What Is Marginalization & What Can You Do About It?

Marginalization, as we currently define it, is the act of relegating someone to an unimportant or powerless position—making them feel, if you will, like they’re the notes squeezed into the margins of society. Scrawled. Practically unreadable. Small.

At work, marginalization happens because a person or group; usually one that’s in power, like a manager or dominant social group; has negative preconceived notions about a fellow employee or direct report. They might believe the employee is lazy or incompetent or just plain dislike them—even if, and sometimes especially if, the employee is good at what they do.

This is a form of prejudice, and left unchecked, it breeds a toxic work environment

 for the marginalized employee: The manager might find ways to isolate the employee, excluding them from meetings or even moving them to a different location in the office. The manager might also fail to recognize the employee’s achievements, bully them, or be disrespectful in order to make them feel less valuable.