The Psychological Safety of Black Employees

Every single employee deserves to feel safe in their workplace.

While organizations try numerous ways to create a safer environment for their employees, I always notice a missing piece in the puzzle.

That missing piece is emotional intelligence, specifically intentional self and social awareness.

One group that often does not feel safe at work are Black employees.

It’s not always because leaders are careless, although this does happen. But that they’re unaware of what’s taking place.

In my last newsletter, I shared how Black and other systemically marginalized people use their emotional intelligence to survive. They have become masters at reading the room and learning how to code-switch and mask their behavior to protect themselves from an unfavorable outcomes.

Code-switching?is traditionally a linguistic term that describes how one alternates between two or more languages. However, this term has been adopted by the Black American community that roots back to the time of enslavement when enslaved people had to modify their behavior for survival.

This skill has been transferred from the cotton field to the corporate field. And because it has been perfected, White leaders and colleagues are unaware that many of their Black employees are wearing a mask in order to maintain a semblance of safety and job security.

The unfortunate consequence of this code-switching behavior is that it can adversely affect one’s well-being.?Not being able to be one’s authentic self because of the fear of stereotypes and microaggressions can cause symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disassociation, which can lead to increased presenteeism and absenteeism.

You will either have more colleagues calling off from work or showing up but not being fully present.

There’s a reason why several studies have found that a large percentage of Black employees prefer remote work than to returning to the office full-time. Yes, it helps cultivate work-life alignment, but it is also an escape from workplace racism.

So what can we all do to contribute to the psychological safety of Black employees and colleagues?

1. Elevate your awareness:?Challenging your un-checked biases towards Black people. Do you have a bias towards what you deem as “professional”? For example, do Black women feel comfortable wearing their hair in its natural state, or are they given comments like “I like your hair better the other way” (i.e. straightened)? Recognize that hair discrimination exists, hence the purpose of the?CROWN Act .
2. Improve your listening skills:?Effective communication comes from actively listening. Are you listening to understand or to respond? When a Black team member shares that they’ve been racially aggressed, respond with empathy, curiosity, and affirmation. Saying, “I don’t think John meant it that way,” dismisses the experience of your Black team member. And if this is a behavior that happens frequently, you aren’t only dismissing but also gaslighting your employee.
3. Addressing microaggressions, harassment, and discrimination immediately:?Staying quiet or dragging your feet when correcting bad actions gives the impression that you don’t care and will tolerate similar behavior going forward. Calling out behavior that’s contrary to the healthy work/team culture is essential to building trust.
4. Decrease the threat threshold:?Great leaders know that folks are coming to work with stress and traumas. Therefore increasing one’s social awareness can help one minimize the trauma response of code-switching. When one shows glimpses of their unmasked self, is the response that their assertiveness is “aggressive” or “angry”? If so, your Black team member may put the mask back on, gradually become less vocal, decrease collaboration, or become more defensive.
5. Check who gets rewarded and who doesn’t:?Many organizations will say that they have a diverse workforce, but when you look deeper, you’ll see that most of the diversity is at the lower level. If there isn’t equity in the elevation of employees, Black folks will feel that support and advocacy are for everyone but them.?

You can always do more, but you can begin with these five. Change is possible. We can all contribute to improving the well-being of our Black employees by elevating our emotional intelligence.

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Farah Harris is a psychotherapist and expert on workplace belonging and well-being dedicated to disrupting unhealthy work environments. She is the founder and CEO of WorkingWell Daily? , a company that approaches workplace belonging and well-being from a psycho-social and emotional intelligence lens. As a speaker, consultant, and now author, she has helped individuals and Fortune 500 companies develop healthier workplaces where leaders and teams have grown in their empathy, self-awareness, and sociocultural awareness

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