Toxic behavior that affects morale and retention

I came across an article in Fast Company (LINK) by Melinda Briana Epler, the author of How to Be an Ally: Actions You Can Take for a Stronger, Happier, Workplace. Melinda makes many excellent points about microaggressions and non-verbal bullying. She writes about the impact these behaviors have on the individuals who are targeted, people who hear and see them, and on the workplace in general.

Epler writes that the key in responding to microaggressions is to “develop our empathy skills and become intentional so that we recognize the microaggression forming and stop it before it happens. Each individual microaggression can be harmful in the short-term, and as microaggressions accumulate daily, they can take a significant toll on someone’s life and career in the long term. People with underrepresented identities encounter microaggressions on top of the stress everyone has in work and outside of work, which is an unfair disadvantage in our work and in our lives.”

She continues, “as allies, it’s our job to understand what “microaggressions” are, and make sure we don’t do them. You may see some things here that you do or have done. At one time or another, all good allies find ourselves making a mistake. It’s our job as allies to listen, learn, unlearn, relearn, make mistakes, apologize, and keep learning. When we do our work as allies to reduce microaggressions, we often focus on verbal microaggressions. However, nonverbal microaggressions can be just as harmful.”

Epler writes about these main categories of nonverbal microaggressions:

  • Facial expressions: Many microaggressions are nonverbal, so they can be subtle.
  • Body language: A few key pieces of body language to keep in mind in avoiding microaggressions are closed body language and dominant power positioning. Become aware of how you might make people feel inadvertently, and change it if you can.
  • Avoidance: when we fear saying or doing the wrong thing, we might avoid someone altogether. This avoidance can have long-term effects on someone’s life.
Epler has suggestions on how to reduce non-verbal microaggressions. These are somewhat similar to what we teach in our course, Disarming Microaggressions. 
  • Prime yourself
  • Seek to become more self-aware in the moment
  • Practice empathetic listening

I think Epler’s book is worth a read. She offers many small and big strategies and tips for how to be, as her title states, a better ally.

More From Our Blog…

Reclaiming the Water

Reclaiming the Water

Why I’m in awe of the Howard University swimming and diving team By Gina Miller When we follow threads back through history, appalling origins or explanations for certain contemporary social issues / racial matters are often discovered.  This was my experience when I...

read more
Chances are your hiring process is riddled with bias

Chances are your hiring process is riddled with bias

Inclusive hiring is the practice of minimizing bias and creating an equitable recruitment, application, interview, selection and offer process for a diverse set of candidates.  It’s critical for attracting and retaining a diverse, engaged and innovative talent pool....

read more
DEI Leaders are Burning Out

DEI Leaders are Burning Out

A recent article in Human Resources Director highlights something that we’ve been hearing a lot about - diversity fatigue. It’s a term from the 90s, but it’s back now and the reasons require serious consideration.  In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, there was...

read more
The Day the National Guard Raided an HBCU Dorm

The Day the National Guard Raided an HBCU Dorm

A portion of the bullet-ridden, exterior wall of Smith Hall still stands in commemoration at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.  Khadejeh Nikouyeh/News & ObserverThis is why Black history needs to be taught By Gina Miller, contributing...

read more
Embodying Ethical Leadership

Embodying Ethical Leadership

In an age when faith in our institutions—academic, corporate and government—is at an all-time low, it behooves leaders to “do the right thing.” Paraphrasing Charlamagne, “Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right, we must know what is...

read more
Right Where She Belongs

Right Where She Belongs

How Lisette Martinez creates an inclusive culture and a world of opportunity as Jefferson Health’s Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer By Gina Miller The innate desire to belong The year was 1984 in Ypsilanti, Michigan when the world fractured in...

read more
The Accessibility Journey

The Accessibility Journey

Accessibility is typically about providing the ability to access a building, a vehicle or a service. In our world of online eLearning courses, accessibility means enabling all learners to engage with a course in the way they need and prefer in order to gain the...

read more