Bringing Your Whole Self to Work: The Good, The Bad, and the UglyThere’s been a lot of talk in the tech industry about the concept of “Bringing Your Whole Self to Work”. In theory, that’s great! Who doesn’t want to be able to be authentically themselves at work? But what happens when your “whole self” is not who people expect because you aren’t a “typical employee”?
In this moderated panel we’ll hear about the benefits and pitfalls of being authentically you at work. The panelists will include a biracial lesbian WordPress agency owner committed to an equitable and inclusive workplace, a bisexual WordPress community organizer with anxiety disorder who prioritizes community diversity, a queer woman who contributes to the plugin review team who can discuss the unique challenges associated with working in an environment where the default assumption is that you’re a man, a gay woman who juggles a variety of mental health issues and advocates for more openess about being neuroatypical, a Black man working as a full stack developer, and an African American woman who works as a technical support supervisor and GoDaddy Speaker Ambassador.
The panel will focus on the freedom of being able to be your authentic self at work, as well as the potential for backlash and added difficulties when your whole self isn’t what people expect. We’ll also discuss how to foster a workplace where people feel safe to fully show up as themselves. Panelists will also share how they’ve approached their journey to authenticity at work.