Nada Taleb's co-workers love when she brings homemade Lebanese food like hummus and spinach pies to their Detroit-area office. They often ask her for recipes and where to buy certain Middle Eastern ingredients in the city, home to one of the largest Arab communities in the country. But in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that leveled New York's World Trade Center, destroyed part of the Pentagon, and crashed a jetliner in Pennsylvania, Taleb's colleagues in the public relations department of a large U.S. company have been posing other, painful questions of the Arab-American Muslim.
Earlier this week, a fellow staffer asked Taleb what her brother -- a soldier in the U.S. Army -- would do if America went to war. Whose side would he be on, the woman wanted to know. "I was stunned," Taleb recalls. "I asked her, 'Which army did he join, the U.S. Army or the Muslim army?'" The woman apologized, but the two didn't speak for the rest of the day. "Hopefully, they're just talking out of anger," Taleb says of her colleagues.
Certainly, many Americans are angry right now. Despite repeated calls for tolerance from the White House as well as from religious and local community leaders, nationwide harassment and assaults have been mounting against Muslims, as well as against individuals who people assume are Muslim because of their appearance. Reports of vandalized mosques and boycotts of Arab-owned businesses continue to roll in. To date, the FBI is investigating at least 40 hate crimes committed since Sept. 11.
CHARGED COMMENTS. Violence doesn't appear to have erupted in the workplace yet, according to the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a nonprofit group that's monitoring reports of discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hasn't fielded any formal complaints, either.
Still, workplace tensions such as those between Taleb and her non-Arab colleagues have flared up, even among people who consider each other friends. Employee assistance counselors say they're fielding calls from anxious managers wondering how to defuse ethnic tensions that may arise within their staffs. And the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), an organization of HR professionals, is also getting queries from companies on how to deal with friction between workers of different nationalities. For businesses that have tried to instill a sense of inclusion in their workplace, the terrorist attacks could seriously undermine the progress they've made, experts say.
The "trust is gone" between many co-workers, says Karen Jehn, professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. "People are looking at their [Arab or Muslim] colleagues and saying: 'We could be best friends, and you could be involved in some way.'"
EMPLOYEE SAFETY. Changing demographics and an influx of immigrants have transformed the workplace. Roughly 36% of HR professionals in a recent study by SHRM and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding say more religions are represented in their workforces today than five years ago. Many employers offer flexible scheduling to accommodate religious holidays, and some have even set up on-site prayer rooms for staffers. But in the wake of the terrorist attacks, Corporate America is facing a more pressing issue brought on by diversity: ensuring the safety of employees. On the recommendation of her supervisor, Taleb is being escorted to her car by a security guard.
Beyond the threat of violence, subtle shifts in workplace behavior will be likely as well. People who once joked with each other may now avoid eye contact in the hallway or feel uncomfortable openly discussing the attacks. "The biggest thing to expect is a fear of talking to Arabs and Muslims," says Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, anthropology professor at Rhode Island College who specializes in Arabic and Islamic culture. "People don't know what to say, so they'll avoid conversations completely because they're worried about sparking a heated discussion." Giving Middle Easterners and others the cold shoulder may further alienate people who in some cases already feel self-conscious about their skin color, religious beliefs, or style of dress.
The incidence of ethnic slurs and discriminatory comments also may rise. In a recent Gallup Poll, one-third of Americans said they had heard family members and friends make anti-Arab statements in the wake of the bombings. Taleb, for one, overheard a colleague remark that the U.S. should "send all those Arabs back to where they've come from." Workplace consultant Cornelius Grove says supervisors need to deal with such hostile comments immediately. Right now, "forget the diversity training," he advises. "Say to these people: 'If I hear another peep from you on this score, you're outta here.' There should be zero tolerance."
SECOND CHANCES. That may not happen if managers aren't alert -- or receptive -- to discrimination complaints. People who are objects of scorn often find that "it's easy to get a chip on your shoulder and think that everyone's against you," says Sandra Slipp, diversity consultant and co-author with Renee Blank of From the Outside In, a book that offers tips to minorities on advancing their careers. As a result, some workers may end up quitting or taking a leave until the outrage over the bombings subsides rather than try to make things work.
Arab-Americans who tough it out, experts note, need to try to keep a level head, find allies -- and give a second chance to co-workers who lash out with hateful or ignorant comments in the heat of the moment. "We all make mistakes," adds Slipp.
Once emotions cool, consultants say, it's important to clear the air. Wharton's Jehn suggests group meetings in which each person explains how the attack affected them. A white colleague, for instance, might share that she and her Arab husband have been the target of ethnic slurs. Other staffers may have had relatives or friends who died in the blasts. Knowing where everyone stands and allowing people to ask questions of each other is an important first step in the recovery process. "If you don't release emotion in a constructive way, that's when you get the violence," Jehn says.
Such conversations may make some people squirm. Some may even refuse to participate. But given the current ircumstances, "you have to tolerate [people] being uncomfortable," Slipp says. It's a small price to pay to ensure that one wrong doesn't spawn many others.
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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