Does anybody else feel awkward in the workplace recently?

[Whatdowehaveherethen]

I'm a civil servant. There's been a lot of talk recently in regards to inclusiveness. Too much in my opinion.

I left my work WhatsApp group a few months ago because my mention of being stopped and questioned by police 3 times within a couple of weeks received replies only from my seniors. They're wonderful.

Any picture of somebody's cat gets a reply from Boris Johnson himself. Ok, I'm exaggerating but do you get where I'm coming from?

Anyway, I decided to leave the group. It was a support group that just wasn't for me.

Moving on, the everyday emails and talks are bothering me. What is there to talk about? In my eyes, it will only add fuel to the fire for any colleague of mine who is a closet racist. This sudden constant concern for minorities makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm tempted to join one of the many meetings arranged so that I can say so.

As one of the few ethnic minorities in my particular department, I don't feel comfortable with all this mention of BLM etc.

Were all adults. I can't see how there is any positive outcome to this? Yes, it's an opportunity for people to speak of their concerns but it's all designed to educate us and I don't think it helps.

@SplunkPostGres

I can’t believe people are saying the op was ‘oversharing’ for posting that she’d been subjected to stop-and-search 3 times. I’ve never had a stop and search in my life. And if it did ever happen, there’s no way I’d be worrying about ‘no smoke without fire’ thinking. Such is the privilege that comes with being a white middle class woman. If you think that BAME shouldn’t talk about these things in the workplace, then you really need to look at bias.

And there is the problem. A white middle class woman telling other people why they're racist and talking about privilege no doubt learned from Twitter. The people in the post are saying it was over sharing and you've assumed its coming from a white person because they disagree with a black person. That right there is unconscious bias. Not all BAME have the same opinions or thoughts which is the kinda the point being made.

We all feel eyes sliding towards us whenever diversity and inclusion come up. I’ve been actively trying to spread the message that it’s not the responsibility of BAME colleagues to participate and educate. Our chargeable hours drop even further for the hours spend in diversity workshops and network meetings etc et ! But non-BAME Colleagues feel awkward about being involved in these initiatives (and indeed some BAME colleagues criticise them for getting too involved). It’s almost a lose-lose situation for everyone.

@SplunkPostGresno need to tell me off re white privilege, I’m black.

OP has basically said that there is too much talk on BLM and inclusivity at work.

Maybe you should direct your last sentence to her.

OP hasn’t returned, I’d really love to know the context maybe it was relevant.

Otherwise I still think sharing S&S experiences in a open forum work WhatsApp group that mainly shares pictures of Tiddles is over sharing.

@FiddlefigOnTheRoof @giningit

I participated on a thread earlier this year re how black people were feeling in light of the marches etc and the general consensus was ‘exhausted’.

I’m hearing this over and over again, I have felt it myself. However I do feel that the current discourse is quite helpful and progressive (think companies that actually are thoughtfully supporting black staff).
It feels like positive change is in the air.

Im sorry for your loss @giningit.

@Phoenix21 to be honest I'm not a big fan of unconcious bias training. It's probably useful in specific cases but I do not see what it really does to addresss lack of diversity, and specifically a lack of Black employees, in leadership positions or in the boardroom across all industries.

The unconcious bias training I've had to attend (it is mandatory at my company) generally takes the form of a workshop where the group leader, White of course, encourages us all to recognise we all have biases, we should be aware of this but it's ok - we just need to be mindful and not act on them.

Ultimately unconcious bias is the not the root cause of lack of Black representation in my office. It is due to structural racism and the fact that our society's systems in general whether that is in the employment, legal, education fields etc, are set up to disproportinately benefit White people. This is what underpins it all.

This is an uncomfortable message for many to hear. It is far easier to believe that an inclusion and diversity seminar and a few PowerPoint slides on bias will fix everything. This is why John Barnes was lauded by so many White people when he defended Liam Neesom (who decided to 'hunt down' any Black man after a friend was attacked by a Black man) said he deserves a medal and declared "we are all racist". This is music to the ears of those who want to believe that racism is simply something that affects everyone, not just people of colour. Poor John demonstrated a lack of understand of what racism actually is. It is something that only people with economic power operating from a place of supremacy can inflict on others. Black people in this country do not wield that kind of power over White people.

@Eastie77 you’ve given me huge food for thought.

I’m actually looking at this from a ‘privileged’ position because my employer isn’t perfect but there are a lot of initiatives in terms of diversity and equality which are constantly impact measured due to the nature of our work. So bias training isn’t done in silo, for example we’ve done blind recruiting for years. I have benefitted from various programmes aimed at raising the position of black staff and have seen it work in action. It’s not all rosy, there is still an issue with black representation at higher levels, this has been monitored and has improved over the years.

Naively, it didn’t occur to me that a company would have such compulsory training in silo - it should have as my first proper employer probably does this.

I don’t disagree with your other points.

In all, I’m looking through the lens of my own experience and that of my org (which is huge). My apologies.

Thought these videos from the footballing world would be useful here. So many comments that resonated www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/5v1pvdk8mr/Racism-in-football-our-stories

Hi, I'm back. I'm sorry of some of you felt like I overshared but the work WhatsApp group I was in was especially so that we could have a bit of a moan.

Like I said before, I left the group when I realised it wasn't for me. It's a non-issue really. Plenty of other people complained about issues they had with Covid whether that be childcare or having to queue to get into the shops after work.

My message for innermost the tone of the group. Many of my colleagues privately messages me after. I think that's more than enough proof that they felt 'awkward' replying directly on the group chat.

I know some of you have said the BLM chat in the work place has been positive. I'm just saying, for me, it hasn't.

The civil service must have changed a great deal. Is this the UK?
A civil servant whatsapp group "to have a bit of a moan" sounds very strange.
So your workmates are now supportive of you, and of you having being stopped and searched three times, but not positive about what has been happening around black lives?
At least they like cat pictures