Most employers in New Jersey understand that discrimination is illegal. If an employer repeatedly refuses to hire or promote job candidates based on their race, sex, or disability, they could get into big trouble. However, smaller, less obvious acts of discrimination still happen frequently and are more difficult to call out.

Daily discrimination can take an emotional toll

Daily “microaggressions,” or small acts of discrimination, can cause people a lot of stress at work. Microaggressions may happen when a person is the subject of ignorant comments, snubs, or subtle mistreatment. Minor acts of discrimination can add up to a person feeling like they are being treated as less intelligent or trustworthy by their coworkers or boss.

Pain from daily discrimination may be internalized

A large and overt act of discrimination is usually obvious to everyone. If the victim tells people about it, they can understand what happened and provide support. However, being the victim of small, barely noticeable microaggressions on a daily basis is harder to talk about. As a consequence, a lot of people internalize the pain that they feel from this type of mistreatment.

Dealing with discrimination

If you feel like you are always treated like you are less valuable than your coworkers, it’s important to address these feelings so that they don’t eat away at you. Finding people to talk about it with who feel the same way may help. It may also help to write down each “small” act of discrimination and look at everything together. It’s possible that what’s going on should be addressed with your boss or reported to higher-ups.