Work has been strange this week. It’s been busy, and I’m a little stressed and emotional.
On Monday, my supervisor asked me to take a survey online. I had no idea what it was about, but to my surprise, it was about diversity in our workplace. Religion was mentioned several times in the survey, and I was brutally honest.
I finished the survey and broke into tears. My boss asked me what was wrong, and I didn’t hold back. I told her I felt ostracized, and I complained about the faith poster in the mailroom as well as our organization’s obsession with Chic-fil-A.
When it came to the poster, my boss and I agreed that it is okay to have a religious poster in your cubicle, where you can see it, but placing a religious poster in the mailroom where everyone can see it is inappropriate. I felt empowered and validated.
However, the poster was still there when I came to work this morning. No one was around, so I took it down myself. It felt like an amazing release. I told my boss I did it. She didn’t seem upset, but she did ask me if anyone saw me. I said, “Nope.”
Turns out the survey was done by a third party, and my organization hired a diversity professional to help us out with our workplace environment. There are going to be focus groups and training in the near future.
The comments. The Bible quotes. So much happens at work that makes me uncomfortable, but could change be on the horizon? Are improvements possible? For once, I’m hopeful.
Maybe this was a breakthrough, and I’m finally finding my voice.
This experience inspired my art today, and I made this mask at work.
I knew a guy who had made a little rubber stamp that said:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Very useful for adding editorial content to christian propaganda.
If I may fondly imagine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisson
(Maybe with a little help from your friends… 😉 )
I’m thrilled your boss is so supportive. Really, this is so very rare in the workplace.
Also, in my experience, when companies pay money for 3rd-party outside consultants and their surveys, there’s been a longstanding problem and several people have brought it up. It wasn’t you who brought it up, so you’re in the clear from petty retaliation.
If things go as they usually do, you’ll all be assembled for a talk about workplace diversity and respecting differences. Depending on the people in your office, they might accept it, or they might pitch a fit, moan, whine, and complain about it.
As for bigot chicken: everything they serve is soaked in sugar, even the bun. Before I knew this (and before I knew how obnoxious they are), I always felt lousy shortly after eating there. It was giving me hypoglycemic crashes.
Bravo!
😉
Well done! I hope your boss takes the diversity professional’s recommendations seriously.