10 Hidden Biases Quietly Undermining Workplace Success

Some workplace challenges are relatively easy to spot, such as economic shifts, regulatory changes, and high turnover. Their costs are visible, and their urgency is clear. But others operate under the surface. These quiet forces distort decision-making, weaken team dynamics, and undermine long-term strategy. Their impact is just as serious, but it is often overlooked until the damage is done.

One of the most pervasive of these hidden forces is unconscious bias. Also known as implicit bias, it influences who gets heard, which ideas gain traction, how teams function, and how effectively leaders lead. These biases stem from the brain’s automatic processing system, which is a mechanism essential for prioritizing information, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  

“We all walk in with some sort of bias — whether we like it or not. It’s physiological. You can’t fully eliminate it, but you can work to mitigate it,” said Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, chief data and analytics officer at SHRM. The first step toward mitigation is understanding how bias shows up.  

A Closer Look at 10 Common Unconscious Biases  

Each of the 10 biases below can quietly derail CEOs’, HR leaders’, and HR professionals’ efforts to build inclusive cultures, optimize talent, and make sound, strategic decisions.

• Affinity Bias: The tendency to prefer or like those similar to oneself. 
• In-Group Bias: Perceiving those who are similar in a more positive way.
• Halo Effect: The tendency to believe only good about someone because they are liked or letting someone’s positive qualities in one area influence the overall perception of that person. 
• Out-Group Bias: Perceiving those who are different in a more negative way.
• Perception Bias: The tendency to form assumptions or stereotypes about certain groups, thus making it impossible to make objective decisions about members of those groups. 
• Blind Spot Bias: Identifying biases in others but not oneself.
• Confirmation Bias: The tendency to seek information that confirms pre-existing beliefs or assumptions or, conversely, to discount information that is incongruent with one’s assumptions. 
• Groupthink: The tendency to try to fit into a particular group by either mimicking their behavior or holding back on sharing thoughts and opinions out of fear of potential exclusion.
• Belief Bias: The tendency to decide whether an argument for something is strong or weak based upon whether one agrees with the conclusion of that argument. 
• Anchoring Bias: The tendency to rely heavily upon the first piece of information available rather than seeking out and fully evaluating multiple sources of information when making a decision.

While the effects of unconscious bias can be far-reaching, the good news is that they’re not untouchable. Real progress begins when leaders move beyond surface-level training and actively examine how bias shapes policies, hiring, compensation, development, and promotion decisions. Educating leadership on inclusivity can help them recognize and interrupt these patterns to create faster, deeper change than any “check-the-box” initiative ever could.  

Before tackling bias across the organization, leaders need to look inward.  

“Start with an inventory of your own unconscious bias. As a leader, you need to understand where you stand before asking others and assessing the broader impact,” Alonso said. Bias is an imminent threat, but leaders should take time to assess the true scope before jumping into solutions. “Don’t rush to a solution — you might solve the wrong problem or create unintended consequences.”

Want to learn more about how the brain's processing forms biases?