Why Do Microaggressions in the Workplace Leave Me So Exhausted?

Written by The Modern Insight Team
Modern Insight Therapy is a Black-owned Chicago practice helping Black professionals and people of color work through workplace racial stress and feel more like themselves again.

Microaggressions in the workplace can be exhausting because they leave you questioning what happened, how to respond, and whether others recognize what you’re experiencing. Over time, these repeated interactions can contribute to racial battle fatigue, a form of ongoing stress that may affect your sleep, mood, and energy levels.

You might spend your day carefully choosing your words, adjusting your tone, or replaying a coworker’s comment in your mind. Even when nothing particularly upsetting happens, the constant effort to navigate these situations can leave you mentally and emotionally drained long after the workday ends.

Key Takeaways

• Workplace microaggressions are subtle comments or behaviors that communicate negative messages about someone’s identity.
• Repeated racial stress can contribute to emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and racial battle fatigue.
• Code-switching and constantly monitoring how others perceive you can add to workplace stress.
• You can respond to microaggressions without feeling responsible for educating every coworker.
• Therapy can help you process workplace experiences, establish boundaries, and protect your emotional well-being.

Table of Contents

1. What Are Microaggressions in the Workplace?
2. What Are Some Examples of Microaggressions in the Workplace?
3. Why Do Small Comments at Work Feel So Heavy Over Time?
4. What Is Racial Battle Fatigue?
5. How Does Code-Switching at Work Add to the Exhaustion?
6. How Can You Deal With Microaggressions as an Employee Without Burning Out?
7. How Can Therapy Help With the Stress of Workplace Microaggressions?
8. Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Microaggressions in the Workplace?

Microaggressions in the workplace are everyday comments, behaviors, or interactions that communicate negative assumptions or stereotypes about someone’s race, ethnicity, gender, or another aspect of their identity. They may be intentional or unintentional, but their impact can leave employees feeling dismissed, stereotyped, or excluded.

For Black professionals, workplace microaggressions might involve assumptions about intelligence, professionalism, communication style, or belonging. A coworker may express surprise that you hold a leadership position or repeatedly question your expertise in ways they don’t question others.

The difficulty is that these interactions aren’t always openly hostile. Someone may frame a comment as a compliment, joke, or innocent question, leaving you wondering whether speaking up will create more problems than staying quiet.

Psychologist Derald Wing Sue and colleagues described racial microaggressions as everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that communicate negative racial messages. Their foundational work on racial microaggressions explains how these interactions can occur even when the person responsible doesn’t recognize the message being communicated.

At Modern Insight Therapy, we recognize that experiences of racial bias can affect how you feel about yourself, your relationships, and your work environment. Understanding what’s happening can be an important part of recognizing why certain workplace interactions leave you feeling so depleted.

What Are Some Examples of Microaggressions in the Workplace?

Examples of microaggressions in the workplace include comments or behaviors that question someone’s qualifications, reinforce racial stereotypes, or suggest they don’t fully belong. These interactions can happen during meetings, performance reviews, casual conversations, or everyday exchanges with coworkers.

Some examples Black professionals may encounter include:

• “You’re so articulate.” A coworker expresses surprise at your communication skills in a way that suggests they expected less from you.
• “Can I touch your hair?” Someone treats your natural hair as a curiosity rather than respecting your personal boundaries.
• “You don’t seem like other Black people I’ve met.” A comment presents a racial stereotype as a compliment.
• “Are you sure you’re the person leading this project?” A colleague questions your authority despite your clearly established role.
• “You’re being aggressive.” Your direct communication is characterized negatively while similar behavior from other coworkers is accepted.
• “Where are you really from?” Someone continues questioning your background after you’ve already answered.
• Repeatedly confusing you with another Black colleague. Coworkers repeatedly mistake your identity while easily distinguishing other employees.

Context matters when identifying a microaggression. A single question or comment doesn’t automatically reveal someone’s intentions, but patterns of behavior can help you recognize when assumptions or stereotypes may be influencing workplace interactions.

You may also experience microaggressions that aren’t spoken aloud. Being consistently interrupted, excluded from informal networking opportunities, or overlooked for recognition can raise similar concerns, particularly when those behaviors appear to follow racial patterns.

What makes these experiences frustrating is that you may feel pressured to explain why they matter. Instead of discussing your actual work, you’re suddenly deciding whether to address a comment, ignore it, or spend emotional energy making someone else comfortable.

Why Do Small Comments at Work Feel So Heavy Over Time?

Small comments at work can feel increasingly heavy because repeated microaggressions create emotional stress that builds over time. Even when individual interactions seem minor, the constant effort to interpret and respond to them can become exhausting.

Imagine being interrupted during a meeting, having your expertise questioned, and hearing an uncomfortable joke about your background, all in one day. You might dismiss each incident separately, but together they can leave you feeling frustrated, overlooked, and emotionally drained.

You may also find yourself replaying conversations, questioning someone’s intentions, or wondering whether you’re overreacting. This uncertainty adds another layer of stress, especially when similar experiences happen regularly.

