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Black Men and Racial Microaggressions at Work
Author(s) -
Pitcan Mikaela,
ParkTaylor Jennie,
Hayslett Janelle
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the career development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2161-0045
pISSN - 0889-4019
DOI - 10.1002/cdq.12152
Subject(s) - psychology , racism , coping (psychology) , social psychology , perception , mental health , affect (linguistics) , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , gender studies , sociology , communication , neuroscience
Experiences of racial microaggressions are associated with perceptions of workplace discrimination and linked with poor mental health outcomes. The authors examined the lived experiences of workplace racial microaggresssions among 12 early career professional Black men working in predominantly White organizations (PWOs). The phenomenological experience of racial microaggressions was separated into 4 domains: context, experience, costs, and coping. Subthemes included different worlds and different rules, assumption of inferiority, cognitive and affective reactions, psychological and career‐related costs, and internal (e.g., compartmentalizing) and external (e.g., using social networks) mechanisms of coping. Career counselors may want to proactively assess how these types of experiences and other forms of racism may affect Black men’s social and psychological outcomes as well as their career functioning and success. Further research is needed to examine whether age or career experience influences experiences of racial microaggressions in PWOs, as well as the effect of these experiences on psychological outcomes.