Business
Why Companies Often Get Lunar New Year Wrong In The Workplace
Many Asian employees claim that their bosses lose sight of the nuances of Lunar New Year celebrations if they even acknowledge the occasion at all.
Aivee’s office was decked with Chinese lanterns to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The Sydney office of the global IT consulting firm where she worked as a lawyer also held a traditional lion dance and convened a panel discussion about Lunar New Year traditions that needed more diverse participation, except for one Chinese coworker.
However, Aivee, 32, a Malaysian, expressed dissatisfaction. The overall endeavour felt underwhelming, if not generic. She claims that little about the event planning felt inclusive or authentic. “I came in with the expectations of hearing more about Lunar New Year traditions of different Asian countries across the office.”
Why Companies Often Get Lunar New Year Wrong In The Workplace
As workforces become increasingly varied, many organisations have included various multicultural celebrations, including heritage months and culturally specific holidays. According to McKinsey & Company research, organisations prioritising diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their peers financially. Deloitte data reveals that employees with a strong sense of belonging are more productive, quit companies less frequently, and take fewer sick days.
“It leads to higher employee engagement,” says Pin-ya Tseng, a senior consultant at Paradigm, a San Francisco-based diversity and inclusion firm. She claims that workplace multiculturalism, rather than disregarding or reducing group differences, causes employees to perceive their colleagues as less biased.
However, it can be difficult to approach cultural festivities delicately – getting the details right and hitting the proper touchpoints while remaining sensitive. Experts point to the Lunar New Year as an example of how businesses can make mistakes that leave employees like Aivee feeling as if their firms have only given them lip service – or have ignored them entirely.
“Organisations need to recognise that many of their employees observe Lunar New Year,” Tseng said. “It is estimated that around two billion people worldwide celebrate the holiday.”
Many people want to celebrate Lunar New Year at work, but it’s more than a party. Instead, it presents a chance to promote cultural understanding among leaders and colleagues. When businesses need to adequately stress the significance of the Spring Festival for the various cultures that celebrate it, some employees may feel misunderstood.
Why Companies Often Get Lunar New Year Wrong In The Workplace
Kelly, 22, originally from Hong Kong, says she was left “feeling different” at work because she had to convey the significance of the Lunar New Year in her London job. “The best time of the year” is how she describes it. Her colleagues, who primarily celebrated Western holidays, needed to understand the significance or rituals after the office’s tepid, drop-by celebration.
“It’s much more difficult for them to understand when I say I’m going home for the Lunar New Year. “I’m taking two weeks off, and it’s affecting my work,” she explains. It’s a departure from the typical practice of taking end-of-year vacations, and many of her coworkers couldn’t comprehend why she was taking the break in February. Employees may be responsible for explaining their cultural practices, which is both unpaid and emotionally taxing.
Even when business executives introduce programming, employees claim they frequently get it wrong.
“We’ve seen organisations make the mistake of neglecting to acknowledge the range of countries and communities that celebrate the Lunar New Year,” Tseng said. Some businesses refer to “Lunar New Year” as “Chinese New Year,” or, conversely, presume that some Asian cultures celebrate it when they do not.
Khoi, a 23-year-old Vietnamese graduate of a big financial firm in London, is celebrating Tết. His workplace did recognise Lunar New Year but referred to it as “Lunar Chinese New Year”.
“Well, at least it’s better than just ‘Chinese New Year’,” Khoi remarks, reflecting on his prior employer’s complete lack of respect for the season. However, this “good enough” mindset can lead to workers like him accepting that firms will never get it right, lowering the bar for what they should expect from their employers. Experts argue that firms can accomplish it. Senior leaders’ active promotion of these projects is critical to their success. “If leaders aren’t visibly prioritising these events or programmes, others within the organisation won’t see them as important either,” Tseng said. “This means it will be hard to get engagement from those who may be helping create and run activities as well as those who would be participating.”
