How to stand up and be counted (by the right people first)
June 5, 2020 3:51 PM Subscribe
I'm not satisfied with my employer's 'apolitical' response to the BLM/police protests. I know, because they mentioned that several employees had asked for one, that I'm not alone in caring about the issue, but WFH and company culture leave me no good way to find out who these other people are. Or is there one?
My job announced internally that they are sitting out 'the current social unrest', in terms that I'm not sure were any better than not saying anything at all. At the end of a company-wide video meeting, they said that '10 or 12' people, out of the few hundred who work there, had submitted questions about it for the Q&A phase of the meeting. I'd like to make myself available to whoever is trying to push on this front! Here are some reasons I don't know the next step:
1) This is the first all-hands meeting we've had digitally. Unlike smaller team meetings, all video, chat, and opportunity to participate were limited to the same handful of presenters. There was no ability to comment or see reactions on any faces.
2) The org chart is also, in practice, a communication chart. For example, shortly after I was hired, there was a friendly-sounding mass email from our executive about some donation drive, which didn't mention anyone else heading it up or fielding questions, so I replied with a couple. Shortly there was a second mass email that pointedly said "[MY FULL NAME] had some great questions!...", and my boss and some coworkers took me aside to politely ask if I had been raised by wolves. Effectively, I do not have standing to act or speak under my own name alone. Anything attached or traceable to me - even attempts to help out, like that one, let alone dissent - will reflect poorly on my boss and grandboss, which of course they frown on in turn.
3) We're all working from home through at least the next few weeks, so I can't just run into anyone in the hall or break room and steer a conversation toward it. Unfortunately, my position has always been pretty solitary, and I never socialized much there anyway, so I don't know any likely candidates well enough to ask out of the blue, and I don't want to Dear-Black-Friend anyone as a white near-stranger.
So here I am, seeking solutions somewhere in my large blind spot between 'silent' and 'nuclear'. Help me make myself useful!
My job announced internally that they are sitting out 'the current social unrest', in terms that I'm not sure were any better than not saying anything at all. At the end of a company-wide video meeting, they said that '10 or 12' people, out of the few hundred who work there, had submitted questions about it for the Q&A phase of the meeting. I'd like to make myself available to whoever is trying to push on this front! Here are some reasons I don't know the next step:
1) This is the first all-hands meeting we've had digitally. Unlike smaller team meetings, all video, chat, and opportunity to participate were limited to the same handful of presenters. There was no ability to comment or see reactions on any faces.
2) The org chart is also, in practice, a communication chart. For example, shortly after I was hired, there was a friendly-sounding mass email from our executive about some donation drive, which didn't mention anyone else heading it up or fielding questions, so I replied with a couple. Shortly there was a second mass email that pointedly said "[MY FULL NAME] had some great questions!...", and my boss and some coworkers took me aside to politely ask if I had been raised by wolves. Effectively, I do not have standing to act or speak under my own name alone. Anything attached or traceable to me - even attempts to help out, like that one, let alone dissent - will reflect poorly on my boss and grandboss, which of course they frown on in turn.
3) We're all working from home through at least the next few weeks, so I can't just run into anyone in the hall or break room and steer a conversation toward it. Unfortunately, my position has always been pretty solitary, and I never socialized much there anyway, so I don't know any likely candidates well enough to ask out of the blue, and I don't want to Dear-Black-Friend anyone as a white near-stranger.
So here I am, seeking solutions somewhere in my large blind spot between 'silent' and 'nuclear'. Help me make myself useful!
I'm struggling with this too. Our response wasn't totally hopeless but it was incredibly anodyne in an industry that is absolutely riven by good thoughts and very few people of color.
posted by wotsac at 4:41 PM on June 5, 2020
posted by wotsac at 4:41 PM on June 5, 2020
It feels like the only way this might be possible is by telegraphing yourself to be interested to other people and hoping somebody bites - particularly to other people on a similar level to you horizontally in the company structure, rather than more senior.
Anything you're able to put into your email footer that your colleagues might pick up on (I know that's unlikely, but in case...)?
