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Most people care about fairness at work and want to support colleagues who face marginalizationfor example, people of color, women, and people with disabilities. Our research has found that 76% of employees want to be allies to co-workers who face additional challenges, and 84% value equity. Thats in line with a 2025 national survey that found 88% of employees supported employers offering training on how to be more inclusive. So why doesnt that support always turn into action? Our new study in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health points to one reason: Some people may freeze with worry because they feel like a fake. Specifically, they feel like they dont have the skills to effectively support their marginalized co-workers, even though they want to. Those feelings may block action, which makes people feel even more fraudulentcreating a loop thats hard to break. Together, weMeg Warren, Michael T. Warren, and John LaVellefound that 1 in 5 people who want to support marginalized groups experience the impostor phenomenon even when they have the skills to be effective allies. The impostor phenomenon, formerly called the impostor syndrome, is the feeling that youre not good enougheven when theres objective evidence that you are. Researchers have documented it across many workplace and professional settings, including in health care, technology, entrepreneurship, the C-suite, and academia. Importantly, these feelings are linked to significantly higher anxiety and feelings of depression among people who want to be allies. We found that men, leaders, younger employees, and people of color were more likely to experience the impostor phenomenon in the context of allyship. What the impostor phenomenon looks like for allies Consider James, a senior project manager. For the past few years, his company has expected all managers to undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training and to support the companys Black Employee Network. Earlier this year, however, the company publicly withdrew its commitment to DEI and removed all mentions of it from its website. When his team asked for his thoughts, James felt lost. The facts he learned during the Black Employee Network meetings were unsettling and undeniable. Before, he regularly cited these during various meetings with his colleagues and senior leaders. Now, he felt pressured to act as if none of this mattered. He felt frustrated, at a loss for words, and a complete fakelike he didnt know how to support his colleagues anymore. While James is a composite character drawn from many stories weve heard over the course of our research, his experience captures the bind that many would-be allies face. When allies feel this way, they often compare themselves to an imagined perfect ally, thinking that if they cant be outrageously heroic, they must be failures. They then deal with feelings of inadequacy by procrastinating or overpreparing before stepping up for othersto the point where they miss crucial opportunities where they could have made a difference. People tend to feel like an impostor when they encounter a challenge that seems bigger than their ability to cope with it. So its not surprising that a lot of people feel this way about workplace equity. Inequity and bias play out in complex ways in organizations: The rules change rapidly, and people can receive mixed messages about what behaviors are appropriate, valued and rewarded. This can make allyship feel overwhelmingly challenging, even for those who are otherwise skilled. Work culture also matters. In toxic organizational cultures or hypercompetitive environments, people feel pressure to hide their mistakes, they worry about colleagues sabotaging their efforts, and they see humility as a weakness. In such placesand especially when the would-be allys role is highly visible and entails heavy responsibilitypeople are vulnerable to impostor feelings. Past criticism can add fuel, too. If youve been admonished for standing up for a colleague or have seen others be attackedincluding by those who wish to maintain an unjust status quoyou might further feel pressure to only act in ways that are immune to criticism. Thats an impossible standard. Consequences of feeling like an impostor: Feeling worse, doing worse Leaders in particular are vulnerable to feeling like impostors on allyship. Many havent been properly trained on how to listen to and support co-workers who might be facing discrimination and are quietly suffering, yet are held responsible for solving complex issues around fairness that long predated them. And when stuck in this uncomfortable space, people who feel like impostors are likely to become defensive and feel pressured to be a hero. To prove themselves, they may overcompensate in ways that backfirefor example, by loudly claiming support for disadvantaged workers without following up with useful action, or by swooping in to fix issues without respecting the preferences of the people involved. Unfortunately, this not only affects their ability to be a supportive colleague, but it also likely harms their mental health. Indeed, the impostor phenomenon has been found to be linked to heightened anxiety and feelings of depression, both in our study and beyond. So you might wonder: What if I opt out of all of this by not thinking about inequity at all? Our research suggests that this is a bad idea. People who are disengaged from issues of inequity, and who dont invest in learning and growing as allies, experience lower self-confidence at work and have lower job satisfaction. Checking out of allyship could be bad for your professional well-being. The good news is you dont have to be stuck feeling this way. You can take low-risk, bite-sized actions that can pull you out of feeling fake and boost your confidence, all while improving your own professional success and mental health. Research points to three simple ways forward. First, recognize and loudly celebrate the strengths of marginalized colleages, which creates an uplifting work culture. Second, take concrete steps to build trustfor example, by giving proper credit to a disadvantaged colleague if their merit is wrongfully questioned. And finally, overcome your cynicismwhich research shows invariably suppresses constructive actionand instead adamantly choose hope, even when its hard. Meg Warren is an associate professor of management at Western Washington University. John M. LaVelle is an adjunct professor of public policy at the University of Minnesota. Michael T. Warren is an assistant professor of psychology at Western Washington University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
