“Do Your AAPI Employees Feel Safe Coming Back to Work?,” by Mita Mallick

 Thu 07 April 2022

" Make AAPI Safety a Managerial Priority ! ( This is applicable to all minorities . This is about culture of Diversity & Inclusion ; also about empathy ) " 

Because of an increase in racism, xenophobia, and hate crimes targeted at the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, many members don’t feel safe coming to work. Supporting your AAPI colleagues and employees requires more than just words. Here are three steps you can take.

(1) Listen, and don’t dismiss fears. 

Educate yourself on the rise of xenophobia and anti-Asian hate crimes. If your colleagues share their fears, believe them. Reject any rhetoric that Asian colleagues are making excuses not to work and not to come into the office. If you hear people dismissing their fears, intervene in the moment and educate them.

(2) Make personal safety a priority. Look at offering shuttles that pick up employees at certain locations, minimizing the time they have to spend on public transportation. Consider increasing security, including offering security escorts to walk employees to their cars in the parking lot. You might also provide a reimbursement benefit for a safety kit, personal alarms and portable phone chargers, or self-defense classes.

(3) Offer bystander intervention training. Many people don’t know what to do if and when a member of the AAPI community is being targeted. Give allies the information and education they need to intervene, including training on how they can insert themselves indirectly and directly into violent and nonviolent situations.

This tip is adapted from “Do Your AAPI Employees Feel Safe Coming Back to Work?,” by Mita Mallick