But good mentors can buffer employees from the negative effects of workplace racism, write Belle Rose Ragins, Kyle Ehrhardt, Karen S. Lyness, Dianne Murphy and John Capma

Capman, John

Ehrhardt, Kyle

Lyness, Karen S.

Murphy, Diane

Ragins, Belle Rose

LSE Research Online

3/16/2017Like second-hand smoke, racial discrimination at work canaffect bystandersblogs.lse.ac.uk /businessreview/2017/03/16/like-second-hand-smoke-racial-discrimination-at-work-can-affect-bystanders/The toxic effects of racism can extend well beyond the target. Our research reveals that, like second-hand smoke,the negative effects of racial discrimination at work can affect third-party bystanders. This is called ambient racialdiscrimination, and it includes a range of workplace experiences, such as directly witnessing racial discriminationaimed at others, hearing about racist incidents, seeing graffiti or nooses at work, and hearing racist jokes, commentsand e-mails (Chrobot-Mason, Ragins & Linnehan, 2013).Ambient racial discrimination is a workplace stressor. Our surveys of employees from a variety of organizations andoccupations revealed its potent repercussions for employees of all races. Those exposed to racial discrimination intheir workplace were more likely to report physical symptoms of stress at work, such as upset stomach, shortness ofbreath, heart palpitations, and hand tremors.  They were also more likely to experience insomnia and had morestress-related absenteeism than those not exposed to ambient discrimination. Ambient discrimination also affectedemployees’ organizational commitment; those who were exposed to racial discrimination at work reported lesscommitment than those not exposed. These findings illuminate the pernicious and potentially widespread effects ofracism at work.So what can organisations and managers do? Organisations clearly need to develop inclusive climates andeliminate workplace racism, but entrenched attitudes make this a challenge. Racism often emerges in subtle andsometimes even unintentional ways through jokes, comments or by forwarding “humorous” emails. Organisationscan attempt to regulate behaviours, but employees may engage in racist behaviours without being fully aware oftheir racism or the repercussions of their words and actions.Our research offers organisations another option: high-quality mentoring relationships. Mentors are individuals withadvanced experience and knowledge who take a personal interest in helping the careers of younger, lessexperienced employees (Kram, 1985). Mentors offer many benefits to protégés: they may be role models who1/4sponsor and coach protégés, offer them guidance, help them advance in the organization, and promote theircareers (Ragins & Kram, 2007). Our research revealed yet another important benefit: mentors can buffer employeesfrom the negative effects of ambient racial discrimination.We found support for this “mentor buffer effect” in two studies ( Ragins et al., 2017). Our first study, a survey of 3,813workers in the U.S., found that employees who were exposed to racial discrimination at work had lowerorganisational commitment than those not exposed, but those with high-quality mentoring relationships experiencedless loss of commitment than those lacking mentors. Our second study of 557 U.S. workers found that mentorsbuffer by providing “holding behaviours” in their relationships. Holding behaviours provide an “arms-aroundexperience” of support, care and affirmation (Kahn, 2001). The relationship becomes a safe haven where protégéscan share their concerns and experiences without fear of judgment or retribution.  The mentor validates and affirmstheir experiences, gives them support, and offers perspectives that may help them cope with stressful workplaceexperiences.We found that supervisors and close workers also provided holding behaviours, but their holding behaviours werenot effective; they were unable to buffer employees from the negative effects of ambient racial discrimination. Thistells us that mentoring relationships are a very special and unique relationship. Close coworkers and managerssimply can’t take the place of a mentor.Our study illustrates the importance of relationship quality. Mentoring relationships fall along a continuum of quality,and the greater the quality in the relationship, the more likely it was to buffer protégés from the adverse effects of adiscriminatory workplace. In fact, even though formally assigned mentoring relationships are generally of lowerquality than informally developed mentorships, we found that formal mentorships could buffer when they were highquality.So how do we develop high-quality mentoring relationships? We first need to understand their unique experiencesand processes (Ragins, 2016). High-quality mentorships do more than just coach or sponsor employees. They areclose relationships characterized by trust, disclosure, and commitment. The relationship is a safe haven that fostersauthenticity; members are accepted for who they are and they can bring their true selves to the relationship, withouthaving to pretend to be someone else.  Members know that their disclosures will be held in confidence and that theirexperiences will be accepted rather than judged. The relationship gives them a sense of psychological safety thatbuffers them from workplace stressors.Mentors can improve the quality of their relationship by rejecting the “Yoda model of mentoring,” where the mentorassumes the position of the all-knowing teacher who fills the protégé with knowledge while remaining safely aloofand emotionally distant. Instead, the mentor steps down from the pedestal of power and recognizes that therelationship can be a two-way street for sharing, learning and personal growth. This shift in roles and the mentor’sability to be vulnerable creates a safe space that allows protégés to share their concerns, fears, and weaknesses,allowing them to be more authentic and moving the relationship to a deeper level of closeness, trust andcommitment.  