Why Companies Often Get Lunar New Year Wrong In The Workplace
However, one of the underlying challenges with executive support is a widespread lack of Asian representation in senior roles, known as the “bamboo ceiling”. In 2023, research from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Massachusetts, US, revealed that East Asian workers – Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans – were perceived as less innovative, presenting a barrier to top positions. Organically growing Lunar New Year celebrations from the top is difficult when few Asians hold key positions.
Senior managers from various backgrounds can, however, use their roles to advance diversity efforts and make beneficial changes step by step, working closely with Asian colleagues at all levels of a business. Leaders from Asian backgrounds also believe that promoting Lunar New Year diversity pays off.
“As I’ve grown professionally, I’ve seen first-hand how important it can be for myself and other Asian colleagues to have a strong support network, from a community to celebrate our culture with many people without strong family connections in-country, to advice and career support as people progress and build their careers,” says Cassandra Yong, a Chinese-Malaysian partner at Boston Consulting Group in London, who founded and led its Asian Diversity Network at the firm.
“Our Asian community has grown significantly over the years, and it was important for me to ensure everyone is able to access a network like this.”
SOURCE – (BBC)
Sonic the Hedgehog is dominating Christmas wish lists this year. The lovable blue hedgehog is back in the spotlight, from sonic the hedgehog toys and games to sonic the hedgehog coloring pages and movie hype.
Sonic-themed holiday merchandise is on fire, from quirky sweaters to action figures flying off shelves. Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas outfits for kids are selling out fast, making them a go-to gift option for festive fun.
Retailers have been quick to recognize Sonic’s holiday appeal. Special promotions and exclusive items, like the Sonic holiday t-shirts, are everywhere.
Everyone’s stocking up on Sonic merchandise, from big-box stores to boutique retailers.
Online shopping platforms are seeing a surge in searches for Sonic items. Whether it’s Sonic Christmas-themed tops or Sonic the Hedgehog coloring pages, Sonic the Hedgehog toys or Sonic and the Hedgehog 3, the demand is skyrocketing.
Retailers who tap into this trend are sure to see strong holiday sales.
Sonic has been around since the early 90s, but his popularity never wanes. With the release of Sonic 3, fans are more excited than ever.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures is preparing “Sonic the Hedgehog 4,” with the newest addition in the family-friendly genre set for a spring 2027 release.
The announcement comes as “Sonic 3” opens in theatres on Friday, estimated to gross $55 million to $60 million from 3,800 North American locations.
The sequel is shaping up to be a good holiday season blockbuster for Paramount, which explains the desire in future “Sonic” adventures. On the international front, the film will be released on Christmas Day in 52 markets.
On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave “Sonic 3” an outstanding 87% fresh score.
The first two films grossed a total of $725.2 million at the global box office and generated over $180 million in global consumer expenditure through home entertainment rentals and digital purchases.
They also inspired a spinoff Paramount+ series, “Knuckles,” which premiered earlier this year.
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An Amazon strike has hit facilities in the United States in an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the corporation for a labour agreement during a peak shopping season.
The Teamsters union told the Associated Press that Amazon delivery drivers at seven facilities in the United States walked off the job on Thursday after the firm failed to discuss a labour contract.
According to the union, Amazon employees in Teamsters union jackets were protesting at “hundreds” of additional Amazon facilities, which the union billed as the “largest strike” in US history involving the company.
The corporation, which employs over 800,000 people in its US delivery network, stated that its services will be unaffected.
It was unclear how many people, including members of Germany’s United Services Union, participated in Thursday’s demonstration. The Teamsters union reported that thousands of Amazon employees were implicated in the United States.
Amazon Strike at 10 Locations
Overall, the group claims to represent “nearly 10,000” Amazon strikers, having signed up thousands of people at roughly ten locations across the country, many of whom have joined in recent months.
The organization has claimed recognition from Amazon going on strike, claiming the firm illegally neglected its obligation to bargain collectively over salary and working conditions.
The Teamsters is a long-standing US union with nearly one million members. It is well-known for securing lucrative contracts for its members at companies like delivery behemoth UPS.
Most of the Teamsters’ Amazon campaigns have concerned drivers working for third-party delivery companies that partner with the tech behemoth.
