What we know about Microaggression but were afraid to ask

Microaggression has been defined as “the brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial, gender, and sexual orientation, and religious slights and insults to the target person or group” (Sue, 2010, p. 229). Microaggression has been an underexplored construct in organizational psychology studies to date. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the microaggression literature and describe its characteristics, classifications and themes, and provide examples of conduct that constitute microaggressive behaviors. In doing so, we discuss what it is and what it is not, by exploring the conceptual overlap and distinction between microaggression and various other forms of negative acts such as aggression, bullying, incivility, social dominance theory, and social stigma and ostracism. We then posit that microaggression is likely present in many workplaces and how it may manifest. We describe the difficulty in correctly interpreting the intent or lack of intent of the perpetrator and consider the psychological dilemmas created by microaggression that contribute to the difficulty in discussing or addressing microaggression. We examine the impact of microaggression, and discuss the coping mechanisms used by targets and observers of microaggressive behaviors. Finally, we provide a discussion as to implications and recommendations for managers and work environments to create an organizational culture that reduces or mitigates the occurrence of microaggression in their organization.