We all like to think we’re fair and open-minded at work—but sometimes, without even knowing it, we treat people differently. This hidden behaviour is called unconscious bias.
It refers to the attitudes or stereotypes we hold without realizing it, often based on race, gender, age, disability, or background. These biases affect our decisions—even when we believe we’re being objective.
In Canada, research shows that bias in the workplace is a real problem. According to a 2022 Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion survey, nearly 40% of workers reported experiencing bias or microaggressions on the job.
It often shows up in hiring choices, promotions, performance reviews, and team dynamics—hurting employee morale and fairness.
Knowing what is unconscious bias and how it works is the first step in making workplaces safer and more inclusive. When bias goes unchecked, it can lead to a toxic work culture and unequal treatment.
On the other hand, addressing it can improve teamwork, trust, and even safety. That’s why more Canadian employers are adding bias awareness into their safety and workplace training programs.
In this blog, we’ll explain where unconscious bias comes from, how to spot it, and what steps you can take to reduce it at work—so every team member feels respected, valued, and supported.
What is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious bias is something we all have, whether we realize it or not. It refers to hidden thoughts, beliefs, or feelings we hold about others based on their race, gender, age, background, or other traits.
These thoughts are not always intentional or mean-spirited, but they influence how we treat people—at work, during hiring, on the job site, or even in casual conversations.
In the workplace, unconscious bias can show up in how we select team members, assign tasks, or offer promotions.
It often happens without anyone noticing, but the impact is real—especially in a diverse country like Canada, where over 23% of the population is made up of visible minorities.
When left unchecked, these hidden biases can create an unfair work environment and hold back talented people.
To reduce its impact, it’s important to understand how unconscious bias forms and what types are most common on the job. Once we recognize the patterns, we can start making more thoughtful and fair decisions every day.
Definition and Psychology Behind It
Unconscious bias forms over time through the experiences we have, the culture we grow up in, and the media we’re exposed to. These repeated messages shape how we see the world and others—even if we don’t realize it.
Our brains try to process information quickly by creating mental shortcuts, also known as heuristics. While this helps us make fast decisions, it also leads us to make unfair judgments based on assumptions, not facts.
For example, if someone often sees leadership positions filled by men in the media, they may unconsciously associate men with authority—even if they believe in gender equality.
These hidden biases can influence decisions about hiring, assigning tasks, or evaluating performance, even when someone thinks they are being objective.
In workplaces across Canada, unconscious bias can lead to unequal treatment, missed opportunities, and lower morale. It also creates barriers for people from underrepresented groups.
Understanding how these biases form is a key step in reducing them. It helps managers and team members slow down, question their gut instincts, and make fairer choices.
That’s why bias awareness is becoming an essential part of safety and diversity training in Canadian workplaces.
Common Types of Unconscious Bias
Unconscious bias takes many forms, and recognizing them is the first step in reducing their effect.
Here are some of the most common types that show up in Canadian workplaces—on construction sites, in offices, or in field operations.
1. Affinity Bias
This happens when we favour people who are similar to us. For example, a supervisor may feel more comfortable assigning leadership tasks to someone who shares their background or interests, unintentionally overlooking others who are just as capable.
2. Confirmation Bias
This is the tendency to focus on information that confirms what we already believe. A manager who assumes older workers aren’t tech-savvy might only notice mistakes they make with new software and ignore successes—reinforcing a biased view.
3. Age Bias
Age bias affects both younger and older workers. A junior employee might be seen as inexperienced and passed over for challenging work, while an older worker may be overlooked for training or promotions, even if they’re fully capable.
4. Gender Bias
Gender bias often appears in task assignments or hiring decisions. For example, in some fieldwork roles, women may be assumed to be less physically capable—even when they’ve proven otherwise. This kind of bias can limit opportunities and undermine team trust.
Each of these biases can hurt morale, reduce productivity, and block diversity. By understanding and naming them, employers and workers can take steps to reduce their impact, making work environments fairer and more inclusive.
How Unconscious Bias Affects Canadian Workplaces
Unconscious bias doesn’t just impact individual behaviour—it shapes entire workplace cultures. In Canada’s diverse work environment, these hidden attitudes can lead to unequal opportunities, missed safety concerns, and even harm employees' mental well-being.
