EXPRESS: How to Reduce Microaggression and Other Negative Racial Experiences at Work with Continuous Improvement

Abstract

While government regulation or company policy can be used to curtail discrimination at work, it is hard to regulate away negative experiences like microaggression or perceptions of discrimination against minority employees in hiring and promotion. Using data from interviews with minority ethnic staff at a UK university, I present evidence of microaggression and minority employees feeling excluded and posit that perceptions of discriminatory policy engender negative perceptions of the organization. I further show the link between employee engagement and organizational performance and propose that minority employees’ negative experiences and perceptions lower their job and organizational engagement and, eventually, impact organizational performance. I offer a solution in the form of an enterprise-wide continuous improvement program that would directly improve organizational performance by improving business processes and indirectly by improving minority employees’ experience, perceptions, and engagement.