Introduction
A workplace is a complex place where diverse factors influence one’s output. These factors include implicit bias, microaggression, multigenerational historical trauma, emotional triggers, and bullying. These are factors that the employees and employers should understand since they directly influence inclusion, diversity, and equality in the workplace. Therese sensitive factors that influence workplace relations are discussed below.
Part 1
Prior to the testing, I did not know that I had biases. This is because I assumed the values I shared with others conformed to the entire population’s. I believed that gender and racial bias were mainly perpetrated consciously. Hence, I assumed to have a perception that I did not have any attribute that could make me a racist. Nonetheless, the test revealed that I exhibited several traits of hidden bias that made some people uncomfortable. The assumption that the Israelites are the most intelligent individuals in the world is an example of implicit bias that I had. I concluded that hidden bias is shared among all the people and needs to be addressed by having shared values and always being ready to assess the decisions and judgments I make about situations and people.
The testing made me uncomfortable upon realizing that I was unconsciously advocating for racism despite the existing policies and legal frameworks intended to ensure inclusivity, diversity, and inclusion of all races. Notably, I felt irresponsible for advancing hidden bias against the people of color, whom I assumed I respected for their diverse role in promoting the American ideology. I learned that I needed to embrace attitudes that could detach me from hidden bias through the test.
While in grade eight, I committed aggression against some Muslim brothers due to their religious background. The aggression was not founded on facts but false news promoted by the western media that most Muslims are terrorists. Hence, since we shared a similar neighborhood, I ensured that the two Muslims remained isolated and did not integrate with the rest of the Christians since the religious counterpart had orchestrated several terrorism activities against the Christians and continued to promote them. Hence, I convinced my peers that we had to avoid them to guarantee our safety and that of our parents. I later came to comprehend that the aggressions were attributed to media bias against the Muslims.
Part 2
White fragility describes the defensiveness of the whites when their ideas, perceptions, and actions regarding racism are challenged (Jayakumar & Adamian, 2017). It shows the white race’s fears when discussing issues regarding racism. White fragility depicts racial stress associated with the whites whenever the topic of racism emerges, and since they find it intolerable, they embrace all the defensive moves. The defensive activities may involve an outward display of emotions of anger, guilt, and anger. They may result in some behaviors such as silence, argumentation, and leaving a scene that induces stress. The behaviors and actions of an individual displaying white fragility play a critical role in restoring race equilibrium.
White supremacy is a perception that people with white skin are superior to other races (Moon & Holling, 2020). White supremacy reveals the dominance of the whites over other races. Therefore, supremacy is grounded on both ways of thinking and attitude. Therefore, white supremacy is evident through many social interactions, with the most dominant one being the black or the African-Americans being considered as being inferior to the whites. White supremacy differs from white fragility in that the latter emits guilt feelings founded on the white actions against the people of color. On the other side, white supremacy displays a perception of the whites being superior to people of color, which makes them privileged to enjoy some status that other inferior races are denied.
Both white fragility and supremacy emit racial trauma to the victims. While the whites are the victims of white fragility, they happen to be the promoters of white supremacy, with the blacks or people of color being the victims. That means racial trauma entails the existing experience of exposure to racism, abuse, or violence. In the case of white fragility, the whites are prone to racial trauma since they find their actions having been offensive against the people of color hence embracing defensive mechanisms. In the case of white supremacy, the blacks or people of color are the victims of racial stereotyping and tend to defend themselves against the dominant white.
Microaggression entails an unconscious action or statement that is considered stereotyping or discriminating against vulnerable or marginalized individuals but is not visible to the eyes of the perpetrator (Turner et al., 2021). For instance, a white person may not know how a black person feels when seated in a subway, and no one sits adjacent to him unless there is no other vacant seat. The inability of the white to have a perception of reality is what is referred to as microaggression. On the other side, implicit bias is also referred to as hidden or unconscious bias, which involves unknowingly discriminating against others due to their identity (Tyner, 2019). Everyone, including judges who are supposed to be impartial, displays some degree of implicit bias. Notably, both microaggressions and implicit bias can result in emotional trauma to the victims, especially those from minority groups.
Implicit bias and microaggressions result in emotional trauma characterized by depression, isolation, frustration, low self-esteem, and self-doubt. The victims of these behaviors constantly have to question whether what is happening is attributed to racial background. These victims sometimes experience emotional trauma apparent through being resentful, angry, and silent. The stress attributed to microaggression and implicit bias in the workplace or social places may transform emotional trauma into physical trauma (Tyner, 2019). The physical trauma may be evident through high blood pressure, headaches, and challenges in sleeping. The emotional trauma is expounded when the victim does not understand the situation they are in, which results in them being uncomfortable with an individual situation. Rather than letting the situation get worse, the victims of implicit bias or microaggression leave the situation instead of allowing emotional trauma to take a toll on them.
Multigenerational historical trauma refers to traumatic experiences shared by a group and has been passed over generations from the time the first victims suffered during an experience. Among the first people to be acknowledged to suffer from multigenerational historical trauma were the children of Holocaust survivors, and the latest ones being the indigenous populations in Australia and North America. The generations of the Holomodor have also exhibited multigenerational historical trauma. The Holomodor was also known as Ukraine’s Famine-Genocide, the Ukrainian Genocide, the Terror-Famine, or the Great Famine that was orchestrated by Joseph Stalin against a portion of the population of Soviet Ukraine between 1932 and 1933, resulting in Millions of deaths (Franco, 2021). The Aboriginal communities in Canada are also victims of multigenerational historical trauma forcefully assimilating into the Canadian culture. The assimilation takes place through the aboriginal people being placed in residential schools and children being separated from their families.