Whether it's on a job site, in a corporate boardroom, or in a remote field office, bias can quietly affect hiring decisions, team dynamics, and everyday interactions.
What makes unconscious bias so concerning is that many people don’t realize it’s influencing their actions.
Even when companies aim to be inclusive, these unnoticed patterns can create barriers for people based on gender, age, ethnicity, or other traits.
To build safer and more inclusive workplaces, Canadian employers must recognize how bias plays out in real situations and take steps to reduce its impact.
1. Impact on Hiring and Promotion
When unconscious bias enters hiring or promotion decisions, the result is often an uneven playing field. People may be judged more on personal traits or assumptions than on their actual skills or potential.
A hiring manager might unknowingly favour candidates who “feel like a good fit,” which often means someone with a similar background or personality.
This bias has real effects. According to a 2023 report by Catalyst Canada, racialized Canadians hold just 10% of senior leadership roles, despite making up over 22% of the population.
The gap is even wider for Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians, who continue to face underrepresentation at the top.
Unconscious bias can also affect performance reviews, leadership opportunities, and who gets mentored or sponsored.
Women, newcomers, and people with accents may be overlooked simply because of unconscious assumptions about competence or communication skills.
When hiring and promotions are biased, the best person for the job may be missed. This hurts team performance, reduces morale, and limits growth for everyone.
By recognizing and challenging these patterns, Canadian workplaces can make fairer decisions and open doors for a more diverse range of voices.
2. Impact on Safety and Teamwork
Safety and teamwork rely on clear communication, mutual respect, and trust. But when unconscious bias is present, these elements can break down.
Biases—such as assuming that younger workers lack experience, or that older workers can’t keep up—can lead to serious safety risks. People may dismiss valid concerns or overlook feedback simply because of who it comes from.
For example, a new employee may spot a potential hazard but be ignored because others see them as inexperienced. Or a female worker on a construction site may not be taken seriously when raising equipment concerns, based on outdated gender stereotypes.
These moments, though subtle, create blind spots that can lead to accidents or missed improvements.
Bias can also divide teams. If certain workers feel excluded from key tasks or safety decisions, they may stop speaking up, which affects everyone’s well-being.
In fast-paced environments like warehouses, oil fields, or healthcare settings, this silence can be dangerous.
Creating a culture where all voices are heard—regardless of age, gender, or background—isn’t just good for morale. It’s a key part of effective safety management.
Canadian companies that address bias in their safety protocols are seeing better communication, stronger teams, and fewer incidents on the job.
3. Impact on Mental Health and Morale
When employees feel they’re being judged or excluded because of who they are—not what they do—it affects how they feel at work.
Unconscious bias can quietly lead to lower morale, stress, and even long-term mental health challenges. Workers who experience bias often report feeling isolated, undervalued, or unfairly criticized.
Over time, this can lead to burnout, anxiety, or withdrawal from team activities. In some cases, subtle bias turns into more serious behaviour like bullying or microaggressions, which may not be addressed because they’re not always obvious.
But the effects are very real. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 70% of employees say that mental health problems have impacted their work performance, and workplace stress is a major factor.
High turnover is another result. Employees who feel unfairly treated or overlooked are more likely to leave, costing employers both money and talent.
Diverse teams thrive when people feel safe, supported, and included—but when bias goes unchecked, it pushes people out instead of helping them grow.
Addressing unconscious bias in the workplace isn’t just about fairness—it’s about creating a work environment where everyone can do their best without added stress or barriers.
With proper training and a culture of respect, Canadian employers can improve both morale and mental health across their teams.
How to Recognize Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
Recognizing unconscious bias is the first step toward fixing it. Since these biases often operate in the background, they’re not always easy to spot.
But they do show up—in hiring patterns, workplace interactions, and even in the decisions we make without much thought.
In Canadian workplaces, where diversity is growing, overlooking bias can quietly lead to inequality, dissatisfaction, and missed opportunities.
Unconscious bias doesn’t mean someone is intentionally unfair. It means that experiences, media, and culture have shaped subtle beliefs that can affect judgement.
