Social Change in the Office

By Allegra Chen-Carrel, Becca Bass, Danielle Coon, Keerthana Hirudayakanth, Diego Ramos Ochoa & Peter T. Coleman

Four strategies for organizational activism—advocate, subvert, facilitate, and heal—can help the increasing number of people who want to challenge racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and other injustices in the workplace.

Across the United States, people are fighting for equity and justice within their workplaces. This year, Glassdoor even named diversity and inclusion a top workplace trend. As more companies publicly denounce racism, we are also witnessing an increasing number of organizational activists, some of whom are committed to keeping their employers accountable to commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ).

Their efforts to challenge racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and other workplace injustices often come with a steep price. This labor can be emotionally taxing, time intensive, and sometimes even punished. Those taking on the responsibility often must weigh their career goals against their desire for positive organizational change, a difficult balancing act known as tempered radicalism.

As researchers and consultants affiliated with the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution who specialize in how conflict can be leveraged for constructive organizational change, we became interested in the tension inherent in organizational activists' work and how it is approached by DEIJ proponents. In part, we wanted to help other people who were wondering how to get started with this difficult but important labor.

Through conversations and surveys involving dozens of organizational activists at nonprofits, corporations, and other firms, we identified four strategic approaches to their DEIJ efforts in the workplace. By showcasing the methods, risks, and results of each strategy, we aim to help people begin or improve their work as organizational activists. The examples are based on real incidents, but elements have been changed for clarity and to protect anonymity.

Advocate

When workplace harms are committed, advocates amplify tension in a public way. They are vocal about problems and apply pressure to achieve their goals. They work as individuals or as a group, directly confronting someone they see as harmful or publicly exposing problematic practices.

Advocates often attract negative attention because their forthright approach can make others perceive them as destructive agitators. They might minimize this risk by finding other like-minded colleagues and applying pressure as a coalition, thereby dispersing negative associations. This approach was the most commonly used one by the people we spoke with.

One of our research participants, Ida, faced harassment from an executive at a large corporation. She learned she wasn't alone—other staff members of color had similar experiences. She organized her co-workers and threatened the board with a staff walk-out unless the executive was fired. The board did as she demanded rather than face a protest and potential legal ramifications if the attacks continued. 

Subvert

Subverters work under the radar, quietly organizing and amplifying tensions to disrupt the status quo. They sometimes do the leg work for advocates by quietly building a network of allies and gathering information. They also might tackle changes themselves, perhaps by framing their agenda in a manner that makes it appear non-threatening, such as delivering a critique as a question; other times, they may use existing mechanisms or power dynamics to promote reform, such as filing a complaint with a human resources department or hiring with DEIJ in mind. A subversive approach is less risky since it can be done covertly to avoid the consequences of openly advocating for change.

Andre, another research participant, had a white boss who shot down a client's proposal for a large political advocacy organization to use "people of color" in place of "minorities" in its communication materials. Andre disagreed but did not feel comfortable openly challenging the decision because he was new to the office and early in his career. Instead, he reached out to colleagues in a different regional office whom he knew from a previous position. Together they submitted a proposal for changing the language across the entire organization that was accepted and implemented. Though Andre played an important role in the process, he never openly said so, and his colleagues did not announce his participation. His local co-workers thought the change came from another office, protecting Andre from potentially damaging conflict with his boss.

Facilitate

Facilitators work in a public way to decrease tensions and calm defensive responses to change by creating spaces to share different perspectives or by mediating conflicts. Facilitating is often not particularly risky, though it does require skill. It can be challenging to create an environment where people feel free to speak to their experiences, especially in the face of power differences.

At a direct services agency, friction arose when an LGBTQ employee resource group and the human resources department competed over proposals for instituting a gender-neutral bathroom mandate. Justin, a member of the senior staff, decided to bring the two groups together to discuss the mandate and underlying conflicts around LGBTQ issues. At these meetings, Justin facilitated dialogues between the two groups, which led to them planning a new implementation strategy they could both support. Additionally, the conversations allowed for the two groups to hear each others’ perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of their different competencies.

Heal

Facing racism, sexism, or ableism at work is often traumatic and enraging, and tackling these issues as an organizational activist can be exhausting, even toxic. It's important that organizational activists take time to strengthen their capacity to handle these tensions if they hope to persevere through the stress. Many of the people we spoke with stepped into a healer role at different points to energize themselves for the struggle. They would meditate, exercise, pursue hobbies, or even practice restorative breathing techniques. They set boundaries, such as avoiding events that would upset them. They pick some—rather than all—issues to fight for to avoid exhaustion. They connect with friends inside and outside work to develop support systems to process the emotional baggage of their harmful experiences. They gather more information about the history and policies behind contentious issues to better understand and contextualize traumatic incidents, often renewing a sense of injustice that prepares them to continue organizational activism.

When Rachel was the only person Black person on her office floor, she sought out other Black employees to develop a support network. She told us this group provided an emotional outlet she needed to keep from quitting the job. It also energized her to become more involved in DEIJ efforts.

The Road Ahead

Managers also need to play their part by proactively working with, not against, people pushing for positive change within their organizations. They should avoid the common pitfalls of over-optimism and the belief that it is possible to be apolitical. They should acknowledge, welcome, compensate, and reward so-called "agitators" by establishing norms around starting difficult conversations, soliciting feedback, responding to criticisms, bolstering grievance mechanisms, and offering time off and other support. This is particularly important because many organizational activists come from under-represented groups who must deal with the compounded burden of working for justice while doing their regular jobs in the face of problematic workplace practices.

We hope that these tactics help people at all levels of an organization understand the methods and difficulties of activism in the workplace. As some businesses push against new norms and attention involving DEIJ—such as Basecamp’s recent ban on conversations around certain topics—these tools will become even more critical. Addressing deeply embedded inequities and injustices across society cannot stop at the office door, and organizational activists—and the leaders who know how to support them—are fundamental to that transformation.

Allegra Chen-Carrel is a doctoral candidate, consultant, and instructor with the Morton-Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University, where her work focuses on intergroup dynamics.

Becca Bass is a nonprofit grant writer focused on collective impact initiatives around public schools and a consultant for the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Danielle Coon (@napaliaurora) is associate director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is also a member of the social-organizational psychology program's working group on diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism.

Keerthana Hirudayakanth (@KeerthanaKanth) is a monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and adapting associate at RTI International. 

Diego Ramos Ochoa (@DiegoRamos8a) is an organizational development consultant and doctoral student in social-organizational psychology at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Peter T. Coleman (@PeterTColeman1) is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University who studies polarizing, intractable conflict, and sustainable peace. He is the author of The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization.