Addressing Micro-aggressions in the Workplace: Analysing the impact of micro aggressions, subtle forms of discrimination, on employee well-being, job satisfaction, and productivity, and exploring strategies to create a more inclusive work environment

In the mid-2000s, when I had just returned to India after a long stint in the US, I had joined a new workplace, two American colleagues who were visiting our team commented that I spoke extremely good English and that I barely had an accent. I realised that by their comment on my accent they meant that I did not have an Indian accent. They appeared to be extremely surprised by it. It is almost as if they did not expect me to speak well and have a different accent. After I took a nanosecond to compose myself, I told them that they spoke very good English too after which they quickly decided to end the conversation.

What they did not realise is that while they thought that they were paying me a compliment, they were insulting me. They underestimated my ability to speak well and have a different accent. What they did can be termed as a classic example of micro aggression.
 

What is Micro Aggression?

Micro aggression is defined as everyday subtle slights, intentional and unintentional that communicate derogatory or even hostile attitudes towards historically marginalised communities. While this term was coined in the 1970s by psychiatrist Chester M Pierce at the Harvard University to describe insults that he witnessed being inflicted on the black American community, its scope has later been extended to include all socially marginalised groups in which subtle negative and insulting comments are made about members of the group regularly. In the present-day context, anyone can be the recipient of such subtle hurtful comments, questions, and assumptions both at the workplace or outside of it if they are somewhat different from the person who is committing the micro aggression.

While micro aggressions may sometimes be intentional, it is most often unintentional, and perpetrators may not be aware of the subtle way in which they are exhibiting their deep-rooted biases towards those who are different from them. This is where micro aggressions can be dangerous because unlike overt racism, which is in obvious, micro aggressions can be covert and often insidious to the point where those indulging in micro aggressive behaviours are unable to understand the hurt that their words can cause.

Understanding types of Micro Aggressions

A study on micro aggressions by Teacher’s college, Columbia University further sub divides micro aggressions into the following subgroups:

Micro assaults: These are conscious and intentional discriminatory actions, both verbal and non-verbal such as name calling or displaying supremacist symbols to hurt the other party. These can also be behavioural and can include insensitive actions such as assuming that an older co-worker will be unable to learn to new technology. Gender based micro assaults such as calling women sensitive or rolling one's eyes when a woman takes a stand, are also pervasive at the workplace.

Micro Insults: Verbal or non-verbal communication that are subtly rude and insensitive to demean a person’s heritage and background such as insinuating that non-native speakers of a language are less capable of speaking the language well by complimenting them on speaking English well, for instance. There are a lot of instances where people in the black community are ‘complimented’ on speaking eloquently indicting some sort of surprise often attributed to unconscious bias even though they are first language speakers of English. Another common micro insult is mis pronouncing someone’s name and continuing to do so even when corrected.

Micro invalidations: Communications that invalidate or nullify the reality of a person’s feelings and the lived reality of their experience such as asking a citizen who belongs to a minority where they are “really from”. Lack of representation of people of colour in leadership teams is also a form of environmental invalidation of identities where the focus is on systemic exclusion and not inclusion.

The following list includes identities that are often targeted through micro aggressions. This list is not exhaustive.

Race

Gender

Age

Sexual Orientation

Socio economic status

Religion

Caste

Citizenship

It is pertinent to note that micro aggressions can also be intersectional, as employees may exist at the intersection of identities. A disabled older worker for instance may often be the recipient of micro insults based on both his identities of age and disability.

Impact of Micro Aggressions

At the workplace, if such micro aggressions are not contained, they often accumulate to have a macro impact. While experts have called the impact of the daily slights that micro aggressions bring to be like ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’, when cumulated over time, they have a profoundly negative impact on the mental and physical health and overall Wellbeing of the employees at the workplace. A study on the deceptive nature of micro aggressions on minority employees suggested “undesirable effects of microaggressions on burnout and job satisfaction”.

Unlike discrimination and racism which is much more overt in nature and thus easier to detect, micro aggression is covert and insidious and if not addressed often can pass off as being ‘a joke’ and that the recipient is being hyper-sensitive.

However, it has been observed that the toxic work culture that micro aggressions create, chip away at efforts that organisations make to create an inclusive and diverse organisation which fosters a sense of belonging. Employees experiencing constant micro aggressions at the workplace experience high stress levels that impact their performance, sense of belonging, employee experience and engagement which in turn impacts the organisational performance, culture, and retention.

Micro aggressions, if not checked on time, can creep up to become a full-blown discriminatory culture and canattract lawsuits from employees and government departments. A leading green energy company, for instance is currently being sued by a state agency in California, alleging racist harassment and discrimination against black workers who reported a culture of racism in the company where racist slurs were frequently used. While this may be an extreme example, using of racist slurs as a joke start as micro aggressions and escalate soon to create a culture of discrimination if unchecked.

