Especially in a small business, each and every employee significantly impacts how your business garners success. Even if you only add one new male employee to your team, he will be able to bring to the table something that no one else has. The more variety in perspectives and ways of thinking you have, the more benefits you will see within the workplace, such as:
1. Varied Viewpoints: Having a rich and varied mixture of skills, talents and strengths makes for all kinds of otherwise unexplored mental territory, and men and women bring different things to the table. For example, women have an incredible way of improving workplace functionality by supporting, collaborating with, rewarding and inspiring coworkers, making for a stimulating and creative environment. While men can certainly be good team players too, they are often able to bring in a pragmatic element with strength in analyzing, influencing and delegating tasks within the workplace.
2. Strengthen Communication: One of the biggest differences between men and women is revealed through the ways in which we communicate. And as any business owner knows, strong communication skills among your employees is essential to maintaining success. Both genders need to be able to clearly express their needs, ideas and concerns in a safe and open environment. This is where differences in communication come into play. Men are typically better at communicating issues and tackling confrontation, whereas women are more culturally influenced to work as peacemakers and try to solve an issue internally first. Both means of communication and conflict resolution are essential, and one would not work without the other.
3. Foster a Positive Work Environment: No matter the field your business is in, a work environment where employees feel valued and respected by each other is going to make for an all-around better workplace for everyone. With a diverse group of men and women from different backgrounds, your employees will notice strengths and talents in their coworkers that they don’t encompass themselves, and it’s very likely that this appreciation for differences will stimulate an environment where everyone respects one another. This makes for a team better equipped to handle conflict when it inevitably arises, and a safe environment where all feel valued makes for improved company morale as well as increased job performance.
4. Take Care of Employees, and They’ll Take Care of You: Speaking of improved job performance, it’s no surprise that workers produce better quality work when they are taken care of and feel comfortable, trusted and safe. To get the highest quality of work, provide an environment where people are judged based on the work they do, not their background, race or gender. Allowing both men and women to feel valued as people will enhance the workplace immensely. The kind of nurturing environment you supply for your employees will have a positive ripple effect on both job satisfaction and performance.
5. Gain a Great Reputation: Along with team members feeling appreciated by and respectful toward their coworkers, increased gender equality and diversity within the workplace really skyrockets your company’s reputation to the outside world. People with similar values will want to work both with you and for you based off on the harmonious workplace you’ve nurtured. Unfair and discriminatory work environments make it hard for employers to create the highest-functioning, most productive workplace. But equal treatment, opportunity and reward make for happy employees, which makes for better business and a better reputation for your brand. Clients, community and customers will want to be a part of what you’ve created.