Corporate Trauma is real
Almost every professional I am working with feels misunderstood in their work environment. It doesn't seem to matter what their workplace provides to overcome the disconnection between corporate culture and the Millennial Age, from mindfulness practitioners, access to therapy to virtual yoga classes, or affinity groups specifically for those of color. And, sitting in a therapist's office via Zoom these days rarely addresses the work-life imbalance. Today's millennials are seeking spiritual guidance.
Corporate trauma is real. I say that as someone who is not an activist by any stretch of the imagination. I want to clarify my perspective; I want to bring a more profound sense of awareness and clarity in all settings. Everyone who has ever worked in the corporate setting defines trauma differently (because of the varied ways that it makes us feel). POCs relate trauma to the microaggressions, the blatant discrimination, lack of boundaries both coworkers and supervisors possess, and the slanted perspective of the corporate setting. While non-POCs either don't connect trauma to the corporate setting entirely or call upon the definition in situations of sexual harassment. Or when being made to feel forcibly transparent under challenging conversations with POCs and the unfairness they feel and experience as employees, such as unrealistic deadlines and supervisors who micromanage. This explanation is a generalized definition for a very individual experience; however, my point is that POCs have a very different relationship to trauma-- professionally and personally.
What's disheartening is that millennials have introduced the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion as the cure for the imbalance and the damaging physical and psychological impact of work for POC, which is affirmative action's new-age makeover.
The corporate atmosphere is where all genuine emotion goes to die. It's almost laughable that you hear requests to "tell me how you feel" in these settings so often. Why? Well, because it is an inauthentic way of making people feel included. It's quintessential "lip-service" and results in many participants in corporate culture feeling that such idioms are for show and not tell.
Let's discuss some of the archetypes that I have met in the corporate world.
We have the C-Suite team, VPs, Managing Directors/Creative Directors, Human Resource people, and strategists, all trying to coexist in one environment where they conflict with each other. How can any employee that is not a founder be impartial? Everyone works against themselves in emotional wellbeing, clarity, and authenticity in exchange for resources to create or maintain their standard of living.
But allow me to be a bit more specific since corporate can be vague and where we need the utmost clarity right now is where the most creative minds and energies work-- that's in advertising. In this creative economy, the millennials have led us to the world of advertising that represents the cool kids. Indeed, the cool kids are merely pretending. And we have to collectively come for advertising because they are always playing with our emotions, telling us how to feel with each campaign they produce. The ad world created the cancel culture before we called it out and gave it a name; they constantly led us to the next best thing. And reminding us subtly and sometimes overtly who and what to leave behind. Here's what's relevant about the players in the ad world, the Managing Directors (MDs), at first glance, appear to be the gatekeepers, the ones that decide what makes the cool things cool. Nonetheless, the keys to the kingdom belong to HR if we are considering emotional wellbeing.
The sad thing about HR is employees are notorious for thinking this aspect is the organization is working for the employee and not the organization. Truthfully, every sector of the organization is for the organization. No one can achieve any sense of clarity or get genuine emotional support at work because everything points back to whether or not it is suitable for the organization. Honestly, that's why no one is ever going to be able to trust any diversity, equity, or inclusion situation that isn't operating as an independent function of the organization. And, HR should already be acting as such.
Unfortunately, there isn't any real inclusion or true collaboration present in most settings. It's all systemic. Organizations constantly excuse negative behavior for one specific type of person while hypocritically making people of color's lives hard to navigate. POC's can go from applying and being offered the exact position they are seeking within an organization, expecting to be respected, hoping to make a valuable contribution, to having an average level of autonomy over their work and experience to be called aggressive in meetings merely for speaking for themselves or their work, organizationally speaking. It becomes clear that deeply grained and covert prejudice is at play. What I mean is that the organization makes it hard for every demographic to exist because the very structure of the work can be too stifling for the millennial workforce and also because black and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) are viewed explicitly through the lens of the white gaze, and what we do is often roadblocked by white tears. Although BIPOC creatives are the innovators, trendsetters, viral sensations of our generation, dare I say existence?
A WOC and lead strategist at one of the top ad agencies had this to say, "I've experienced HR folks afraid of bringing this to leaders or the ones who can make a change. They instead play the therapist's role or encourage these conversations to happen siloed, on the low, within affinity groups where we can express our grievances with people who will co-sign our experience. But these conversations are just a form of trauma bonding, but not making a change or bring these experiences to light to the rest of the organization to better understand what's happening within their walls."
I don't know of any organization as equipped as they believe they are to handle these situations. I know this because even diversity, equity, and inclusion lack the thing we all need-- which is empathy.
Authentic empathy will never entirely exist at the corporate level. Sure, some companies are trying, but you have to consider that the US is the only developed country in the world that still does not have paid maternity leave. Despite the cool kids who talk about empathy and create campaigns about empathy, how can we even conceptualize pure empathy if we aren't making it mandatory for mothers to nurture their newborns with ease and peace of mind? Considering that, it's easy to conclude that creatives will never access the emotional support and clarity needed at work to create as a part of their daily job.
