Valerie 
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to overlook the connection between our well-being and professional success. We recognize that our team members are more than their job titles—they are individuals with rich lives outside of work, deeply connected to their families, communities, and the world. This understanding should be at the heart of all leaders, where we strive for excellence in what we do and how we support each other.
In a world where individuals’ professional and personal lives are increasingly intertwined, the role of human resource (HR) managers has never been more critical for new hires, and maintaining exemplifier employees view compensation and benefits as essential to job satisfaction. This understanding places HR managers at the heart of managing and ethically shaping these packages. Yet, our responsibility extends beyond the negotiation tables with insurance vendors; it stretches into ensuring that these benefits are dispensed and utilized within an environment of respect, dignity, and equality.
Recent surveys of 3,000 healthcare professionals have shed light on a disturbing reality: a significant percentage of healthcare workers have observed racism directed towards patients. This racism is not just a number; it’s a stark indicator of the disparities within our healthcare system—a system that should epitomize care and compassion. The survey revealed that 47% of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers witnessed racism towards patients, with Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients disproportionately affected. This is a call to action for HR managers and organizational leaders alike.
At the core of various faith traditions is the principle of seeing and treating each individual with compassion and empathy, recognizing the inherent worth of every person. These values should not be left at the door when we enter our workplaces. Instead, they should guide our decisions and interactions, especially those involving the well-being of our employees. Ethical leadership ensures our people, our most valuable asset, are treated with respect and dignity by the healthcare providers in our benefits packages.
In past practices, the focus may have been predominantly on the cost of benefits rather than the quality of care and respect afforded to our employees by those benefits. It is also crucial to survey whether our employees feel respected and dignified by their healthcare providers.
Looking ahead to 2024, I remain optimistic about our collective ability to foster a fairer, kinder society. The statistics are alarming and serve as a wake-up call to all leaders. When someone is unwell, undergoing tests, or hospitalized, they should not have to navigate the added burden of racism simultaneously. We should verify that the benefits packages we develop and offer meet our employees’ financial and physical health needs and support their emotional and psychological well-being by ensuring they are treated with the humanity and respect they deserve.
It means choosing vendors and subcontractors who see and treat every individual with the dignity they deserve, regardless of their race or background. As we move forward, let us commit to being leaders who negotiate the best deals for our companies and champion the values of compassion, dignity, and equality for all.
The thought healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists, and nurses) reported that they have observed 55% of Black patients subjected to discrimination based on race, and 50% and 41% of healthcare workers reported witnessing discrimination against Hispanic and Asian patients, respectively, which is an indictment of the healthcare professionals. Still, it is also an indictment of the organizations that continue to offer these health benefits to their employees. If corporations and small businesses would confront racism in healthcare, we would see a drastic decline in racial inequality in healthcare.
Revealing Disparities: Health Care Workers’ Observations of Discrimination in Their Field
- With recent surveys revealing that nearly half of healthcare professionals have observed racism towards patients, what steps can organizational leaders and HR managers take to ensure that benefits packages not only meet the financial needs but also the emotional and psychological well-being of their employees?
- Given the alarming data on racial discrimination in healthcare environments, what strategies can we implement to measure and eradicate the discrimination faced by patients effectively?
