaking out.

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To bring all of the above to the forefront, the monster that has been created in the workplace now has been brewing for many, many years.  Nowadays we have employees on the job who believe work is a waste of time (a joke).  They cannot even earn a decent week earnings from one employer to provide independent living quarters for themselves or their children if they have children.  Who can survive off of a minimum wage job working 20 hours or less per week? When I saw this trend begin (which I also experienced myself), I could not believe what was actually taking place before my eyes.  Why are we going backward now in this 21st Century, fifty-eight (58) years after Title V11 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created?

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In finalizing this writing, it has been concluded by my observations and my direct experiences throughout the past 45 years that the atrocious condition of the workforce now, is in fact a result of a direct plan that was put in place to not adhere to Title V11 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To not allow Black people to receive the equal and fair treatment of White employees.  

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Therefore, organizations must be provided with a budget now that can bring forth the necessary changes in the culture by providing all of these employees who were not adequately trained, the type of training that is necessary to serve those who are in need of the most professional manner required in their job assignments. Additionally, they need to be paid appropriately as well.

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Source: (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US)  https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1965-71/shaping.html

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Written by Marjorie A. Gordon-DeLee, MA
July 19, 2018

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