Atomic Object joined the ACLU’s Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition following a couple of eye-opening experiences I had in 2015. The MCWC is organized around the goal of updating Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity. What I learned was that on this issue, it’s not enough to be a company that doesn’t discriminate, and which welcomes and treats everyone respectfully. We’ve been all those things from our founding in 2001. What we haven’t done well in the past is to be explicit and clear about our values and behaviors.
The Atom We Nearly Never Knew
Months after a talented young developer joined Atomic, they shared the fact that as a candidate looking in from the outside, they weren’t at all sure they could be themselves as an employee and not need to hide their sexual orientation. They contrasted this very positively with how things turned out once they were actually an Atom. The fact that they were comfortable as an employee, and didn’t have to waste time and energy masking who they were as a person, isn’t at all surprising to me. The eye-opener was that they couldn’t be sure about this from the outside looking in, even after having gone through our extensive interview process and having read our diversity statement.
The Atom We Could Have Lost
The second eye-opener happened when a long-time employee stopped masking his sexual orientation, and shared that information selectively at work. The news wasn’t a surprise to me, but what blew my mind was being told by people close to him, that he had given serious thought and some worry to whether he could be fired for being open about his sexual orientation. What I dismissed as something that should have been obvious, namely that his employment had nothing whatsoever to do with his sexual orientation, turns out to not be guaranteed by any law. Our somewhat cautious and conservative employee was right—in Michigan you can be fired for no more reason than who you love. And sadly, I’m sure this does happen on a regular basis.
The Big Ah-Ha
These eye-opening experiences made me realize that our open-minded, respectful, non-bigoted, non-discriminating company culture wasn’t enough by itself. We needed to make a strong, positive statement, in a place where it was easy to discover both externally and internally, that we don’t discriminate on various work-irrelevant attributes such as race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Atomic joined the ACLU’s Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition as one way of making that statement. We also
- improved the diversity statement on our website,
- discussed with and got support for our MCWC membership from our internal advisory board,
- shared and solicited input and support from the company as a whole,
- added a reference to this blog post to our new employee orientation,
- reached out to a local business reporter to propose a story on this issue,
- and clarified the equal opportunity clause in our employee manual.
Other Workplaces
During the process of considering the issue, one of our employees pointed out that the changes to our state’s civil rights act were probably even more important to the many people who are less in demand in the labor market, and work at places that are less enlightened than Atomic. She reminded me of the many privileges that all of us at Atomic enjoy, and which many people in Michigan don’t share. Another colleague put some color on that observation by sharing a story about how her brother-in-law was challenged at work about whether he was gay because he didn’t wear camouflage, wasn’t a hunter, and read books on break. If a conventional, traditional, heterosexual guy faces that sort of inquisition, imagine the anxiety and threat that someone who was lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender would feel.
Part of our mission is connection and contribution to the communities we operate in. If our advocacy for the ACLU’s campaign can help employees in other companies in Michigan we’d consider that a positive accomplishment.
Competitive Advantage
I don’t need to find competitive advantage to our business to know what the right behavior is. Atomic’s culture is one of inclusiveness and respect, driven by who Atoms are as people. We’d be that way even if it cost our business something. So it’s not necessary, but it certainly is interesting to consider the cost we nearly paid in the two scenarios above.
The employee who wasn’t sure during the hiring process was a great Atom for nearly two years before Google lured them out to San Francisco with a dream job. I’m hopeful we get them back when they eventually return to Michigan.
The long-time employee we could have lost is a model Atom and fills a vital role in the company. Such people are not easy to find.
It’s not difficult to put a monetary value on the ability to attract and retain talent. The ACLU is right to frame this as a competitive issue. More importantly, treating everyone respectfully and allowing them to be themselves at work, and raising awareness of the issue of discrimination, is just the right thing to do.
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Barton Canfield
February 1, 2016Excellent blog Carl! I am very impressed with this pro-active approach and stance you and your company take. I have multiple friends who work for you in Grand Rapids. They all feel that your workplace (their workplace) is ideal. They are very happy and content with Atomic Object (AO). You can tell that they are excited to work for a company that is progressive and forward thinking in all areas just by the way they talk about their work and company. In this day in age, that is a phenomenal accomplishment. I can tell you that I don’t hear these kind of things from my many other friends who work for corporations and businesses small to medium sized, with maybe the exception of those who have their own business and are pursuing their dreams and passions. By the way, I am a gay male. Why is that important? For two reasons. 1) It is my situation of which you speak here, and yet I have never thought this through to this level. Experience is an invaluable teacher, as it was for you with these employee situations (and consequently me, from reading this blog). You really do need to be demonstrative, pro-active, and set an example for all, about these kinds of issues. As you said, being good is not good enough. Secondly, I greatly admire and respect your company’s position and action, as well as your commentary, from a personal perspective. This will challenge me to be even better, do more…something I try to work on daily. I believe I am going to have to read those other 74 posts of yours as time allows. I am interested and I believe you may be able to teach me a thing or two. :)
Carl Erickson
February 1, 2016Wow, Barton, definitely the nicest comment on a post I’ve ever received. I really appreciate you sharing what the post meant to you personally, and the kind words about our company and employees. It’s really nice to know this rang true to you.