What is "micro aggression" that seemingly seemingly harmless but brings prejudice and discord to the workplace?

byPim Chu

As "discrimination and harassment", "everyday racyism" which makes extremely subtle nuance remarks and acts is "Micro-agreementIt is also called. The BBC wrote how this "micro-aggression", which is a type of racism done against minorities, occurs and how discordance is created in human relationships.

BBC - Capital - The tiny ways prejudice seeps into the workplace
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180406-the-tiny-ways-youre-offensive---and-you-dont-even-know-it

I asked a woman's CEO, "Can you talk to your boss?" Or talk to a male nurse "I do not see much male nurse like you"LGBTQ"As you talk to homosexuals" to an intern student, micro-aggression refers to a trivial question or action taken in everyday life. What is common to these words is that the side told is "feeling alienation" or "I feel that I am bad".

Researchers warn that accumulation of such minor discrimination may hurt self-esteem, create a feeling of alienation, and ultimately lead to mental health problems. However, there is "correct coping method" also in such micro-aggressions.

byGabriel Matula

Unlike discriminatory remarks in the first place, it is a feature of micro-agreement that it is not malignant although there are influences. Because micro-aggressions do not need to be words, there are cases of little actions that almost no one notices, and even it can not even say that it is aggressive.

Examples of micro-aggressions as actions include "Do not sit next to a person by train", "I will divide during a meeting", "Because the other people are of the same race, they speak ill of others in the same language" . These behaviors are sufficient for people who are experiencing discrimination or aggressive action from others and feeling suspicious or feeling afraid.

Professor Derrado · Wing Sue of Asian American who was born and raised in Poland of Oregon in the USA is a professor of psychology at Columbia University. In the past, Professor Sue seems to have been told from the students at the end of the lesson that "Professor Siu's presentation is my favorite, your English is very wonderful", and this is also said to be micro-agreement from the viewer side It is said that it is a word which is useless. Because Professor Siu is Asian type, there is a section that the student side decides arbitrarily that "English is not good", or it is an exchange that makes it misunderstood that Professor Siou seems so.

According to Uppala Chandrasekera, Director of Public Production at the Canadian Mental Health Association, his reaction to micro-agressions may be over-reaction from the end. Sometimes it is not understood as "Why is he angry? I do not understand it", but this is because small reactions are repeated when small discrimination is repeated and it becomes impossible to endure it. By accumulating small discrimination, in the worst case, it is said that there are cases in which the person told is subject to drug addiction and alcoholism due to stress and anxiety.

byHenry Be

So, how do you act when you see and hear the actions that can be taken with micro-agressions at work place? "The best thing at the moment is to acknowledge what happened," Mr. Chandrasekera said, micro-aggressions are "very likely to happen", so it is important to communicate with your opponent and see if you want to talk I am doing.

Also, if someone is angry with your own actions, it is important to listen to the other's opinion, to verify your behavior and to understand the other's assertions. Professor Sue says, "It is important to understand the biases we have."

There are sites that help to understand what kind of behavior is micro - aggression. On the site "MICROGRESSIONS" below, cases of as many as 15,000 micro-aggressions are recorded.

MICROAGGRESSIONS - power, privilege, and everyday life.


"Micro-aggression" may be an unfamiliar word for many people, but in 2015 it is "Oxford English Dictionary"And it has not been said that it has only recently appeared. Mr. Chandrasekera works The Canadian Mental Health Association said that complaints concerning micro-agressions are being received from employees working in companies every month. Indeed, in Canada, it says that 500,000 workers are having mental problems and are interfering with work.