The Dan Smolen Podcast is the best at covering the future of work and meaningful work topics and trends. On the podcast, Dan Smolen provides interesting guests and actionable career insight to help you “real-time reimagine” a future of work doing meaningful work.
As organizations reintroduce their people to the workplace, they must also reckon with social responsibility. It is one thing for management to express a desire for positive social change. It is quite another to “walk the talk” to create a civil work environment.
Sejal Thakkar understands the sting of incivility like few others. During her teenage years in the Chicago suburbs, she suffered from near-daily racial prejudice and bullying. Now, as a self-described Chief Civility Officer; Sejal uses her personal experience to provide effective workplace training that fosters civility.
In this episode, Sejal:
- Describes her role as Chief Civility Officer for TrainXtra. Starts at 2:57
- Relives growing up as a bullied “other” in the Chicago suburbs. Starts at 4:26
- Relates the experience of representing clients accused of workplace incivility, bias, and discrimination. Starts at 7:52
- Defines the term microagression. Starts at 21:58
- Pairs the civility narrative with the return to the workplace. Starts at 29:39
- Explains how fostering a civil workplace provides positive ROI benefits. Starts at 32:12
In the wake of Covid, remote work, and civil unrest, Sejal believes that we have hit an inflection point for fostering a civil workplace:
[There have been] so many things happening in such a short period of time that people are not putting up with B.S. at work, anymore.
