GSBA members Aparna Rae and Nicole DeKay of Moving Beyond are launching a series of surveys as part of a larger workplace study at the intersection of psychological well-being, adverse workplace impacts and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The goal is to include a large sample of entrepreneurs, small/mid-sized business owners, and startup founders – a group that is under-indexed in workplace studies. Data will be analyzed intersectionally, looking across race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, geography, disability, and more.

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In the past year, we have experienced unprecedented shifts at work. COVID19 has shifted the landscape beneath us, with impacts on emotional, physical, and other forms of health still occurring. The negative impacts are exacerbated for LGBTQIA, BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color)  and other historically marginalized communities. According to the Human Rights Commission, LGBTQ people are more likely to have experienced a cut in work hours, are more likely to feel that their personal finances are in worse shape and are more likely to be taking steps to actively prepare for the virus (HRC, 2020). Communities of color, in particular womxn of color have borne the brunt of the job losses during 2020. For individuals with intersecting identities, the challenges multiply.

We are witness to history being made and we, honestly, have no idea how this will impact us and our communities in the long term. Collectively, these experiences, in particular that of the global COVID-19 pandemic has been categorized as a new type of stressor called compressed cultural trauma: for almost a year now, we’ve been living outside the normal in ways that are chronically stressful. All of these chronic stressors (both small and large) are like taking its toll on people’s health. Trauma researchers have known for decades that repeated, chronic stressors are much more complex to manage and harder to heal from than single highly stressful events.