Identifying norms in the workplace

Do the following

Take a limited amount of time, a couple of days or a week, to look for norms. Do some preparatory work by going through what norms are. It is for the better if you are several colleagues looking for norms at the same time. What norms do you find? Make your own notes and compare them with your colleagues’ observations after.

What you can look for:

Jargon and jokes

How are people joking? Are the jokes made at someone’s expense? Can the choice of words or expressions be perceived as offensive?

Insults

What words and expressions are used in a derogatory way and at someone’s expense?

Climate

How allowing is your communication climate? Can you provide and receive feedback on jokes and expressions that someone was not okay with?

Break room

Who makes the coffee and cleans up afterwards? Who are involved in the conversation? What do you talk about?

Physical meetings

Does everyone get to speak? Is everyone listened to? Who takes notes? Who leads the meeting? How are the participants placed? Is everyone actively participating or are some taking the opportunity to work with other tasks?

Digital meetings

Does everyone get to speak? Is everyone listened to? Does everyone have their cameras on? Is everyone actively participating or are some taking the opportunity to work with other tasks?

Templates and forms

Are there questions and alternatives for a broad and inclusive representation?

Pictures, videos, and text

Is there a representation and a diversity of gender, ethnicity, age, expressions, and different functional variations in your pictures? What does it look like in your image bank, on your website, and in your social media? Has accessibility been taken into consideration?

Policies

How do you express yourself in your policies? Are they inclusive? Is there any room for improvement or clarification?

Discuss

Get together again after a couple of days and talk about the norms you have found. What did you react on? Has someone seen anything that others have missed? When you have discovered norms in the workplace together, is there something you want to change? Agree on what norms you want to strengthen or change and how to follow up the work.