Member-only story
Shapeshifting not Code-Switching
When you’re part of the minority at work, it can feel that you have to continually code-switch to get ahead. Code-switching may be a necessity to adapt to the majority way of working in order to be recognized and rewarded.
The term originally comes from a linguistics perspective of having to shift from one language to another depending on the contextual setting. At work, code-switching is defined as changing our behaviors to conform to a normative standard that is different from how we would comfortably act at home.
Code-switching “has long been a strategy for black people to successfully navigate interracial interactions and has large implications for their well-being, economic advancement, and even physical survival” according to the Harvard Business Review article The Costs of Code-Switching.
The term has commonly had a negative connotation because often in the corporate context,
“The code switcher is obligated to transform in order to be considered worthy.”
— Samantha Soma
Yet, code-switching is an unavoidable part of life. It’s needed to navigate through a complex, multi-faceted world.
Minorities at work can reclaim our power by taking control of code-shifting and working with it on our own terms. I personally reframe it as shapeshifting — a choice to try…
