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Chapter 22 - Restraining my Latino Soul

Suchitra Shenoy-Packer

Synopsis

Maria, a 48-year-old Mexican woman, works for the University of Bradford in Chicago. As an immigrant, Maria remains bewildered by the assimilation demands on her personal and professional selves. Her workplace demands that she “restrain her Latino soul” to adapt to the dominant work practices, perform local communication nuances learned from observation and previous cultural faux pas, embody physically and emotionally exhausting personalities that inadvertently lead to separated selves, self-silence and self-censor her interactions with her co-workers, and in general, shed her native cultural ‘baggage’ to become more “American”. Rosario, Maria’s childhood friend from Mexico, having recently accepted a new job in Chicago, seeks Maria out for advice on workplace assimilation. How can Maria navigate her own concerns as well as guide Rosario along this intercultural organizational assimilation journey?

Keywords: Microaggressions, Organizational Assimilation, Immigrant Professionals, Crystallized Self, Professional

Key Takeaways and Take a Stand Form

Key Takeaways

At the end of this case, students will understand:

  1. The differently nuanced nature of the workplace for non-US workers.
  2. Organizational assimilation as a contested, political, and ambiguous space for immigrant professionals.
  3. The often pervasive and colonizing influence that microaggressions can have on the workplace realities of immigrant professionals.
  4. The prevalence of the real self – fake self dichotomy in our everyday discourse.
  5. The characteristics of the crystallized self.

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