The reality of being a People Operations professional and a therapist feels similar at times. The connective tissue between the two is a prioritization of being human and caring about people. Quite frankly, that seems like a tall order for anyone.

I’ve heard horror stories about People Ops/HR undermining or minimizing cultural events that impact people’s lives. I’ve interviewed people from all industries and levels and spoken to them at length about what feels appropriate and what doesn’t, especially when it comes to topics such as race and politics. As a Filipino woman, I empathize deeply with those who often feel left out of the larger narrative, especially when there’s a lack of cultural competency.

I wrote a book a couple of years ago called “Working with Feelings,” and, with professionals and therapists, explored the broader question: “How do we navigate this and work?” Suffice it to say, our identities are inextricably linked to our professions.

There are things we could do practically: I could talk about how we can create policies that support rest, aka Mental Health Day, as we so lovingly call it these days, which is definitely one way of providing some sense of acknowledgement. I’ve been in corporate spaces where it wasn’t acknowledged at all. Granted, this space was an internationally well-known PR agency handling some pretty sensitive clients, so business superseded consciousness at that point. I’m also in spaces where it’s not acknowledged for the betterment of the business because, well, politics is messy. I say politics because everything is political.

The therapist in me also recognizes that a lot of things are out of our control and we can do what we can through collective action, but that doesn’t negate or minimize the disenfranchised and collective feelings of grief and loss we’re feeling and seeing. It’s horrible. I spent the past weekend thinking about how I can support AND figure out how to do so in this dual role I have.

My default therapist response to many things is: two things can be true. We can figure out how to support, and also not know how to support. We can be optimistic and be disappointed.

Many people believe that work and the outside world shouldn’t mingle, despite the obvious impact on both. Others feel that work should take a stance, tying their identities to those of their employers. HR can be helpful during this time, or not, because a lot of HR people aren’t therapists.

During grad school, we were exposed to the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) matrix. The core of the matrix was to help counselors address the various identities and their impact on the therapeutic alliance between counselor and client. But what I found more fascinating is that the MSJCC also sets the expectation that counselors address issues of power, privilege, and oppression that impact their clients’ worldviews. Essentially, their identity and advocacy are intersectional.

Conceptually, we may fall into different quadrants at any point. I’ve done the exhausting work of figuring out where I am in this matrix because of school, so I’m going to provide my own interpretation that may help contextualize where you are. If I mess this up, well, then don’t tell anyone.

The matrix provides a flexible framework for developing self-awareness across various levels of advocacy. Whichever quadrant you start in within the matrix, you can follow a path of questions that progress from:

For example, a gay male counselor of color and a heterosexual female client of color may experience their interaction through various lenses. They both may perceive their interaction to stem from Quadrant IV (marginalized client and marginalized counselor) because of shared racial identities — a common experience with respect to issues of racism. However, the client may see them as a marginalized client and a privileged counselor, which then changes the dynamic and how they might relate.

I also want to mention that I’m leaving out many details about the additional insights this matrix offers, especially regarding behaviors and techniques. There’s so much more I could share about this matrix, but asking myself the questions above helps me identify ways to advocate, even if it doesn’t seem like much right now or at the time.

There’s action in personal and public advocacy – we hear about it all the time on social media, but this helps contextualize how it can activate ripple effects. For example, as a therapist, providing a safe, non-judgmental space is my personal advocacy for marginalized communities. Maybe for you, it’s about creating an inclusive environment by offering employees resources for group support. One to all is better than none at all.

I say this, and I know that it’s hard to be optimistic, especially at this moment when our feeds are constantly flooded. Depending on what veil you’ve been afforded, whether you’ve known this is what things are and have been forever, or whether you're now just being open to receiving it. It’s all…a lot. If you’re part of the latter, well, it looks like you've got a lot to learn quickly. If you’re part of the former, I’m sorry.

As People Operations, our role is to decide if and how to address this issue within the company. It involves asking a series of questions, from our stance as a company to how we communicate it and who is affected. It also requires us to reflect on whether we are genuinely standing by our values or just virtue signaling. Additionally, it matters who delivers the message – whether it comes from leadership or elsewhere. I recall hearing that in 2020, making the business case for empathy was considered easier, but ultimately, it was still just about business.

So, back to my original point – it’s a tall order to figure out how to be a human in all of this.

I don’t think there’s a right way to do this, but there are certainly wrong ways to handle and manage, as we’ve seen in the last few years. Gone are the days of business as usual during these precedented times.

I’m not providing any immediate solutions here, but just thinking out loud and hoping that you don’t feel like you’re the only one trying to figure out what’s happening. Sorry, HR folks, if you were looking for a comprehensive plan here, better luck next time.

So, to recap: