Employees experience heightened burnout as they navigate professional spaces where they are underrepresented, often feeling pressured to code-switch to advance their careers. This pressure to adjust their communication, behavior, and even aspects of their core identity to meet corporate expectations can lead to significant emotional and psychological strain. The consequences are strikingly evident: a surge in burnout rates, job dissatisfaction, a profound sense of not belonging, and resignations.
In The Cost of Code-Switching: Belonging in Corporate America, George Paasewe delves deep into the uncharted territory of code-switching in the corporate world. This eye-opening book uncovers the intricate challenges confronting employees in their pursuit of belonging, highlighting an overlooked crisis.
STUDENTS OF COLOR are code-switching to navigate predominantly White institutions (PWIs) effectively, but they have realized that code-switching can feel like a requirement and that it is not enough to overcome racism. In this book, George Paasewe reveals that racism is the root cause of why people of color feel pressure to code-switch and simultaneously bear the burden of code-switching. Additionally, he discusses the importance of developing a self-concept of code-switching and recognizing its adverse effects.
This expanded second edition of How Black College Students Learn Code-Switching includes all the material from the first edition and focuses on anti-racist practices that higher education institutions can implement to refine their diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to foster a safe, welcoming, and inclusive campus for students of all backgrounds.
Belonging on Campus: Code-Switching and College Life explores the hidden pressures students face when they feel compelled to change how they speak, behave, appear, or express themselves to succeed and belong.
Building on his 2015 IRB research, George Paasewe examines how code-switching is learned and how the continual pressure to adapt can contribute to burnout, disengagement, and challenges with belonging.
Written for educators, higher education professionals, and those committed to student success, Belonging on Campus challenges institutions to create environments where students can engage authentically, strengthen their sense of belonging, and succeed without constantly adjusting who they are.