Despite the recent rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, millions of American workers have been returning to working in the office this summer. And, still more are headed back to the office this fall and winter.
It’s an understatement to say there are mixed feelings about returning to the traditional routine of commuting to and working in the office on a daily basis. Indeed, there are a number of employees with negative perceptions of doing so. However, there’s one group with such low opinion around working in the office – Black employees. The Future Forum ran a survey and revealed the results in the Remote Employee Experience Index and discovered that a staggeringly low 3% of Black knowledge workers wanted to return to working in the office.
What is involved in the dynamics of being Black at work that leads to such low morale around returning to the office? We explore three of the reasons.
1. The Feeling of Belonging Is Easier to Experience Remotely
In March 2020, professional and knowledge workers moved to remote work literally overnight. Colleagues took advantage of video calls to stay connected and maintain business at hand. Quickly relationships took on new paradigms. While we didn’t think before about an employee’s living room or bedroom decor, know who might appear in the background or their lap – whether a partner, roommate, toddler or pet, video conferencing made all of that a new reality.
Remote work offered new inputs which helped employees get to know each other on different levels. It created a sense of vulnerability that everybody shared, even Black employees.
Colleagues had new things to discuss with each other and new ways to relate. And often, these points of connection strayed outside of work topics. It humanized co-workers. This created a more positive work environment which in turn, increased the sense of belonging.
In a survey we ran during the period of mostly remote work, we discovered that 88% of Black employees felt “I have a close connection to my coworkers.” As well, 89% of Black employees reported, “I have a strong sense of belonging to this company.”
2. Experience of Microaggressions
In our recent survey, we asked employees about their experience with discrmination and harassment. 61% of Black employees reported that they had frequently experienced, “Someone engaging in derogatory verbal remarks toward me because of my gender, age background or other characteristic. Also disclosed was that 62% of Black employees had frequently experienced, “Someone humiliating me, based on my gender, age, background or other characteristic.”
These harassing episodes don’t always present with a badly-behaved Karen caught in public on video or an egregious, obviously racist incident. Often, they are microaggressions, or daily indignities Black employees face that serve to other or humiliate them. Some examples of microaggressions experienced in the office include:
A colleague who assumes that you are another colleague’s assistant.
A manager who consistently confuses the names of two Black employees in the office.
A coworker who touches your hair without permission.
A leader who assumes that the Black candidate she’s speaking with is a single parent.
Microaggressions are difficult to manage because the offender doesn’t always identify their behavior or language as a microaggression. And, when called out, the offender may exhibit behavior that makes the Black employee regret that they even shared their discomfort as a result of the incident.
Employee attitudes and beliefs towards inclusion and diversity is a unique driver for people of color.
Remote work offered a number of benefits for managing microaggressions.
They occurred less frequently
Work being performed outside of the office limits casual interactions in hallways, breakrooms and bathrooms. That provides less opportunity for inappropriate or microaggressive comments. Doing business via technology also offers more structure. This helps eliminate one of the examples above – even if a manager thinks her two Black team members look alike, she can more easily state the correct name because their name and face appear directly within the interaction.
Employees got to know each other at a different level of intimacy thanks to video. But remote work also heavily involves quick and in real-time interaction through collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack. These tools leave less time and space for inappropriate commentary.
They were recorded on video
Whether from our politicians or in our own workplace, the prevalence of video conferencing meant that many incidents are recorded, making them available for proof. In turn, those recordings also offered opportunity for evaluation and teaching moments for others.
One such incident occurred at a North Carolina zoning commission meeting in April 2021. Participant Dr. Carrie Rosario requested that Tony Collins, a member of the Zoning Commission address her by her doctor title. Collins refused in a series of demeaning and dismissive comments. With the video being publicly available, it resulted in Collins being fired.
It also offered more benefits, many women came forward with comments on how they experience similar behavior. Seeing how Dr. Rosario stood her ground served as a model for others to do the same. And, importantly, it gave us an important example for how language and actions can minimize others’ accomplishments and participation — something all diversity and inclusion efforts are working hard to remedy.
There was space to recover
Often when a microaggression occurs, the victim is stunned. A thousand thoughts may rush to mind, including, “Did they really say that?,” “Did that really just happen?,” “Am I overreacting,” “Would they have said that to a white person.”
Most Black employees have heard stories from friends or family about a Black person who lost their job due to how they responded to a racist or harassing incident. So no matter how wrong something may be perceived, many people exercise caution and try to address microaggressions carefully and deliberately — if they choose to address them at all.
Processing the thoughts about what the statement or behavior meant and how you want to respond requires time. Space is also a value, that is, not having to face the person until you’re ready. Working remotely provides that.
3. Lack of Recovery & Processing Time for Systemic Issues
The “There was space to recover” above provides a good example for how working remotely offered Black employees recovery time and space in the event of a racist or harassing event.
Another example is when events occur where Black people are victims of violence, racism or other incidents that are reported widely nationwide (or even worldwide). While the Black community is typically united in following and discussing the story — primarily because they are thinking the same thing could have happened to themselves or a loved one — they still have to continue their lives, including working.
If they arrive at work and their colleagues have no clue the incident occured, or they dismiss it, or dont read it in the same way, it can be so deeply alienating that a Black employee might wonder if they belong there. What’s more, in the office, there’s no time to “fix your face” or recover from the shock of what you experienced.
One variable of engagement is whether you feel like you fit in. If your world seems diametrically opposed to your colleagues, that value is bound to be low. In our recent survey, 88% of Black employees reported, “I feel like I fit in without needing to change who I am,” compared to 84% for white employees. The fact that those measures are so close together is an indicator that working remotely helps.
Companies are working to get better, so hopefully the end is near for tone deaf Monday mornings where Black employees spent the weekend watching the city on fire and are shocked to find their colleagues had no idea.
We’ve covered just three of the reasons that Black employees don’t want to return to the office. Click here to read the follow-up article on what you can do about it. [LINK]
Contact Talmetrix today to learn how we can support your company in navigating culture during remote, hybrid, and return to work.