The good news is, both individuals and organizations can learn to spot these patterns. Through self-awareness and by looking at workplace trends, it becomes easier to see where bias may be taking root.
Below are two key ways to start recognizing unconscious bias—both on a personal level and across the organization.
Self-Awareness Exercises
One of the most effective ways to uncover unconscious bias is through personal reflection. Start by paying attention to your daily reactions at work.
Who do you trust with tough tasks?
Whose ideas do you value more in meetings?
These choices can reveal hidden patterns.
Journaling is a helpful tool. By writing down key decisions and why you made them, you might notice trends—like favouring certain personalities, communication styles, or backgrounds.
Even simple questions like, “Did I give everyone a fair chance in that discussion?” can help bring awareness.
Another useful resource is the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT), which is free and widely used.
It helps individuals explore hidden preferences or attitudes about race, age, gender, and more. While the results aren’t perfect, they offer a starting point for deeper thinking.
Organizational Red Flags
Bias doesn’t just affect individuals—it shapes entire workplace cultures. Often, unconscious bias becomes visible through patterns in company data and employee experiences. Here are some red flags to watch for:
- Promotion or pay disparities: If one group is consistently underrepresented in leadership roles or paid less, even when qualifications are similar, bias may be a factor. In Canada, for example, women still earn less on average than men, even in similar jobs—a sign of ongoing systemic inequality.
- Lack of diversity at the top: If leadership teams or decision-makers all come from similar backgrounds, it may suggest that biased hiring or promotion practices are in place—even unintentionally.
- Survey feedback showing disengagement: Company-wide engagement surveys can uncover where employees feel left out. If certain groups—like racial minorities or younger employees—report feeling unheard or excluded, it’s worth taking a closer look at what’s going on.
- High turnover among underrepresented staff: If diverse employees leave more frequently, it might indicate they don’t feel valued, supported, or fairly treated.
In workplaces, addressing these red flags is part of creating a safer, more inclusive environment. It requires looking at data, listening to employees, and being willing to change long-standing practices. Recognizing bias at the organizational level takes honesty—but it also leads to better culture, stronger retention, and more trust across the board.
How to Reduce and Overcome Unconscious Bias
Unconscious bias isn’t something we can simply switch off—but we can take steps to reduce its impact.
Tackling unconscious bias in the workplace means building fairer, safer, and more inclusive environments. It’s not just a human resources issue—it affects hiring, teamwork, leadership, and even safety outcomes.
The key to overcoming bias is making it part of everyday awareness and decision-making. This means training people to recognize bias, creating space for open dialogue, and using consistent, fair systems across the workplace.
From small businesses to large corporations, employers across Canada are taking real steps to ensure that their teams are judged on performance and potential—not unconscious assumptions.
Let’s look at a few proven ways to reduce unconscious bias at both individual and organizational levels.
1. Start With Awareness Training
Bias training is often the first step in addressing unconscious attitudes. These sessions help employees understand what unconscious bias is, how it forms, and how it can impact workplace decisions—even when we don’t mean for it to.
Good training sessions go beyond theory. They include real examples, interactive activities, and self-reflection tools that make the issue relatable.
For example, a training session might ask participants to review case studies or role-play scenarios that show how bias can appear in hiring or project decisions.
In Canada, many organizations now include unconscious bias training as part of onboarding or regular staff development. This includes not just office staff, but also field teams, construction crews, and healthcare workers.
The goal isn’t to assign blame—it’s to create shared awareness and understanding, so teams can work more fairly and respectfully.
Training is more effective when it’s ongoing and combined with other practices like mentoring, feedback, and process changes. It helps create a culture where bias is recognized, questioned, and addressed instead of being ignored.
2. Promote Open Conversations
Creating a workplace where people can talk openly about bias is just as important as formal training. When employees feel safe to share experiences, ask questions, or point out concerns, it leads to stronger understanding and better teamwork.
These conversations don’t always have to be formal. Team check-ins, discussion circles, or even casual chats during safety meetings can offer space for reflection and learning. What matters is that employees feel heard without fear of being judged or dismissed.
