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On a breezy night, five young professionals borrowed a human book. Standing in front of them was senior executive Arunya (pseudonym), who was 40 years old and at the peak of her career. She is believed to suffer from ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and behaves irrationally, cruelly and aggressively, with no empathy for her fellow humans.
As Arunya begins to speak, the events of her life begin to unfold. She was born into a humble family, her mother worked as a maid and barely made ends meet, and her father was an alcoholic. Aarunya became self-sufficient after class 10 by generating income through some academic work.
After earning a graduate degree in business, she got married. The marriage soon dissolved, leaving behind a child with Arunya. Arunya found a well-paying job in a multinational company.
However, the happiness did not last long. The child (six years old) suffered an accident and suffered a head injury resulting in cerebral palsy. Arunya continues to raise her children while climbing the career ladder of excellence. Now, despite her cruel fate, she speaks to readers unscathed.
When Book of Man concluded his speech, there was silence in the audience.
This story considers several questions:
Do we realize that we were not created in a laboratory but evolved through different stages of life?
As colleagues, have we learned to respect cognitive/behavioral diversity in the workplace and empathize with each other?
Can we create a safe environment for people to express their opinions openly?
The concept of the Human Library originated in Denmark twenty years ago as a reaction to the perceived injustice people experienced due to some social stigma or horn effect. The main goal of the movement is to provide human books (authors/people) about their life experiences and the psychological/physical aberrations they suffered from in the past. Each book is about 30 minutes long, and readers (audiences) can talk to the book and ask questions.
According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine (2020), human library practices can promote mental health and foster empathy. The conversational nature of Human Library sets it apart from one-to-many motivational conversations and helps people challenge common negative stereotypes or psychological stigmas associated with human behavior.
Psychological Safety and the Human Library
People experience diverse social and personal realities, and people’s environmental adaptation (psychological/physical) begins to affect their hearts. Those who are affected by life’s positive influences are blessed, but those who are psychologically damaged are tortured by irrational taboos. A major challenge faced by countries like India is the stigmatization of psychological problems and mental illnesses such as irrational aggression, mood disorders, gender dysphoria, etc.
According to a survey by Deloitte (2022), more than 80% of employees in the corporate world have been passively suffering from mental problems, and 78% of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people) Children) have suffered from one or more psychological problems. More mental and psychological problems. In fact, psychological issues among individuals are quite common and can be alleviated through safe platforms where they can mull over their incidents of distress, discrimination or prejudice.
Gender Diversity and Human Libraries
The world is working hard to promote three core values โโof human resources: diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Stigma or taboo associated with sexual orientation has gradually dismantled from HR policies (McKinsey, 2022).
Furthermore, gender dysphoria (a crisis of personal identity caused by the transition from biological sex to a third gender) is seen as sinful deliberation. This marginalized community of 10 million transgender people (Economic Times, 2020) is experiencing a variety of personal, social and economic discrimination.
Fortunately, Indian companies, including Infosys, Accenture and KPMG (among others), have driven the transformation of the community by rewriting their HR policies and providing employment terms for the community (Business Today, 2023) . This trend may seem encouraging, but acceptance must come from within and individual mindsets must be redesigned. The interaction between people and readers may create a sense of acceptance and build better workplaces for a diverse workforce.
Empathy and the Human Library
The Human Library is a form of group therapy in which individuals learn not to judge others. The lived experience of human books can instill compassion and empathy, allowing employees to celebrate cognitive, behavioral or social diversity.
A study by the Assisting State Process shows that human book series can instill deep empathy, build social connections, and provide healing. Organizations that promote the Human Library series are likely to witness an exponential shift in employee mindsets toward their colleagues.
Benefits of Human Libraries
Organizations are moving from business-centric to employee-centric. Our fundamental belief is that employees with a healthy mindset can become an indispensable asset to an organization. The Human Library series therefore aims to reshape the human mind and revitalize the cognitive/behavioral ecosystem of organizations. In short, the benefits include:
Progressively remove taboos or stigmas associated with gender inclusion or sexual orientation in the workplace.
It builds empathy in the reader as they navigate the human life experiences and psychological anomalies in the book.
People effectiveness is optimized as barriers to progress (prejudice and discrimination) are removed.
This is a way to create a psychologically safe place for employees to express life events and build trust.
The Human Library series helps embrace differences and celebrate neurodiversity in the workplace.
(published April 1, 2024 22:00 yes)
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