At Modern Insight Therapy, we recognize that workplace stress isn’t always about deadlines or heavy workloads. Sometimes, the most exhausting part is feeling like you constantly have to monitor how others perceive and treat you.

What Is Racial Battle Fatigue?

Racial battle fatigue describes the psychological, emotional, and physical strain associated with repeated exposure to racism and the ongoing effort of navigating racially stressful environments. The concept helps explain why Black professionals may feel exhausted even when their workload seems manageable.

Racial battle fatigue can develop when you’re repeatedly preparing for discrimination, responding to stereotypes, or managing the possibility of being treated differently because of your identity. The effort doesn’t necessarily stop when you leave the office.

You might notice experiences such as:

• Persistent exhaustion: Feeling mentally and physically drained even after time away from work.
• Difficulty sleeping: Replaying workplace interactions or worrying about upcoming situations.
• Irritability: Feeling more frustrated or emotionally reactive than usual.
• Anxiety: Anticipating criticism, exclusion, or uncomfortable interactions.
• Difficulty concentrating: Struggling to focus because so much attention goes toward monitoring your environment.
• Emotional withdrawal: Feeling less interested in socializing or participating in activities you normally enjoy.

A 2014 review published in Race and Social Problems linked racial microaggressions to psychological distress, including anxiety and diminished self-esteem. Repeated experiences can contribute to emotional exhaustion, disrupted sleep, and physical tension.

Racial battle fatigue affects people differently, but it isn’t simply a matter of poor stress management. It reflects the emotional and physical strain of navigating ongoing racial stress in everyday life.

How Does Code-Switching at Work Add to the Exhaustion?

Code-switching at work can contribute to exhaustion when you feel pressured to change how you speak, behave, or present yourself to meet others’ expectations. For Black professionals, this may mean adjusting their tone, vocabulary, hairstyle, or emotional reactions to avoid stereotypes or negative judgments.

While adapting your communication style can be useful, it becomes draining when you feel you can’t be yourself without risking how others perceive your professionalism. Constantly monitoring your words and behavior can create stress and leave you feeling disconnected from coworkers who don’t face the same pressures.

At Modern Insight Therapy, BIPOC therapy provides space to explore how cultural expectations and workplace experiences affect your emotional well-being. Therapy can help you recognize when adapting serves your goals and when it comes at the expense of your comfort and sense of identity.

How Can You Deal With Microaggressions as an Employee Without Burning Out?

Dealing with microaggressions as an employee involves choosing responses that protect your emotional well-being while considering your workplace relationships and personal comfort. You don’t have to confront every comment, but you also don’t have to ignore behavior that makes you uncomfortable.

Consider these approaches:

1. Take time to process. Give yourself space to understand your reaction before deciding how to respond.
2. Ask for clarification. A simple “What did you mean by that?” can encourage someone to reconsider their words.
3. Set boundaries. Let coworkers know when a comment or behavior makes you uncomfortable.
4. Document incidents. Keep a record of repeated comments or behaviors in case you decide to report them.
5. Seek support. Talk with trusted colleagues, friends, or mentors who can offer perspective.
6. Protect your personal time. Make room for activities and relationships that help you recharge outside work.

If the behavior continues, consider speaking with a supervisor or HR representative. Remember that addressing workplace discrimination isn’t solely your responsibility, and you deserve an environment where you’re treated with respect.

If workplace stress is affecting your well-being, stress and burnout therapy at Modern Insight Therapy can help you process your experiences, establish boundaries, and manage emotional exhaustion.

How Can Therapy Help With the Stress of Workplace Microaggressions?

Therapy can help with workplace microaggressions by providing a supportive space to process difficult interactions, understand their emotional impact, and develop healthy ways to respond. For Black professionals, working with a therapist who understands racial identity can make it easier to discuss experiences without feeling dismissed or misunderstood.

Workplace racial stress can also affect your life outside the office, contributing to anxiety, poor sleep, or tension in relationships. Therapy can help you recognize these patterns, establish boundaries, and manage the emotional exhaustion that comes from repeatedly navigating discrimination.

At Modern Insight Therapy, we recognize how racial identity and lived experiences influence emotional well-being. Our article on BIPOC mental health explores these connections and the importance of culturally responsive support.

While therapy can’t eliminate workplace racism, it can help you process your experiences, protect your emotional well-being, and feel more grounded in your daily life.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Modern Insight Therapy

Modern Insight Therapy is a Black-owned therapy practice with an office in Chicago’s West Loop and virtual sessions available across Illinois. Our licensed therapists offer individual, couples, and sex therapy for adults, using a holistic, relational approach to anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, and relationship concerns.

Clients choose Modern Insight Therapy because they want a therapist who understands race, culture, and identity from the start, and a space where they can show up as themselves. Our approach recognizes that workplace stress, cultural expectations, and experiences of discrimination can affect emotional well-being, relationships, and how people feel about themselves.

If work has started following you home, you don’t have to sort through it alone. Reach out to Modern Insight Therapy to get matched with a therapist who understands what you’re carrying.