Honestly, empathy is not being addressed because we have to address fear once we start the real conversation about emotions and wellbeing. Fear is more than an aspect of the ego, the human psyche; it's generational. Every policy and procedure that exists is designed to prevent something terrible from happening at work. The funny thing about fear is that it manipulates the desired goals. I would like to think what we want at work is for our interconnectedness to serve as a conduit for our creations, especially when considering advertisements and business strategy. But in actuality, work is an emotional battlefield.
It's a shame how much stigma is placed on spirituality and intuition in the workplace, especially considering mindfulness has become a billion-dollar industry. It's OK to have corporate yoga workshops, or meditation/nap rooms tucked around the office. It seems that as long as mindfulness is on the edge of the possibilities for the cool factor, it is acceptable. Unfortunately, I have learned over the past 3 years trying to convince the cool kids that intuition belongs in the organization as a function of the overall business strategy, I have been roadblocked. And, you want to know what, white men didn't make that decision. White women and WOC had a significant role in keeping authentic intuition out of strategy, out of a personal development option for their creatives at one of the most incredible ad agencies on the map, nonetheless. Or so we think, perspective is everything, right?
Look, here are two things that are critical in opening this particular can of worms. One, white women are afraid of everything when it comes to relinquishing their comfort. They are fearful and relatively complicit in all things unfair in the workplace. And many black women both live in a constant state of scarcity and generational religiosity. They can fully conceptualize mindfulness and spirituality without dragging the baggage of their religious beliefs (think a generational Southern Baptist) in tow. So when you consider all these things to be true simultaneously, there isn't a safe space for DE&I at work, which means that the trauma continues. Inclusion does not eliminate low vibrational and limited mindsets all on their own. DE&I can only offer a louder voice for those who feel they are without one, but what is having a voice worth if nothing said is with personal awareness, emotional clarity, fearlessness, and resistance?
Naturally, they usually have the wrong type of person overseeing the teams designed to handle this kind of friction. This lack of conflict management experience usually translates into a very hands-off approach -- that is both organizationally harmful and personally hurtful. Gatekeepers hold the keys to progress but enable the organizations to maintain the current norms, and they are afraid to pitch fresh ideas to the boss. Remember, I am not an activist here, but the Gatekeepers are the same women that wake up consuming all things feminism. Still, when it gets down to time to fight for something tangible that can impact their personal environment, they clam up. The Gatekeepers are genuinely willing only to do two things to promote a more inclusive and less traumatic environment at work. First, they are all in for signing up for emotional support for themselves behind closed doors; shoot they can afford it, they are generally the VPs, MDs, or HR anyway. Second, they are more than willing to refer all of their best good friends and sometimes colleagues but quietly. The Gatekeepers make lots of their best moves in relative silence. And also, they are more than willing to listen to your ideas, your best pitch, and ways that implementation could be made smooth if they have a colorless friend or colleague that could slide in the side door and get the compensation for your idea. This was my personal experience with multiple advertising agencies, so it seems to be a trend.
Organizational settings genuinely don't allow for the most profound aspects of creativity, and what's sad is it's not even about staying on brand as much as it is about staying void of emotion. Culture plays a significant role in corporate life. Whatever cultural norm is put in place determines whether it permits certain people to exhibit emotionally damaging behaviors on impulse without reprehension while significantly impacting BIPOCs in the process. I'm defining culture as the pattern of behavior and norms in a specific place or region. Organizationally, the standards or politics permit or prohibit conduct and direct what is commonplace and inappropriate. Organizational culture is often slanted to benefit a specific type of employee and situation. And though corporate culture is usually well known by its long-time employees, it is always unwritten yet utilized as if it is the standard operating procedure. This definition must be well understood since it is imperative to the issues created by the fallacy of "culture" in work environments.
An intuitive perspective would help individuals agecncy-wide dig deeper internally and engage with personal biases intimately.
The country is rampant with activists and DE&I professionals advocating for inclusion and diversity, yet fundamental elements of these philosophies are easily dismissed in the conversation. For instance, one must recognize that it is not just about race and having a seat at the table, but also about viewing a person through the lens of a human and not just a warm body performing a specific job function. For example, a former director of diversity and inclusion at a highly visible tech company in the PNW stated: "I haven't been able to birth an idea that could grow and blossom." It's easy to dismiss this comment and shrug it off like it's how you feel often. But, when you create the context that this was a black man met with daily microaggressions. And a white female coworker who regularly weaponized her tears whenever it suited her, you would understand that the issues, the trauma many are facing in the workplace, is simply scathing. And, it is complicated to shed even with consistent support and guidance because this is a systemic issue. Such restrictive energy neither fosters innovation nor facilitates company loyalty and job satisfaction.
I hope we can recognize that DE&I will be better facilitated with empathy and a more heart-centered focus on inclusion, not just inclusion by proxy. This post is the beginning of a three-part series that I am developing regarding trauma in the workplace. Intuition and emotional wellness are the cornerstones of creating a more inclusive workplace. Stay tuned for the next post.
In the meantime, check out these episodes of the podcast:
‘Rona Realness: Update on These Uncertain Times
‘Rona Realness: Organizational Response to the Culture