The personal impacts the professional.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe lived experiences of Black workers in America are not the same as White or other racial groups. There are major differences in the Black professionals\u2019 experience in terms of hiring, performance review, and advancement. This has had an impact on the psychological wellbeing and engagement of Blacks in the workforce. It is important to note that the development of the Black professional\u2019s identity within U.S. is often associated with insecurities regarding personal identity and self-image that began as early as elementary school (Neal-Barnett et al., 2010; Durkee, 2013). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson displayed the pressures of Black professional identity development and expectations of exceptionalism that perpetuate institutional racism and oppression. Judge Jackson was not only asked to defend her work as within the judicial system but speak to her race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sociopsychological study of employees in the workplace began in the 1920s. After years of academic study, research finds that psychological conditions impact individual employee work engagement, and therefore have an impact on company success. Employees are more engaged and productive if they feel that their work makes a difference, receive honest feedback, and have opportunities for development\/growth, and are able to be their authentic selves at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the case of Black professionals, issues such as \u201ccreating facades of conformity\u201d (often referred to as code switching), and imposter syndrome have a direct impact on physiological wellbeing (Hewlin, 2009; Bernard et al., 2020). The mental and emotional strain of maintaining a facade and coping with \u201cright to be here\u201d feelings reduce levels of work engagement and organizational commitment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gallup (2017) investigated the experience of Black employees and how they differ from other ethnic groups. Black employees and managers scored lower on key elements of engagement than both White employees and Hispanic employees: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Black employees were less likely to report that the mission or values of the company make them feel their job is important. This social-emotional need for meaning within our work identities is critical to motivation and productivity levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Black employees also feel less positive about the proficiency and commitment of their coworkers in carrying out high quality work. This lack of feeling a sense of teamwork gets at the heart of cultivating a sense of belonging within Black professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Black employees report receiving more scrutiny, but less candid professional feedback than their White and Latino colleagues, impacting their ability to learn and innovate, lowering job satisfaction and retention rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These findings underscore the unique challenges faced by Black employees, and the importance of acknowledging the different experiences and challenges of each racial, ethnic, and cultural group represented within an organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do we support Black professionals?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSupporting Black professionals first begins with self-reflection. Take ownership of building personal awareness of race in America by educating yourself. There\u2019s a plethora of books such as \u201cCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents,\u201d<\/em> by the American journalist Isabel Wilkerson, or \u201cSo You Want to Talk About Race?\u201d<\/em> by Ijeoma Oluo. I\u2019ve worked to highlight research in this article for readers. It is important to develop insight into our own beliefs about race, ethics, and cultural differences. Establish a value proposition, as well as identify how we can work to address personal biases and institutional prejudices. Hard conversations with ourselves and others work to ensure a deeper awareness of ingrained attitudes and biases that maintain the obstacles for Black professionals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou don\u2019t have to be an expert in DE&I. Start by validating the lived experiences of Black professionals. I want to be careful that I don\u2019t lump all Black people into one category. Black Americans have a rich ethnic and cultural heritage (Caribbean, Nigeria, Ethiopia and other African countries, etc.). The concept of intersectionality, based in Black feminist thought and coined by Crenshaw (1989, 1991), describes the intersectional forms of marginalization legally and politically experienced by historically marginalized women of color in the U.S. Although Crenshaw\u2019s focus was on Black women, she recognizes the complexity of oppression in terms of other social experiences such as class, immigration, and sexuality. Discussing work identity development, engagement, growth, and organization interactions with Black professionals, requires that we practice cultural humility, the willingness to learn, and that we build a strong positive rapport that establishes trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the organizational structure or culture may not completely be in sync, addressing interpersonal interactions of Black employees and their feelings of belonging is essential. This works to validate how personal and social roles impact professional identity, increasing feelings of self-efficacy and overall work satisfaction. Establishing clear expectations and creating accountability around the Black professionals\u2019 work performance fosters confidence. This balance of expectation-setting, while also addressing the realities of the institutional barriers Black professional may face, works collaboratively to identify the skills, resources and support needed to advance their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Denica Gordon-Mandel, M.A., MSW, LCSW, & Director, Women\u2019s Wellness Program, Cognitive Behavior Health Partners<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a Black woman that has had a professional career affords me a unique position on how to better support the wellbeing of Black professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12116"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12435,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12116\/revisions\/12435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dgmandel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}