Workplace Weed

As we continue to stress the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, it is getting harder to figure out when we will go from just talking about what we are going to do, to actually doing it.

I have been selfish in the past when it comes to standing up for others and myself in terms of raising diversity awareness in the workplace as a Black woman. I reflect on those situations as learning lessons for the future, as we cannot go on keeping quiet.

You see, it is hard because we talk about diversity and what it should look like. And then when times get really tough, we just talk about it even more. But the scariest part of the process is that next step. This next step is 100% about leading by example at all levels and holding non-inclusive individuals more accountable for their actions when they disrupt the mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion and within the workplace.

On top of accountability, hiring decisions are no longer about who is most immediately qualified for the position that is looking to be filled. Company values diminish significantly when we hire based solely on qualifications, without incorporating their environmental/cultural fit within the company.

The last time you were asked about your skills and qualifications for a job you applied to, what did you mention? Did you talk about your efficiencies? Or how amazing your management skills are? Maybe you even spoke about your team building skills, when you may not have had true interest in adapting to all of the personalities that come with said team.

Have you ever talked about the skill of identifying the difference between managing a team and adapting to lead different ones? Or talking about stress management and how it influences the success of yourself and the drive of your team? My personal favorite is talking about the steps taken to increase inclusion in the workplace, which directly impacts happiness and how long you retain someone. But talking does little good when the words are not actively heard, on EVERY level of the company.

I find it strange because in that second set of skills, the ones that truly matter, you never really think about them as talking points. So we simply do not talk about them because we tell people what they want to hear in order to get the job. Have you ever observed someone at work that you should be looking up to, and you find yourself asking “how in the world did they get that job? “. There are a lot of people working in corporate environments who have an old set of valued skills from decades of being with their employer. Companies will never move forward toward their goals, when they do not encourage their employees to learn beyond their current knowledge. Furthermore, companies will never move forward when they do not manage the percentage of those employees who have no interest in those “beyond” learnings.

In a lot of cases, when someone receives their degree, they think it gives them permission to stop learning. Also known as “set in their own way “. I personally do not have a degree, but for the amount of money spent on a four year education, you absolutely should think that way. We have been trained that once we get that degree, we will have all of the qualifications needed for that career field. This used to be true, but I’ve learned a lot of shit on YouTube that has helped me more in the last six months than an 18 years of schooling. A large percentage of education... is really just common sense.

With that last six months of learnings I’ve gained through unconventional education, I set boundaries on the type of treatment I was willing to except from certain peers at work, I advocated more for underrepresented employees, and I strived for substantial personal growth. After I had nothing left to give, I quit my career job at a top Fortune 100 company to work for after almost 9 years.

Finally, let’s talk about the Weed. What l will say, is that I visited my unattended desk in the Human Resource office on Christmas Eve of 2020. My Caucasian coworker from another department left a bright green bag with bold black labeling from their weed dispensary on my desk, with chocolate fudge inside. My most immediate first thought was “Who the (what) is tryna set me up?”

Hardly any of us are innocent when it comes to the subject, and the fudge was free of all hallucinating content. So this is a far cry from a political battle. But as a colored human on the receiving end of that “Christmas gift” in the HR workplace? What would you think? What would you do? And to the colored folks, how would you feel?

If you brought the subject up to a leader of yours, and the first question you received was “How does this relate to you being Black?”, would you continue to fight the battle?

Though it will never feel like I won, I at least fought the battle. This reason alone was not enough for me to cut my ties, but it played a significant role in how much I started to trust the people around me and the company I worked for. Without trust in the company, I felt like I had very little that I would want to contribute. And on the other side of that decision was the path to Entrepreneurship for myself.

So, for the people in the back who cannot seem to hear: A large percentage of education... is really just common sense. We need to take direct control over these passive but direct acts of racial divide within predominately white corporations, or else this racial injustice that we say we care so much about will never get better.