I came to the US for graduate school and then emigrated here after joining the tech industry; building companies, writing, speaking and consulting along the way.
Every year, around 140,000 people receive immigrant visas to come and work in the US (the path I took). As of 2024, 51.6 million American residents (or 15.6% of the population) were not born here. A further 12%, or 40 million were born in the US but are children of immigrants.
Regardless of how immigrant-heavy your specific workplace is, there is no doubt that a healthy percentage of your team is 1-degree away from immigration to the U.S. With that, comes extra complexity in how we discuss issues of immigration, nationality, patriotism and politics.
On this July 4th week, it might be worthwhile to consider how Friend Forward organizations think about the American experiment, and how valuable cross-cultural friendships in the workplace can be when fostering equity and inclusion.
Your Workplace is Uniquely Diverse
Many immigrants coming to the US grow up in environments that are more culturally or religiously homogeneous than the country writ-large. They also have a tendency to self-segregate when they settle in the US, mirroring the pattern of native-born Americans. As this trend has accelerated in recent years, it is likely that your team - whether old or young, conservative or liberal, university-educated or not - is experiencing your workplace as uniquely diverse. Hybrid or remote work only exacerbates this trend, by giving individuals the ability to work wherever they might need to.
This means that the first time many people learn how to engage with real diversity on a transactional or personal basis is on the job. And immigration status plays a key role in this.
n.b. see my TED talk on this subject below or click here to open.
Immigration is a Major, Current Political Issue
External to your company, immigration has become a major political issue. While it’s important not to generalize (many recent immigrants, in fact, are not pro immigration) - immigration politics definitely touches this group more. And sometimes, the attacks on immigrants can be personal.
While the overall political climate cannot be shifted inside a single organization, recognizing those challenges to employee health and wellness is critical for fostering optimal performance. Being Friend Forward, and acknowledging those issues in strategy, is a critical first step. But general political issues tend to trickle down to the personal and the teams we collaborate with. We cannot and should not ignore it.
Progressives Love Criticizing the US
In progressive circles, it can be fashionable to criticize the US openly, and sometimes with derision. For many people - perhaps informed by New Marxist rhetoric - the US has several intractable problems that cannot be resolved in “normal” ways, including the failure of capitalism, corruption and the inequities in the justice system, etc.
Those conversations can be challenging for immigrants who don’t feel comfortable discussing “politics”. This can be because they come from cultures where political conversations are dangerous, or for various other reasons. In particular, it can be challenging to push back on the positives of the US to a group of people (liberals or progressives) that are seen as general allies of immigrants. The stifling of conversation in this area can amplify disconnection among the team, because a significant group doesn’t feel that they can be wholly themselves.
Conservatives Love Criticizing Immigrants/Immigration
Among conservatives, the tendency to criticize immigration has never been more extreme, and the rhetoric is quite heated. Undoubtedly, some of your team have strong feelings against immigration (and perhaps immigrants), and this can create team fissures as well.
The lack of opportunity to discuss these issues likely leads to a lack of cohesion on teams with mixed political opinions, and a general sense of distrust and suspicion. People might be making assumptions about each other and avoiding engagement in ways that go beyond social because they are unsure how to navigate differences.
It’s OK to Support American Values
Does the idea of incorporating “American Values” into your corporate culture make you uncomfortable? If so, you probably have some of the same discomfort or misconceptions that might be making it difficult for your staff to connect fully with each other around this holiday.
But I’d encourage you to rethink your framing. American values definitely include tolerance, (legal) immigration, tolerance/acceptance/openness, and connections beyond traditional ethnic or racial lines. In short, they are whatever you make them out to be.
Fostering these ideas as a framework through a positive lens on American values is a service to both your country and your teams. And sets a great context for how to approach the challenge of discussing cultural, racial or ethnic diversity through friendship.
What to Do
In this time, it’s extra important to ensure that immigrant workers and second-generation Americans feel secure and comfortable in the workplace - both discussing their status and experiences. To facilitate this, it can be useful for the company to recognize those experiences and create opportunities for work friends to engage around them. This doesn’t mean taking a stand on immigration policy, but it does mean taking a stand on individual immigrants themselves.
Example approaches can be cultural pot-lucks, discussion groups, book clubs or even show and tells. A fun idea for creating these connections in a friendly way would be to have a member of the team choose a cuisine for group outings on a rotating basis that reflects their culture. Empowering immigrants and second-generation Americans to discuss their experiences and engage with each other is critical for fostering the right kinds of friendships in the workplace that produce great results.
What Not to Do
Don’t try and force friendships or cultural indoctrination on people in the workplace. The results will be disappointing and ultimately reduce value while generating backlash and suspicion. The organization’s job is not to educate in the domain of the personal and political, it is to foster genuine connections that will do that work for you. What you need to do is create space and funding for the individuals in the organization to get to know each other better and get/stay connected. Guidance, frameworks and support are critical.
This Isn’t (Just) About Race
You might have read this essay through the prism of “the immigrants are people of color and the other group is not.” This would be a shallow misunderstanding of my advice and the power of friendship in the workplace. While it might be likely that multi-generational American workers have less overall cultural sensitivity or experience than recent emigres, this is absolutely not a universal truth. Two immigrant families from wildly different cultures - or those with pre-existing political beef - might have a lack of connection or misconceptions that have nothing to do with American racial understanding or New Marxist lenses.
Don’t miss the opportunity to foster thick friendship connections in the workplace that transcend simple binaries and shallow understandings of the world. When you engage in Friend Forward initiatives, they return benefits in a 360 degree fashion, not just between one race and another.
I’m Here to Help
If you’re interested in building a more Friend Forward organization - fostering connections and real friendships in the workplace for improved productivity and wellness - I’d love to help you. I have a range of talks, workshops and frameworks that can really help drive outcomes. Reach out to me and be sure to subscribe here.
The 4th of July Special: Celebrating Immigration in Workplace Culture