Exploring the complexities of problematic talk: Microaggressions in workplace interaction

The concept of microaggression proves useful in exploring linguistic behavior that causes people to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unappreciated. Microaggressions can be defined as any means by which a person is othered or sent signals that they do not fit or belong. The concept directs attention to the taken-for-granted presuppositions about appropriate sociocultural behaviors that impact interaction. In this article, we explore microaggressions in naturally occurring data from New Zealand workplaces that other people because of culture/ethnicity or age. The dataset comprises interactions collected in white-collar organizations as well as between caregivers and residents in aged-care facilities. We use an interactional sociolinguistics framework and a social constructionist approach to explore the impact of societal norms and ideologies in day-to-day interaction. Our assumption is that every interaction can be viewed as confirming or challenging majority group norms, that is, reinforcing or contesting the taken-for-granted norms, stereotypes, and biases around culture/ethnicity and age. Our analysis of microaggressions draws attention to these and provides a means to identify the often racist/ethnicist or ageist assumptions inherent in talk. Drawing on our corpus of everyday work talk, we identify not only instances of microaggressions, but also ways in which their targets may navigate, resist, and challenge such instances of othering.