Introduction / Background

Since 2025 started, anecdotal indicators suggest that many Professionals of Color (POCs) have experienced heightened challenges in their workplaces significantly due to the increased rhetoric and policies against diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Owlservations, LLC, a boutique career service firm, is conducting this research to hear directly from POCs about their workplace well-being this year. Findings from the study will equip POCs to better navigate workplace challenges; educate leaders and allies on the realities POCs face; and guide organizations in supporting and retaining POC talent. Most importantly, this research provides a forum for Professionals of Color to share their own stories, as other forces strive to erase our narratives.

Your candid feedback on this short (approx. 12-15 mins) survey will help us achieve the research project’s objectives. To help us better understand the experiences of all respondents, we ask a few biodemographic questions at the end of this anonymous survey. Your responses will remain confidential and will only be used by the research team to analyze results.

Everyone who completes the survey will receive complimentary access to a 2026 Owlservations webinar (valued over $50) and a chance to win other exciting prizes.

Thank you for investing time to lend your voice to this critically important study. The return-on-investment will yield benefits for you and other POCs in 2026.

Prior to starting the survey, please review the survey's key terms below.

Questions? Contact the research principal investigator, Dr. Cie Armstead, at cie.armstead@owlservations.com or 224.368.4460.
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The following are key terms, as defined in this survey.

Anti-DEI: The rhetoric, policies and practices that are designed to diminish or eliminate actions that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Of color: person who self-identifies as a race other than white, including multiple races.

Professional: person who self-identifies as being employed or seeking employment in a job, vocation, or calling that usually requires specialized knowledge and often long, intensive academic and/or experience-based preparation.

Racial Identity: how a person self-identifies and socially expresses their race; understanding "race" is a social construct, racial identity also reflects how others see and interact with someone else based on that person's race.

Workplace Well-Being: The overall health, happiness, and satisfaction of individuals relative to engagement in their employment environment. Multiple variables contribute to workplace well-being, including physical, mental, emotional, and financial health.

Workplace: anywhere you are engaging in your employment functions, including the office, work-from-home, external business functions (e.g., conference or offsite work social events), career-related settings (your professional society or association events).

2025: Generally, it refers to the time starting with January 1, 2025. However, factors affecting your workplace well-being in 2025 may have started months or years beforehand.
 
 10% of survey complete.

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