A recent study on microaggressions on the workplace by Surveymonkey in partnership with Fortune found that seven in ten workers have said that they would be upset by micro aggressions and half of them have said that they would consider leaving their jobs if they experienced it. It, however, must also be acknowledged that micro aggressions often show up due to the limited exposure that we as human beings have towards the perspectives of other cultures and their experiences of the world around them.

It is therefore incumbent on organisations to ensure that employees understand the concept of micro aggressions and how they impact workplaces. In fact, to create welcoming, inclusive and healthy workplaces that engenders employee Wellbeing, creativity and productivity, organisations must go beyond mere acknowledgement of micro aggressions and take steps to actively combat it within the workplace.

Responding to Micro Aggressions at the workplace

The importance of building organisations that are diverse, equitable and inclusive are lost on none. Research from Mckinsey and others has established that diverse organisations are more successful at “attracting and retaining talent, making high quality decisions and pursuing successful innovation”. Along with Diversity, equitable systems and an inclusive culture are essential for the organisation to grow and thrive, “ensuring no opportunity, talent or potential is missed”.

As organisations increase their global footprint and we are more connected than ever before both virtually and in the physical space, the employee population tends to be more diverse than it has been in recent history. To build an inclusive and equitable organisational culture which creates a sense of belonging where employees feel valued and engaged is therefore an essential precursor to fostering a culture of innovation, creativity, and performance.

However, a truly diverse and inclusive culture cannot be created until organisations acknowledge and accept that micro aggressions happen all around us at the workplace and the impact that leaving them unaddressed can create. Efforts must be made to educate and build awareness across the organisation to not just include conscious and unconscious biases but also an additional layer of micro aggressions and the impact that they create. Ralph Lauren created a formal unconscious bias and microaggression training programme in 2018 as part of their Diversity and Inclusion efforts and now requires all new starters to be trained in it. Employees must understand and recognise what micro aggressions are and that they are all capable of committing them, consciously and unconsciously.

Engendering a psychologically safe workplace where employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions without the fear of retribution also contributes to ensuring that employees feel empowered to challenge micro aggressions when they are encounter them. Alongside establishing psychologically safe workplaces, organisations must also provide clear guidelines on recognising and dealing with micro aggressions. Organisations such as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have created a guide which they have published on their website for dealing with micro aggressions in which they provide hands on strategies and interventions to deal with such behaviour.

Organisations should ensure that their policies and processes have inclusive language to represent the diversity in their employee and client base.  Because micro aggressions typically happen at the individual level, organisations should ensure zero tolerance for any discriminatory and exclusionary language and gestures and should include graded sanctions against such behaviour in their disciplinary policies. Due to the subtle nature of micro aggressions, senior leaders and HR departments of organisations have the primary responsibility to educate, call out and correct such behaviour when they see it.

Down the line, people managers too must understand that the productivity in their teams is directly proportional to the quality of work environment and therefore is incumbent on them to not just address micro aggressions when they occur but also to actively recognise and identify them.

However, if organisations want to truly eradicate micro aggressions, they must empower every employee to be responsible for recognising and challenging micro aggressions. Every employee should act as an ally to one another, educate each other about the types and categories of micro aggressions and try to understand the lived experiences of each other. Organisations should promote the concept of allyship and actively encourage employees to be allies of each other and call out micro aggressions or other overt forms of discrimination when they see it.

Building support networks and a circle of trusted advisors across the organisation where employees can turn to when they experience micro aggressions can also help with reducing their occurrence. Additionally, organisations may consider including strategies around combatting micro aggressions not just as part of their Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies but also their Wellbeing agenda. Appointing and empowering Wellbeing Champions to support those facing micro aggressions can also be effective in addressing and reducing the impact of such unwelcome behaviours.

At an individual level, if an employee is a recipient or micro aggression, they must not avoid it, but take a pause and consider the impact of the event on their feelings. It is prudent to not respond immediately, but choose the time of the response, particularly if it is a co-worker or a manager within the organisation. It is important to assume no malicious intent but to approach the person with positivity and making them understand how their comments are hurtful and have impacted their feelings. A Harvard paper on DEI recommends “Calling in” where there is a private conversation one to one or in a smaller group to bring attention on harmful words or behaviour and “Calling out” where public attention is brought to a person or a group’s harmful words or behaviours. As mentioned earlier, those committing micro aggressions often do it unintentionally and chances are that the issue gets resolved. However, if such behaviours assume a pattern, it is important to document instances and report it to the institutional structures of support set in place.

Every employee in a company makes a difference in terms of inclusion and belonging. That is why creating a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace starts with an honest effort on their part to learn, accept new perspectives, and behave wisely and purposefully. It is critical that we are aware of our own ingrained biases, how they emerge as microaggressions, and the negative effects they could have on employee Wellbeing if left unaddressed.

Ultimately, we need to understand that improving our ability to identify and react to microaggressions, becoming more conscious of the language we use every day as well as being each other’s allies is a continuous process and will take time to develop. It is only when we work together to be more respectful of each other can we create an inclusive culture where employees thrive, and organisations prosper.