It is essential to understand the victims of multigenerational historical trauma due to the impact on parents and children. The parents may end up transmitting inborn genetic vulnerabilities to their children as a result of past experiences. These vulnerabilities may limit the children’s ability to integrate or bond with others. Hence, thethe children carrying the genetic vulnerabilities may also exhibit emotional detachment and use different adoption styles, such as fighters, victims, and numb (Franco, 2021). Understanding these characters is critical in forging relationships between people with different historical backgrounds.
Further understanding of multigenerational historical trauma is essential because children learn from their parents. Hence, the parents who are victims of multigenerational historical trauma tend to instill values that differ from those born in ordinary families. These children do not accept the world as loving or caring. Rather, they view the world as cruel and may display some self-destructive coping mechanisms. The self-destructive coping mechanism may include engaging in drug and substance abuse or crime. Therefore, it is essential to understand the characters of victims of multigenerational historical trauma and develop strategies that enhance successfully incorporate them into society. While understanding them, one ought to acknowledge that trauma attacks the victim’s identity. Therefore, the mode of intervention should be culturally sensitive (Franco, 2021). That means the victims of this form of trauma need clinical interventions after their historical background has been understood.
Incivility or bullying can disrupt the milieu of the workplace and trigger trauma. It takes place through berating, intimidating, threatening, and unfair criticism, among others. Sometimes it is not openly hostile but can take other forms such as gaslighting. While the vice is prohibited in most workplaces, it is still prevalent and results in trauma to the victims.
The negative effects of workplace bullying on the victim result in psychological and physical suffering. Bullying triggers trauma since the victims may fail to understand why s/he was the victim. Hence, the victim may exhibit self-denial or blame self for the situation. Eventually, the emotional trauma emerges due to the outcome of the bullying. The emotional trauma may make one isolated from colleagues.
The effect of bullying does not end upon leaving the work environment since it may affect the physical and mental health of the victim. Among the health consequences of the workplace, incivilities include ulcers, worries, high blood pressure, mood changes, stress, and panic attacks. The physical attributes of bullying include muscle tension, changes in appetite, headaches, and sleep disruptions. The triggered trauma can further result in the victim suffering from depression, anxiety, disorders, and low self-esteem.
Bullying has an adverse impact on the workforce. Among the effects of bullying on the victims include low productivity since the individual cannot effectively concentrate. The bullied workers may make wrong decisions regarding job operations, which may cost the firm. When the bullied worker cannot interact effectively with the other workers, there will be an overall decline in performance. Bullying has many adverse effects on the victim and overall the workforce. The workplace where bullying is pronounced may become a haven for hostility, report increased absenteeism and employee turnover. The employer may lose key talent, develop a negative public image, and experience increased sick-off instances. In some cases, the employers may sue one another, resulting in low productivity, especially if the plaintiff and the defendant are in sensitive positions. Therefore, bullying should be avoided in the workplace by instituting clearly-defined policies.
One of my emotional triggers is feeling vulnerable, which makes me feel exposed. Over time, I have read and found people being taken advantage of by others. As such, vulnerability triggers my emotions to the uncertainty surrounding a situation. Another trigger is boundary concerns. My emotions are triggered when one crosses my path through being disrespectful. I respond to the trigger by addressing the individual directly and precisely. Fighting triggers demands me to take action to take me to a place where I shall be comfortable. After taking heavy breaths, the decisions are made to ensure I do not lose my objectivity and remain objective. I am able to eliminate triggers by listening to the inner voice and making decisions.
Conclusion
Briefly, workplace diversity and inclusion are integral features of a successful organization. However, some issues can deter employee cohesion and teamwork from achieving a common goal. Issues such as implicit bias and bullying affect the firm’s operations besides jeopardizing the physical and psychological health of the workers. A firm that embraces a culture of inclusivity, equality, and diversity, should be ready to address factors that derail them.
References
Franco, F. (2021). Understanding Intergenerational Trauma: An Introduction for Clinicians. Good Therapy. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/Understanding_Intergenerational_Trauma
Jayakumar, U. M., & Adamian, A. S. (2017). The fifth frame of colorblind ideology: Maintaining the comforts of colorblindness in the context of white fragility. Sociological Perspectives, 60(5), 912-936. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121417721910
Moon, D. G., & Holling, M. A. (2020). “White supremacy in heels”:(white) feminism, white supremacy, and discursive violence. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 17(2), 253-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2020.1770819
Richo, D. (2020). 13 Strategies to Deal With Your Emotional Triggers. Experience Life. https://experiencelife.lifetime.life/article/13-strategies-to-deal-with-your-emotional-triggers/
Turner, J., Higgins, R., & Childs, E. (2021). Microaggression and implicit bias. The American Surgeon, 87(11), 1727-1731. https://doi.org/10.1177/00031348211023418
Tyner, A.R. (2019). Unconscious Bias, Implicit Bias, and Microaggressions: What Can We Do about Them? American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/gpsolo/publications/gp_solo/2019/july-august/unconscious-bias-implicit-bias-microaggressions-what-can-we-do-about-them/
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