Addressing Microaggressions in the Workplace

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Microaggressions rarely make headlines. They are often brushed off as misunderstandings, jokes, or comments taken the wrong way. Yet for many employees, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, microaggressions are a daily reality that quietly erodes trust, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Left unchallenged, they undermine even the most well-intentioned inclusion strategies and create cultures where people feel they must adapt, stay silent, or blend in to succeed.

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional behaviours or comments that communicate negative or stereotypical messages to individuals based on aspects of their identity, such as race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, or socioeconomic background. Examples might include repeatedly mispronouncing someone’s name, questioning where someone is “really from”, commenting on how articulate a colleague is, or assuming someone’s role or seniority based on how they look. While each incident may seem minor in isolation, its cumulative impact can be profound.

Conversations about microaggressions have gained momentum alongside wider discussions on equity, inclusion, and psychological safety at work. High-profile reviews and employee engagement data continue to highlight disparities in experience and progression for ethnic minority staff, disabled people, women, and LGBTQ+ employees. The McGregor Smith Review, for example, pointed to the everyday biases and behaviours that contribute to ethnic minority employees feeling less able to speak up or progress. Similarly, the CIPD has consistently found that many employees who experience subtle forms of discrimination do not report them, often because they fear being labelled as oversensitive or believe nothing will change.

Microaggressions present a particular challenge for leaders. They sit at the intersection of culture, behaviour, power, and intent. They are rarely addressed through policies alone, and traditional grievance routes are often ill-suited to dealing with subtle, cumulative harm. Yet addressing microaggressions is essential if organisations are serious about creating inclusive cultures where people can perform, contribute, and lead authentically.

This article will provide practical guidance to help leaders understand microaggressions, recognise their impact, and take meaningful action to address them in a workplace context.

Understanding the impact of microaggressions

Research consistently shows that microaggressions affect employee well-being, engagement, and performance. Studies have linked repeated exposure to microaggressions with increased stress, anxiety, reduced job satisfaction, and higher turnover intentions. In the workplace, this can compound existing inequalities in progression, pay, and representation.

Importantly, microaggressions also affect teams and organisations as a whole. They reduce psychological safety, discourage challenge and innovation, and damage trust in leadership. When employees see harmful behaviour go unaddressed, it signals whose voices matter and whose do not. Over time, this undermines culture change efforts and damages organisational credibility on inclusion.

Practical steps for addressing microaggressions

Effective action starts with leadership accountability. Senior leaders must move beyond seeing microaggressions as individual issues and recognise them as cultural indicators. This means explicitly naming microaggressions as unacceptable, even when intent is not malicious, and reinforcing that impact matters more than intent.

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Building awareness is a critical next step. Training should move beyond definitions and focus on real workplace scenarios, power dynamics, and bystander responsibility. This includes understanding how class, accent, regional identity, race, and nationality intersect and show up in everyday interactions. Crucially, learning should be ongoing rather than a one-off intervention.

Creating safe and credible routes to speak up is equally important. Employees need confidence that concerns about microaggressions will be taken seriously, handled sensitively, and lead to learning and change rather than defensiveness or retaliation. Informal resolution processes, restorative conversations, and skilled facilitation can often be more effective than formal disciplinary routes, particularly where intent is unclear, but harm is real.

Managers play a pivotal role. They should be equipped to notice patterns, interrupt harmful behaviour in the moment, and follow up appropriately. This includes modelling curiosity, acknowledging harm, and supporting both those affected and those who may have caused offence to learn and change. Without this capability, microaggressions are likely to persist unchecked at a team level.

Finally, organisations should use data and insight to inform action. This might include analysing staff survey results, exit interview themes, grievance data, and qualitative feedback from staff networks. Patterns often reveal where microaggressions are most prevalent and which groups are most affected, allowing for targeted interventions rather than generic responses.

Conclusion

Addressing microaggressions in the workplace is not about policing language or creating fear of saying the wrong thing. It is about building cultures of respect, accountability, and learning where everyone feels valued and able to contribute. For inclusive leaders, this work requires courage, consistency, and a willingness to engage with discomfort.

Microaggressions thrive in ambiguity and silence. They diminish when leaders are clear about expectations, responsive to impact, and committed to continuous improvement. By naming the issue, investing in capability, and embedding inclusive behaviours into everyday leadership practice, organisations can begin to dismantle the subtle barriers that hold people back.

Where workplaces are increasingly diverse, and public expectations around equity are rising, addressing microaggressions is a core component of effective leadership, good governance, and sustainable performance. Organisations that take this seriously will not only reduce harm but will also unlock greater trust, engagement, and innovation across their workforce.

Ultimately, tackling microaggressions is about aligning values with behaviour. It is about ensuring that inclusion is not just something organisations say, but something people feel, every day, in how they are treated, heard, and respected at work.

What has been your experience of addressing microaggressions in your organisation? What has worked well, and where have you faced challenges?

Share your insights and reflections in the comments below to continue the conversation and support collective learning.

For further inclusive leadership strategies, insights, and tools, visit www.jasontwebber.com

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