Imagine the scene: Your plane just landed late. Youve barely got enough time to catch your connection, but first youve got to convince the other passengers to let you off before them. Good luck. Recently, though, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant flipped the script, according to Kathrin Peters. Peters, co-founder of consulting firm Withiii Leadership, says a recent flight taught her one of the best real-life lessons shes ever seen in generating instant connectivity. After confirming the planes late arrival, the flight attendant asked passengers to raise their hand if they were ending their journey in Salt Lake City, the flights destination. After most of the hands in the cabin went up, he continued. Now, everyone who has their hands up: Imagine the anxiety youd feel if you had to catch another flight tonight and werent sure youd make it. Put your hands down. And now, those connecting to San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Denver, raise yours! Everyone, look around, the flight attendant requested. These are the people wholl be sprinting off the plane tonight as soon as we land. Look at them, and imagine this was you. The flight attendant then implored everyone in the cabin who didnt have a connecting flight to stay seated and give the other passengers space to get out as quickly as possible. If we all play our part, they can make it, the flight attendant said. Thank you so much for your consideration and help. Every one of those guys appreciates you for it. Peters said the energy in the cabin completely shifted. Everyone suddenly shared the same mission, Peters wrote in a LinkedIn post. We all knew who the people were that needed to hustle now. And we were all in it with them, feeling their adrenaline in our veins. When the plane landed, says Peters, only connecting passengers stood up. Others helped them with their bags. Afterward, the remaining passengers patiently got up, grabbed their things, and exited calmly. The whole plane was rooting for them, Peters said. What this flight attendant did was brilliant, namely, motivating others to resist the urge to act in their own self-interest, and help instead. Its a case study in emotional intelligence, which includes the ability to empathize with others and build connection. Why did the flight attendants technique work so well? And how can you use this lesson to help you become a better leader? To answer those questions, lets take a closer look at the quality of empathy. (Sign up here for my free email course on emotional intelligence.) The three types of empathy Empathy is the ability to understand and share the thoughts and feelings of others. But according to psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman, there are actually three types of empathy: Cognitive empathy: the ability to understand another persons thoughts and feelings Emotional empathy: the ability to actually share or relate to those feelings Compassionate empathy (or empathic concern): the ability to take action in an attempt to demonstrate empathy Interestingly, while we all want others to show empathy to us, we often fail to show it to others. There are several reasons for this, but it basically boils down to the fact that showing empathy is hard. The first two types, cognitive and emotional, take mental energy. And the third type, compassionate empathy, takes physical energy, too. But the flight attendant was able to inspire passengers to exercise all three types of empathy, by gently guiding everyone through the process, each one building upon the other. After identifying who was in a position to help, he helped them exercise cognitive empathy by prompting them to imagine the anxiety theyd feel if they were the ones trying to catch another flight. Then, he helped them build connection with emotional empathy, by pointing out who on the plane was in that exact situation and asking them to imagine they were the ones in it. Finally, he motivated them to take action, by encouraging positive peer pressure and inspiring the group to work together. This was no longer a disconnected group of people, they were a team with a single mission: Get those passengers to their connecting flights. How can you use these lessons in your workplace? If youre a leader, look for ways to help your people exercise all three types of empathy. Identify whos in a position to help, and who needs help. Then, use questions and phrases similar to that flight attendants. For example: How would you feel if . . .? Imagine this were you . . . How can you help? If we all play our part . . . Thank you for your help. Also, remember to gently guide everyone through the process, step-by-step. Because empathy takes time and effort, and thats a challenging journey to ask of others. But if you use principles of emotional intelligence like that flight attendant, youll inspire people not just to feel empathy, but to act on it. Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you’ll never miss a post. Justin Bariso This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
Category:
E-Commerce
If youre order number 67 at In-N-Out, dont expect to hear your number called. The fast food chain has reportedly removed the number from its system, after viral videos show teens responding with wild celebrations after waiting around just to hear the number called. Imagine explaining this to someone in the future, one commenter wrote. Employees confirmed the number hasn’t been used for orders for about a month, according to a report from People magazine. After order number 66, the next order jumps straight to number 68. The chain has also removed the number 69, for good measure. The two digits, pronounced six, seven, not sixty-seven, have also been wreaking havoc in classrooms over the past couple months. Vice President JD Vance even took to social media and called for the numbers to be banned. He wrote on X, Yesterday at church the Bible readings started on page 66-67 of the missal, and my 5-year-old went absolutely nuts repeating six seven like 10 times. He continued, I think we need to make this narrow exception to the First Amendment and ban these numbers forever. Others have adopted an “if you cant beat em, join em” approach. In November, both Wendys and Pizza Hut added a 67-cent Frosty deal and 67-cent wings” to their respective menus, paying homage to the meme in the hope of enticing teens. Domino’s also launched its own promo deal, offering customers one large pizza with one topping for $6.70. The trend has, somewhat unbelievably, reached the house floor. Utah Republican U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, while reporting the ayes and nos for a vote on a joint resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, joked the results were about 6-7 while doing the juggling hand gesture. “6-7” officially cemented its status as the choice for Dictionary.com‘s word of the year. “Perhaps the most defining feature of 67 is that its impossible to define, wrote Dictionary.com. Its meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical.” For those still lost, the numbers can be traced back to a song called Doot Doot, released by hip-hop artist Skrilla in late 2024, in which he raps, 6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (bip, bip). From there, a video of a boy yelling 6-7 into the camera at a basketball game went viral. Since then, its taken on a life of its own.
Category:
E-Commerce
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