Navigating Workplace Challenges: Empowerment and Well-being for Racialized Employees

Navigating systemic challenges in the workplace can be uniquely complex for racialized employees. This workshop provides an empowering and supportive space to explore strategies for maintaining well-being and agency. Participants will learn practical approaches such as setting healthy boundaries, seeking social support, and strategic withdrawal—a proactive leadership tool for sustaining productivity and protecting mental and emotional health.

Through reflective discussions and actionable techniques, participants will gain tools to manage stress, prioritize self-preservation, and navigate challenges while understanding that systemic change requires collective responsibility. This session emphasizes empowerment and well-being, while fostering connections and building a sense of community.

Please note: To prioritize psychological safety, this session will NOT be recorded nor shared on the OHD Resources website after the conference.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Recognize and reflect on common strategies that support well-being and agency in challenging workplace environments.
2. Learn how to apply strategic withdrawal as a proactive leadership strategy for maintaining well-being.
3. Empower themselves with strategies to maintain productivity and prioritize self-preservation.
4. Understand that while they navigate systemic challenges, the responsibility for systemic change does not rest solely on them.

Session Structure:

• Presentation: A contextual overview on self-preservation, empowerment, and strategic withdrawal, providing insights into navigating workplace challenges without placing the burden of systemic change solely on individuals.
• Discussions: Engaging conversations for participants to reflect on and share their experiences, exploring how self-preservation and empowerment appear in daily work environments.
• Reflection: Identify personal takeaways, calls to action, and next steps for applying learned strategies, with an emphasis on how to support each other and build community.

Waterloo Values:

Thinking Differently; Acting with Purpose; Working Together

Presenters:

• Pamela Braza Pitman, Senior Manager, Outreach, Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism
• Jermal Jones, Associate Director, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access, Library

This space is for individuals from racialized communities who are looking to connect, share experiences, and support one another. There is no desire to monitor anyone’s identities that create barriers to entry; we invite anyone who feels this space aligns with their experiences to join us. While we deeply appreciate the support of allies, this space is dedicated to amplifying the voices from this specific community.