Code Switching: How it works and why we do it

How do you show up to the workplace as a ‘professional’? Does it include dressing, communicating, and behaving in way that is different than the way you are at home or around friends and family? If altering your appearance, mannerisms, and language, in the workplace is how you differentiate your work place identity from your home place identity, you probably are engaging in a practice known as ‘code-switching.’ Many of us grew up witnessing our mothers and relatives alter the pitch and tone of their voice when speaking on the phone and we knew instantly that someone on the phone worked in a professional setting. What does it mean when we alter ourselves so that we are perceived as sounding and acting ‘professional?’

In this course you will learn what ‘code-switching’ is, why we do it, and how it impacts us and those we lead in the workplace.