Microaggressions in Healthcare

While the term microaggression has been known in the psychology world for over 50 years, it’s now part of the broader conversation on workplace diversity, inclusion, and unconscious bias.

Microaggressions are everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to people based solely upon being members of a marginalized group, according to Dr. Derald Wing Sue, a professor of counseling psychology at Columbia University and a pioneer in the study of microaggressions.

While microaggressions may appear to be harmless or even seem like a compliment (telling a person of color “you are so articulate”), they contain demeaning hidden messages that often stem from unconscious biases. Employees who are frequent targets of microaggressions can experience health problems, burnout, and other negative effects from what’s been called a “death by a thousand cuts.” And with more employees now working from home, it’s important to raise awareness that microaggressions can occur on live chats and video meetings, too.

As one of many steps organizations can take to improve workplace culture, training can motivate employees to recognize microaggressions and respond in ways that can lead to positive change, whether they are a target, a bystander, or a microaggressor.