Study of 17 Black professionals links workplace emotions to racialized interactions in South Africa

A study of 17 Black professionals in South Africa found that emotions arising in racialized workplace interactions can function as forms of “survival work,” helping participants navigate racialized working conditions. Rather than treating emotional responses solely as individual reactions to isolated incidents, the research examined how their meaning is produced through ongoing workplace relationships.

According to the study abstract, the analysis used a social constructivist framework to assess data from the 17 participants. It found that emotional responses operated as practical ways of navigating workplace life under racialized conditions. The study also examines how these emotions shape the ways participants make sense of their experiences at work.

The research focuses on emotional meaning within the post-apartheid South African workplace and extends earlier scholarship by considering racialized emotions in that setting. Its findings suggest that emotions should be understood as socially situated and tied to workplace interactions, not only as private feelings or reactions to separate events.

Only the abstract was available for this report, so the supplied evidence does not describe participant recruitment, demographic distribution, data-collection procedures or detailed analytic methods. The sample was also limited to 17 Black professionals in South Africa, and the abstract does not establish whether their experiences represent a wider range of workplaces or sectors. The authors say the findings could help organizations recognize racialized emotions as valuable information for leadership development and for creating psychologically safer workplaces, but the abstract does not evaluate a workplace intervention or measure its effects.

Subject of Research: How Black professionals in South Africa construct emotional meaning within racialized workplace interactions

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

Article References: Sekaja, L. (2026). Racialized emotions at work: how Black professionals construct emotional meaning in South Africa. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05659-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05659-z

Keywords: Black professionals, South Africa, workplace emotions, racialization, social constructivism, workplace safety, leadership development, qualitative study, Racialized, emotions, work, Black