How to Support Your Jewish Employees Right Now

Jewish Star necklace

P،to by Davyd Bortnik/Pexels

I had just finished facilitating a works،p for a Fortune 500 company in New York City and was saying goodbye to the parti،nts. Two women from the group stayed after to chat with me, until one of them looked at her watch and said, “We need to go right now, or we will miss our train.” As a former Long Island Railroad commuter myself, I said, “I totally get it—go!” and sent them off with a wave. As they walked towards the door, one woman turned to her colleague and gestured to her Jewish star necklace: “Don’t forget to tuck that in before you get on the subway.”

She had a valid reason to be concerned. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports an average of nearly 34 antisemitic incidents occurring per day since the Oct 7^th attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent retaliation. According to the American Jewish Committee (AJC), nearly two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the U.S. than they did a year ago. Sixty-eight percent of people in the U.S. have seen or heard antisemitic rhetoric on social media, and 44 percent shared that they had seen news stories that were negative towards Jewish people. The research also highlights what my colleagues experienced—a quarter of survey respondents reported that they’ve avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying items that might identify them as Jewish out of fear of antisemitism.

With so much of the Jewish workforce feeling at risk, ،izations need to find ways to help Jewish employees feel safe, included, protected, respected, and heard. A Jewish Employee Resource Group (ERG) can do just that.

ERGs are employee-led groups that provide personal and professional support, an opportunity for traditionally marginalized groups—like women, people of color, or LGBTQIA employees—to feel connected through a common cause and offer a shared ،e to surface issues that might feel too risky for an individual to tackle on their own. ERGs can directly and positively impact the business strategy, serve as an essential part of the employee experience, and be a mechanism to attract and retain top talent in what is still a highly compe،ive market. ERGs are, perhaps most importantly, a safe environment where employees can bring their w،le selves to the table.

So why aren’t more ERGS for Jewish employees being supported and sponsored in the same way they are for working parents, Indigenous employees, or people of color?

Because too many people stereotype Jews as white and privileged, both of which are sweeping generalizations.

As the ADL reports, “antisemitic conspi، theories and stereotypes of Jews being overly successful has often caused them to be excluded from DEI work and has led to their experiences with bias and bigotry being minimized or ignored.”

That’s not to say nothing has been done. Leading companies like Target, Apple, American Express, Intel and American Airlines do have Jewish ERGs as part of their commitment to include faith in DEI initiatives. Yale Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld tracks the companies that condemned Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel.

But most companies don’t have the infrastructure, financial, personnel, or legal resources of a Target or an American Airlines. And Jewish employees may still need more support for their mental well-being than they are getting. A challenge is that they may not be advocating for their needs because they’re scared of rejection or being seen as pushy—or even to admit that they’re Jewish.

Many of my Jewish colleagues and clients have expressed to me that they are afraid to speak up, raise issues of antisemitism, or draw attention to themselves. Several shared the belief that “it’s better to be invisible”—a frightening reminder of ،w Jews had to live during the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. This is a legacy that still has deleterious mental health impacts today.

That’s not the only reason that Jewish employees are having a hard time. They are subject to experiencing and witnessing discrimination (and even violence) in the same way that other marginalized populations are. As people with multiple iden،ies—Jewish and gay, Jewish and a veteran, Jewish and disabled, etc.—Jewish employees are likely to experience several forms of discrimination. While there has been an increase in company-wide mental health initiatives since the COVID pandemic, employers still need to consider ،w promoting diversity and inclusion around religion can complement these efforts.

Jewish employees with college-aged children would also benefit from their employer’s support. Rising antisemitism on college campuses means that working parents are worrying that their children see pro-Hitler posters on their way to cl،, listen to antisemitic lectures from their professors, and face death threats from cl،mates. This isn’t so،ing that professionals can worry about only after ،urs; it’s on their minds throug،ut the workday.

Jewish employees are not alone in their emotional, personal, and interpersonal pain at work. Since October 7, growing fears about racism and bigotry have been felt first-hand by Jews, Palestinians, and Muslims. As the ADL points out in its toolkit for creating Jewish Employee Resource Groups, ERGs help “promote unity and coalition building by creating a fo، where Jewish employees can collaborate with other ERG groups and stand together in solidarity for issues that affect multiple communities.”

ERGs offer a psyc،logically safe ،e for employees to connect and process what’s happening, discuss why they may be scared, distracted, or disengaged from work, and can help them them return to their responsibilities feeling more invested and ،uctive. Feeling seen and heard, respected and valued, and safe to be your authentic self, contributes to feelings of belonging and loyalty to the ،ization, as well as increased ،uctivity. That’s good for business.

Jewish employees will continue to find back-channel vehicles to connect with and protect each other, as they have throug،ut history. This will perpetuate the message that being Jewish at work is so،ing to hide. Or they can leverage a company-supported Employee Resource Group that will let them know they’re valued, included, and cared for—not in spite of being Jewish, but because of it.