4 Ways to Navigate DEI Fatigue: To Maintain Momentum, Re-Energize and Re-Invest

In response to the tide of social unrest in 2020, many organizations launched — or re-invested in — organization-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. But now, as the intensity of that year slowly ebbs, many of those initiatives are losing steam. If progress toward inclusion has been slow for your organization, perhaps the problem isn’t with your current DEI training but with previous programs.

It’s a fair bet that most workers today have participated in at least one diversity training program. Sensitivity workshops and bias awareness courses have been around since long before the Black Lives Matter movement, yet those diversity initiatives often failed. Instead of working toward cultural change, older DEI training often focused on surface-level measures like hitting numbers or raising awareness.

Without sustainable and continued progress, workers can become frustrated. If they feel targeted and uncomfortable, employees can become resistant to change. And if they can’t see a clear connection between what they’re learning and their daily lives, people will tune out. All this adds up to diversity fatigue: one of today’s most common hurdles for diversity practitioners and organizations that are committed to change.

People might be tired of thinking about diversity, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be re-energized. The business benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion are clear, and investing in diversity will pay dividends in the future. In other words, it’s time to overcome DEI fatigue, re-invest, re-commit, and get your team excited about creating real change. Why? Because the bottom-line and work culture benefits of an inclusive environment are worth it.