CIICPD 2023

One question in the questionnaire explored the extent to which the respondents perceived the level of multiculturalism in the work environment where they find themselves and whether its diversity is perceived as an added value. In this question, four respondents stated that their working environment is not multicultural. One respondent stated that perhaps it is, while two said it is multicultural. However, the respondents who answered that the work context is multicultural added that it could not recognise diversity and treat it as an added value. The topic of diversity was further explored by asking respondents whether their identity is perceived as a problem in the bank or insurance company where they work. To this question, 2 respondents stated that diversity is perceived as a problem in the workplace. Two responded that it sometimes is. One responded that diversity is ignored, and finally, one respondent answered that they do not know. When asked whether ethnic or cultural differences might have a negative impact on career progression or salary increases in their organisations, half of the respondents said yes. One of the respondents pointed out that in Italy, it is mainly women who suffer discrimination in employment with worse career prospects than their male colleagues. All the persons interviewed had experienced critical incidents in their working environment. Most of the respondents stated that they had experienced critical incidents between 2 and 5 times during their professional career (3 out of 7 respondents). Two respondents indicated that they had experienced critical incidents more frequently (one respondent said more than 11 times). In the interviews, financial intermediaries workers stated that they faced the following types of critical incidents: Miscommunication: interviewees experienced miscommunication due to cultural differences in communication styles, which led to misunderstandings and errors; Discrimination: respondents claimed that they faced discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics; Stereotypes: Financial intermediaries experienced incidents of stereotypes, which led to bias and discrimination in the workplace; Language barriers: interviewees encountered language barriers that caused difficulties in communication, understanding and providing appropriate services to non-native speakers; Unconscious bias: respondents claimed that they faced incidents of unconscious bias, which led to discrimination and lack of opportunities for employees from diverse backgrounds. With regard to the consequences of critical incidents in the work context, the two most frequent responses were (i) an impact on efficiency (both at individual and team level), and (ii) discrimination against colleagues other than the majority of the team. Respondents were then asked which strategies should be adopted from their perspective to overcome the incident. Some types of responses were suggested such as passive or active attitudes, as a mediator, imposing your point of view or stepping back. To this

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