Leaders play a big role here. When managers model inclusive behaviour and admit their own blind spots, it helps others feel comfortable doing the same.
Open conversations can also reduce misunderstandings that often come from assumptions or lack of information.
It’s also important to offer safe ways for employees to report concerns—especially about microaggressions or unfair treatment.
Anonymous reporting tools, support from HR or supervisors, and clear anti-discrimination policies can make a big difference.
In Canadian workplaces, especially in diverse teams, encouraging honest and respectful dialogue is a powerful tool for reducing bias and building trust.
3. Standardize Workplace Processes
One of the best ways to limit bias is by removing subjectivity from key decisions. When hiring, evaluating, or promoting employees, using structured systems helps reduce the influence of personal opinions or gut instincts.
For example, structured interviews with the same set of questions for all candidates ensure fair comparisons.
Checklists and score-based rubrics can help hiring managers focus on skills and qualifications instead of personal similarities or unconscious preferences.
Anonymous resume screening is another useful tool. By hiding names, genders, and other identifiers, decision-makers are more likely to judge candidates on merit.
For performance evaluations, using clear, job-related metrics helps reduce bias in feedback and recognition.
When decisions are based on consistent processes instead of impressions, there’s a lower chance that bias will creep in unnoticed.
Standardization also builds trust. Employees are more likely to respect decisions when they see that the same rules apply to everyone.
4. Encourage Diverse Teams and Leadership
Having a diverse team isn’t just good for optics—it leads to better decision-making, improved safety, and more innovation. Different backgrounds bring different perspectives, which helps teams solve problems and avoid blind spots.
When leadership teams include women, Indigenous peoples, people of colour, newcomers, and others from underrepresented groups, it sends a strong message that everyone has a fair shot at growth.
This visibility also helps break down stereotypes and challenges long-standing assumptions.
Diversity also strengthens safety cultures. Teams with a range of experiences are more likely to question unsafe practices, speak up during inspections, and support co-workers during high-risk tasks. It builds communication and trust.
Encouraging diversity means reviewing hiring pipelines, creating mentorship opportunities, and removing barriers to advancement. It’s not just about who gets hired—it’s about who gets heard, who gets promoted, and who’s at the table when big decisions are made.
5. Make Bias Reduction Part of Workplace Safety
Bias isn’t just a human resources issue—it’s a safety issue. When people feel excluded or undervalued, they’re less likely to speak up about hazards, report near-misses, or contribute fully during safety briefings.
For example, if a new or younger worker raises a concern but is brushed off because of their age or inexperience, that bias puts everyone at risk.
Similarly, if a worker avoids reporting bullying or harassment because they fear being judged or ignored, it creates an unsafe culture.
In Canada, many workplaces now include bias awareness in their safety training. Programs focused on workplace violence prevention often cover how unconscious attitudes can lead to exclusion, intimidation, or unfair treatment.
By addressing these behaviours, companies can prevent conflicts before they escalate.
Fairness, respect, and clear communication are the backbone of strong safety cultures. When employees know their input is valued—no matter who they are—they’re more likely to follow safety protocols, look out for each other, and report problems early.
Making bias reduction part of your safety program is a smart move for both people and productivity.
Conclusion
Unconscious bias may be invisible, but its impact is not. It influences how we hire, promote, communicate, and even how we handle safety at work.
Recognizing and reducing these biases isn’t just about being fair—it’s about creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and safe. When left unchecked, unconscious bias can damage team trust, lower morale, and put workers at risk.
In contrast, inclusive and bias-aware environments lead to better teamwork, stronger communication, and improved problem-solving.
It’s important to understand that what is unconscious bias goes far beyond HR policies or training checklists. It shapes workplace culture, decision-making, and how employees show up every day.
This is why tackling bias should be a shared responsibility across all departments—not just leadership or human resources.
For workplaces aiming to grow in a fair and sustainable way, now is the time to act. Start by looking at your own team dynamics, hiring practices, and feedback systems.
Are they consistent? Are all voices heard and respected?
Then, take the next step by investing in bias awareness training, promoting open dialogue, and updating processes that may unknowingly favour some over others.
Small, consistent actions can make a big difference in building a truly inclusive and safe workplace for everyone.