Being raised by immigrant working-class parents taught me many life lessons. Among these lessons were to work hard, never call in sick, and not trouble your boss. Despite the task or project, you do as you are told, and asking questions will unveil others better for the job. As a Latina, I’ve been unconsciously coached to be quiet, respectful, and thankful for being in the presence of people with power and privilege.
Like many, I strived towards achievement and showed my parents their struggle wasn’t in vain. What better way to gain success than to obtain educational accolades and seek a professional career that lands a decent job? Little did I know the journey towards achievement would challenge my mentality in believing I belong in corporate spaces.
As a child of immigrants, I’ve navigated professional environments through the traumas of coming from a low socio-economic background. As a first-generation professional (FGP), I’ve used a lot of mental energy to identify how I should present myself at work, thus unconsciously impacting my workplace behavior. I constantly battled demonstrating learned behaviors in observing my parents work laborious jobs and trying to find identity within an elitist work society.
Learning to embody leadership behavior, voice my opinion, and embrace growth wasn’t easy. I felt paralyzed by the reality that most companies haven’t understood me from a first-generation perspective. Not only was I not understood, but I struggled to understand myself. The power and privilege found in corporate spaces kept me in the same fight and flight mode I found myself as a child in seeing my parent be treated as others by their employer. This created barriers to being my authentic self and succeeding in alignment with my values.
Introducing the Servant Work Mentality
My accumulated 10-plus years of experience working in corporate spaces allowed me to self-analyze my behavior from observing my mom discriminated against in a work setting. After much research, I couldn’t identify studies on someone like me, although I know there are many of us out there. Someone who embodies their domestic working caregiver’s behavior while experiencing discrimination and/or racism from a person with power and privilege. As a result, I’ve coined my work behavior as Servant Work Mentality (not to be mistaken for servant leadership).
Growing up, to spend time with my mom, I had to join her in cleaning houses. We spent time cleaning houses up and down the Pacific Coast Highway — this is, unfortunately, where I, too, experienced racism. Although I’d reflect on this later in life, as a child, I had learned the power dynamics composed of classism and race due to unfair treatment. And to protect me, my mom coached me to be invisible in the presence of “el jefe y la jefa.” As a result, the accumulation of discriminatory interactions in the workplace made me realize I’ve been holding on to submissive behavior.
Lacking authority, serving others, and waiting for others to take action was counterintuitive to how I wanted to present myself professionally. Attempting to be my authentic self caused unnecessary energy in managing my heightened stress, mental well-being, loneliness, low self-esteem, and frustration. I fought hard not to be another Latina who left corporate America but eventually needed to seek more inclusive opportunities. I stepped out of spaces that triggered me, sought community, and made therapy part of my healing.
What Actions Can You Take?
I realized I wasn’t alone as I spoke to friends, family, and peers. The workplace is learning to be inclusive of people’s feelings, but are employers ready to be inclusive of FGPs’ barriers to success? Do I alter my behavior for the majority, or is it time to start questioning how inclusive diversity programs are? Are programs inclusive of the intersectionality of race, class, and socioeconomic factors? As a result of the civil uprising and pandemic presented back in 2020, people of color are finding their voice. The raw truth is that your voice may not land with your employer. And if you find yourself in a position with transparent trust and the ability to influence decisions, I encourage you to think about creative ways our journeys can be further understood.
Having worked as a Human Resources Consultant, I’ve spoken to various organizations about improving people strategies. I now take these learnings and focus my work on helping FGPs overcome the Servant Work Mentality. I seek to build community and provide tools to be successful in spaces with immense privilege and power.
Forward Thinking — I believe there is hope!
As we progress into new ways of working, organizations must identify the systemic barriers that continue to present glass ceiling limitations for FGPs and marginalized groups alike. This thin glass ceiling is visible only through minimal research and stories like mine. The opportunity to create organizational values, leadership frameworks, and FGP employee programs is on the horizon. The education space has already progressed in researching inclusive leadership frameworks that mitigate systemic barriers presented to Black and Brown students. As FGPs and people of color graduate from educational systems incorporating such tools, there will be a new wave of expectations. Are you ready?