Did they actually answer any of the 10-12 questions submitted in the Q&A section of the meeting? If so, could you say in any email to your team/coworkers that you're hoping to set aside half an hour of your working day tomorrow to review your notes from that part of the meeting because it's so important?
Or book a half day off work and mention in passing to your colleagues in an email about scheduling you're doing that to make time to do some BLM-related reading to improve your understanding of the current situation?
But yeah, maybe your office isn't going to give you the most bang for your buck and you should take your activism somewhere you can unleash it more freely and effectively.
posted by penguin pie at 4:55 PM on June 5, 2020
Anything you're able to put into your email footer that your colleagues might pick up on (I know that's unlikely, but in case...)?
Did they actually answer any of the 10-12 questions submitted in the Q&A section of the meeting? If so, could you say in any email to your team/coworkers that you're hoping to set aside half an hour of your working day tomorrow to review your notes from that part of the meeting because it's so important?
Or book a half day off work and mention in passing to your colleagues in an email about scheduling you're doing that to make time to do some BLM-related reading to improve your understanding of the current situation?
But yeah, maybe your office isn't going to give you the most bang for your buck and you should take your activism somewhere you can unleash it more freely and effectively.
posted by penguin pie at 4:55 PM on June 5, 2020
Announce a weekly lunch hang-out (virtually is fine). Emphasize that it is unofficial. See who shows up. Ask for your boss' help in finding people to join. Decide on the date and time together with the two people you decide you most want to attend before announcing it to everyone else -- otherwise scheduling will probably be very difficult.
posted by amtho at 5:26 PM on June 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by amtho at 5:26 PM on June 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
If you are a large enough company, than what you are looking to start is an employee resource group (erg) . That would be an officially sanctioned way to move diversity, equity, and inclusion work forward in your organization.
I would start by reaching out to your HR department to ask if they have thought about establishing any ergs (my organization has ones focused on POC, LGBTQIA, and disability communities). The organization does need to support these groups by allowing employees to use work hours for meetings and support for events or initiatives that these groups put forth. For example, our LGBTQIA group worked to create signs for all the restrooms in our building that welcomed people to use the facilities that best meet their gender expression or identity. And our disability group has hosted anniversary celebrations for the ADA.
Having a group within your organization is a way for people who are directly impacted by these issues and who want to be allies to find each other, support each other, and make changes within an organization. Frame this as a best practice (look at any major employer's recruiting website and you'll see them advertising their ergs) and a way to support employee retention (people and especially younger workers aren't loyal to organizations who don't get the importance of this).
posted by brookeb at 5:46 PM on June 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I would start by reaching out to your HR department to ask if they have thought about establishing any ergs (my organization has ones focused on POC, LGBTQIA, and disability communities). The organization does need to support these groups by allowing employees to use work hours for meetings and support for events or initiatives that these groups put forth. For example, our LGBTQIA group worked to create signs for all the restrooms in our building that welcomed people to use the facilities that best meet their gender expression or identity. And our disability group has hosted anniversary celebrations for the ADA.
Having a group within your organization is a way for people who are directly impacted by these issues and who want to be allies to find each other, support each other, and make changes within an organization. Frame this as a best practice (look at any major employer's recruiting website and you'll see them advertising their ergs) and a way to support employee retention (people and especially younger workers aren't loyal to organizations who don't get the importance of this).
posted by brookeb at 5:46 PM on June 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Coworker.org has a ton of resources (some may be overkill for a company of your size). You can also contact them for individual advice.
posted by cushie at 8:49 PM on June 5, 2020
posted by cushie at 8:49 PM on June 5, 2020
I've been finding out who the allies are from social media. *shrug*
posted by bunderful at 8:55 PM on June 5, 2020
posted by bunderful at 8:55 PM on June 5, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Find an anti-racist group you can contribute to, in time and money. Educate yourself and speak up in other situations. Socialize with your coworkers enough that you can start to pick out allies. Look for a new job, the culture at your current one doesn't sound great even apart from the apoliticalness.
posted by momus_window at 4:05 PM on June 5, 2020 [3 favorites]