FI/RE is an IMPERATIVE for Marginalized Professionals
Dealing with workplace microaggressions takes a mental, emotional, and physical toll on employees of color. That’s why I’m pursuing FIRE, and why you should, too.
What is FIRE?
FIRE is an acronym for Financial Independence/Retire Early. It’s a retirement mindset shift that moves away from the traditional budget and retirement plans by accelerating individuals’ target retirement dates. By pursuing FIRE approach, individuals are setting themselves up for retirement in their 40s or even 30s.
How do most people reach FIRE?
Most people reach FIRE by allocating a higher percentage of their earnings towards retirement as soon as possible. A person pursuing FIRE might have a savings rate up to 70%. For reference, the standard formula for financial independence is: saving/investing 25 times their annual spending, with the assumption that they plan to only withdraw 4% of their nest egg each year.
Typical reasons why people love FIRE?
People love FIRE because it gives them the most valuable and non-renewable resource there is: TIME. Our time on Earth is limited and the (sometimes) soul-crushing work that you spend the majority of your life doing in order to put food on the table is an exchange that should be cut short as soon as possible.
What does FIRE have to do with workplace microaggressions?
Dr. Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice defines a microaggression as “ the everyday, subtle, intentional -- and oftentimes unintentional -- interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups.”
Some examples of workplace microaggressions and more overt acts of racism in the workplace include:
Having to seriously consider if your natural hair texture/style is deemed “professional” enough for the workplace
Biting your tongue when your peers greet you with “THERE SHE IS!” when you join a zoom call ON TIME
Being the “token” diversity hire in a toxic environment
Comments that solely attribute your success to being a “diversity hire”
Becoming the unofficial international spokesperson for your entire identity
Being told that you’re “one of the good ones”
And more
Doesn’t the thought (or flashback) of dealing with all these situations make you want to chew glass? Like most professionals of color, my main goal for my professional life is to earn a living, put out my best work, and advance my career. But, we all know that navigating Corporate America is not that simple. And for that reason, I want out.
A June 2020 study by LeanIn.Org and SurveyMonkey revealed that 82 percent of white men and 81 percent of white women see themselves as allies to colleagues of color at work, BUT, Black women and Latinas disagree. 10% and 19%, respectively, said that their strongest allies at work are white.
This discrepancy shows that the standard workplace can be a minefield for some and a meadow for others, and the latter is none the wiser. The fact that employees of color are under more scrutiny than their white peers while simultaneously coping with the fact that their white peers think that everything is “okay” is another slap in the face. How can workplace microaggressions ever be solved when the company doesn’t even think there is a problem? How about when they falsely think that they are successfully working to solve the problem?
Workplace microaggressions take a toll on health and well-being
According to a study that appeared in the Urban Education journal, people who experience racial microaggressions have negative job satisfaction. Additionally, some physical and mental effects of microaggressions could include:
Depression
Anxiety
Changes in eating patterns
Stress
Also, the perceived and/or actual feeling of being disrespected via microaggressions could deter employees of color from:
Applying for jobs/promotions
Negotiating salaries and benefits
Attending networking events
Why FIRE is my escape route
By pursuing FIRE, I can potentially shave off years of enduring sub-optimal treatment in order to put food on the table. The FIRE movement, especially for POC, should be framed as a way to "Do what you have to do now so you can do what you want to do as soon as possible."
I’m chasing FIRE because I want to make my money work for me, and stop the cycle of exchanging my time on Earth for a paycheck and having to suffer for it. By optimizing my finances, I can play the "Corporate America" game in a way that ensures that the faster I can afford to opt out, the sooner I can start spending the majority of my life with more freedom and less stress.
