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The pandemic has transformed several aspects of our everyday lives. One example is how the new normal of working remotely has taken over on-site requirements.

Working from home or essentially from anywhere definitely has a lot of advantages -- no more dealing with traffic on the way to work, no more side chatter distractions from less busy coworkers and for those who feel more comfortable in sweatpants, no more getting dressed for work. Aside from that, there is also more time to spend with the family or work on personal projects and hobbies. And, of course, there is this less-discussed advantage of reduced microaggressions.

Microaggressions, or the "new face of racism" as described by a team from Columbia University in 2007, are verbal and nonverbal slights coming from the combination of implicit bias and stereotypes related to ethnicity, age, gender, or race. They are called as such since the insults come in "micro" size compared to actions such as beating someone up, killing them, or having their property stolen. Still, the impact is not micro at all.

Microaggression in remote work

Psychologist Robert Kovach explains that while remote work will not end microaggressions, it helps reduce it. For example, in a virtual meeting, intentionally leaving the camera off will eliminate any implicit need for anyone to comment about somebody else during the session.

Despite this, microaggressions can still come in other forms when working remotely. For example, comments about how loud someone's child is or how someone looks on camera can be a form of microaggressions. For some, it may be a small joke, but being on the receiving end may feel different.