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Cultural diversityin the workplace matters, and not just for the well-being of employees.
Researchshowsthat workplaces that foster racial and ethnic diversity outperform their peers by 36%.
Food is an integral part of cultural identity, and respect fordifferent cuisinesamong coworkers is crucial.
Yet this woman thought it was okay to insult her colleagues Thai dishes.
After dealing with her microaggressions for months, the coworkerdecided to bringsomething more bland to work.
Surprisingly, that backfired too, as the woman found something wrong with that, too.
If not by being blatantly disrespectful in the workplace, then with microaggressions like commenting on cultural foods.
Words like pungent, weird, and questions like Did you grow up eating bugs?
can be pretty culturally insensitive.
Food can be very closely linked to a persons cultural identity, especially for immigrants.
Theres nothing wrong with not likingspicy foodor omitting an herb or spice you dont like from a recipe.
When, in fact, in many cultures around the world, eating patterns are entirely different.
Breakfast may be a savory meal or salted fish in Trinidad, Tobago, or Jamaica.
Therefore, just because something is ethnic doesnt mean it isnt healthy or out of the norm.
In fact, the term ethnic food itself can have pretty racist connotations.
We need to break away from the idea that white cultures are the base standard inAmericaand in the media.
Question everything, especially yourself.
Check out the results:
