Workforce Language Services

George Diaz’s op-ed piece in the Orlando Sentinel lambasts the way an English-only rule was enforced in Florida’s Seminole County school cafeterias.  This blog recently linked to the news about the transfer of cafeteria workers after they failed to heed the application of the English-only in the workplace rule. 

As Diaz states, it didn’t have to turn out this way.  But as immigration has turned into a political and social battle, language use has become a symbol  for both sides. 

From Diaz’s piece:

Any workplace involves a mix of personalities, some of whom clash for various reasons. Language can be a volatile trigger point. As someone who’s bilingual, I’m cognizant of the barriers language can create.

It’s rude to constantly speak Spanish if it offends co-workers, but there’s nothing wrong with breaking out the espa�ol now and then. It’s not out of disrespect for my English-only friends. It’s out of respect for my Hispanic culture, and the inseparable ties that bind. Big difference.

Communication breakdowns happen. Maybe someone feels people are talking about them behind their back. Maybe someone feels they are being overwhelmed by another language. All valid issues.

In a perfect world (insert sarcasm here), both sides talk it out — in English — and the workplace continues its everyday grind. In a reactionary, intolerant workplace, you have Seminole school officials coming up with a bogus excuse to disguise the underlying problem of cultures clashing.

The situation in Seminole County has already hit the boiling point, but can serve as a lesson for other regions, companies, and industries: get cultural comptetency training in your place of business.  I’d hope that education about working with diverse staff would create a workplace environment in which people can work through language barriers rather than wage a political and cultural war because of it.