Racialized emotions at work: how Black professionals construct emotional meaning in South Africa

This study examines how Black professionals in South Africa make sense of their emotions under racialized workplace interactions. It therefore moves beyond treating these emotions as individual responses to isolated incidents. Drawing on data from 17 participants, the study examines racialized emotions within a social constructivist framework to explore how emotional meaning is produced through ongoing workplace interactions. The findings further show how emotional responses operate as survival work that enabled participants to navigate racialized work conditions. The analysis examines how these emotions function as ways of navigating workplace life under racialized conditions. This study extends existing scholarship by examining racialized emotions within the post-apartheid South African workplace. In practice, the study demonstrates how everyday workplace practices influence emotional experiences, thereby urging organizations to recognize racialized emotions as valuable data for leadership development and for creating psychologically safer workplaces.