These dynamic processes help mentoring relationships move along the quality continuum, frommarginal to magnificent.How can organizations help employees develop high-quality mentoring relationships? They can develop relationalmentoring cultures by engaging in practices and programs that recognize, value and promote high-qualitymentorships (Ragins, 2012, 2016). Mentors should be rewarded and receive training that helps them develop theskills needed for effective relationships, such as listening, empathic communication and perspective taking. Potentialmentors and protégés can be provided with opportunities to interact and develop their relationship. Managers andleaders can model effective mentoring, publically recognize high quality mentorships, and ensure that mentors arerecognized and rewarded for becoming mentors. Mentoring relationships take time, and organizations that rely oncommissions or billable hours for compensation may unintentionally penalize mentors for developing theirrelationships.2/4Formal mentoring programs can be effective, but only if they are carefully designed. The goals and expectations ofthe program need to be clear and tailored to the needs of the participants. Members need to be carefully selected fortheir motivation and willingness to be the relationship. Mentors and protégés should be carefully matched, based onprogram goals and participants needs. They should receive training on what mentoring is (and isn’t) and how to builda high-quality mentoring relationship. The program coordinator needs to monitor the relationship, provide support,and intervene if the relationship goes off track. Finally, the program should be rigorously evaluated, as this helpsrefine and improve the program.  A high-quality formal mentoring program takes time and resources. But as withother things in life, you get what you pay for.In sum, the toxic effects of workplace racism can affect bystanders of all races, but the presence of high-qualitymentorships can buffer employees from the negative effects of racial discrimination at work.  High-quality mentoringrelationships are valuable not only for career and developmental purposes; they are also beneficial for bufferingemployees from the stress associated with a discriminatory workplace. ♣ ♣ ♣Notes:Professor Belle Rose Ragins will give a lecture on this topic on Wednesday 29th March, for the Centre forResearch in Equality and Diversity at Queen Mary University of London. For information and to sign up, clickhereThis blog post is based on the authors’ paper Anchoring Relationships at Work: High-Quality Mentors andOther Supportive Work Relationships as Buffers to Ambient Racial Discrimination, in the journal PersonnelPsychology, Volume 70, Issue 1, Spring 2017, pp 211-256The post gives the views of its author, not the position of LSE Business Review or the London School ofEconomics and Political Science.Featured image credit: Cigarette smoke, by realworkhard, under a CC0 licenceBefore commenting, please read our Comment Policy.Belle Rose Ragins is a Professor of Management at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee andthe Editor-in-Chief of the Academy of Management Review.  She has published extensively in thefields of diversity, mentoring and positive relationships at work. Her edited books include: Mentoring and Diversity:An International Perspective, The Handbook of Mentoring at Work, and Exploring Positive Relationships at Work.Kyle Ehrhardt is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Colorado DenverBusiness School. His research focuses on how interpersonal relationships and issues related todiversity and discrimination influence employees’ attitudes and behaviors at work.kyle.ehrhardt@ucdenver.edu Karen S. Lyness is a Professor of Psychology at Baruch College and Graduate Center, CityUniversity of New York. She studies women leaders, workforce diversity, work-life interface,careers, and cross-cultural issues. Her research is in Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy ofManagement Journal, American Sociological Review, and Personnel Psychology, and businessmedia, Business Week, Toronto Globe and Mail, and HRMagazine. karen.s.lyness@gmail.comDianne Murphy is a PhD Candidate and Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee LubarSchool of Business. Her research interests include diversity, mentoring and entrepreneurship; witha specific focus on the effects of discrimination, identity, and mentoring on needs satisfaction and3/4subsequent well-being and work outcomes for women entrepreneurs. www.diannedmurphy.com John Capman is a Selection and Assessment consultant at Aon Hewitt. He focuses ondeveloping, validating, and implementing selection tools and assessments that balance both utilityand diversity. His research broadly examines factors that facilitate and inhibit racial and genderdiscrimination in organizational settings as well as approaches that reduce prejudice anddiscrimination in these settings. john.capman@gmail.com  Copyright © 2015 London School of Economics4/4

Like second-hand smoke, racial discrimination at work can affect bystanders

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