Amazon denies that it is liable as an employer in those circumstances, which is a point of legal contention. In at least one case, labour officials have taken a preliminary stance in favour of the union.
Stalled Contract Negotiations
Amazon employees at a major warehouse on Staten Island in New York have also chosen to join the Teamsters. Their warehouse is the only Amazon facility in the United States where labour officials have formally recognized a union win.
However, the Amazon strike is because contract negotiations have not progressed since the 2022 vote. It was not one of the areas scheduled to go on strike on Thursday.
Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, has long received criticism for its working conditions and has been the target of activists seeking to gain traction among its employees.
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(VOR News) – Thousands of Amazon employees at various sites across the country were scheduled to go on strike on Thursday in an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the retail behemoth to acknowledge its unionised workers in the United States.
The walkout is expected to concentrate on seven Amazon locations across the country during the holiday purchasing surge and may be the most significant union action against Amazon in the nation’s history.
The business announced on Thursday morning that there had been no effect on operations. It also stated that it is “continuing to concentrate on fulfilling customers’ holiday orders.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters maintains that it represents more than 10,000 Amazon employees and contractors in aviation centres, warehouses, and delivery centres.
Amazon has refused to acknowledge the union for many years.
The retail giant, which employs approximately 1.5 million individuals, excludes contractors and part-timers. A strike has been initiated by delivery couriers and warehouse employees at seven distinct locations in order to exert pressure on the company to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that would encompass modifications to compensation, amenities, and working conditions.
Picketing was intended for New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Skokie, Illinois.
Also, the Teamsters assert that they are establishing picket lines at “hundreds” of additional warehouses and delivery centres by encouraging non-unionized workers to picket under U.S. labour law, which protects workers’ ability to take collective action to further their interests.
“Amazon workers are exercising their power,” Randy Korgan stated to NPR.
“They now realise there is a pathway to take on a corporate giant like this – and that they hold the power.” Amazon responds by accusing the Teamsters of fabricating information regarding the strikes, asserting that the participants are “entirely” outsiders rather than employees or subcontractors of the corporation.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated that “the reality is that they were unable to secure sufficient support from our employees and partners and have invited external parties to harass and intimidate our team.” For more than a year, the Teamsters have been intentionally misleading the public by claiming to represent “thousands of employees and drivers.” They do not.
The Teamsters did not provide a specific duration for the strike; however, they informed NPR that it would extend beyond one day. Workers would receive $1,000 per week in strike money, as per the union.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien issued a statement in which he stated, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can attribute it to Amazon’s insatiable greed.” We established a firm deadline for Amazon to attend the meeting and treat our members equitably. They disregarded it.
The Teamsters granted until December 15 to convene with its unionised employees and develop a collective bargaining agreement.
Amazon has opposed all unionisation efforts in court, asserting that unions were not advantageous to its employees and emphasising the compensation and benefits that the organisation currently provides.
Amazon has been accused of discriminatory labour practices on numerous occasions, including the termination of labour organisers. Furthermore, it has disputed its official status as a contract employer.
Teamsters organize Amazon delivery couriers and other employees.
In June, Amazon established its first unionised warehouse in Staten Island, New York, two years after making history by voting to join the fledgling Amazon Labour Union, which is also affiliated with the Teamsters.
The union is one of the most influential in the United States and Canada, with 1.3 million members. On Thursday, the German United Services Union declared that Amazon employees in Germany would participate in a strike in conjunction with their American counterparts.
In the past, Amazon has experienced demonstrations in Germany and Spain that were related to the holiday season in order to advocate for improved wages and working conditions.
“The holiday season has arrived.” Delivery is anticipated. Patricia Campos-Medina, the executive director of Cornell University’s Worker Institute, asserts that “this is the moment in which workers have control over the supply chain.”
The Teamsters have reported that Amazon’s profits have increased both during and after the pandemic. The corporation is currently valued at over $2.3 trillion, with net income of $15 billion in the most recent quarter alone. It is the second-largest private employer in the United States, following Walmart.
SOURCE: NPR
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