Creating an Inclusive Workplace: 5 Ghoulish Lessons from Wednesday Addams
By Saffina Jinnah
Since her debut in The New Yorker in 1937, Wednesday Addams has developed into an icon. Though I didn’t encounter her until well into the 90s, the mark she made on me - and different girls everywhere - is remarkable. To be confident and intelligent, but also calm and reserved. Happily different.
Though she exists entirely in fantasy, she can still teach us the ways of acceptance, inclusion, and diversity, even in 2022.
Embrace Your Weird – “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour.”
Growing up, being different meant being weird. Wednesday says embrace it! Celebrate yourself and shine without abandon. Don’t be afraid to be who you truly are, whether in your personal or professional life. Wednesday isn’t. She embraces her dark side and beams with confidence and self-awareness.
She refuses to make any effort to fit and is perfectly comfortable with her spooky self, headless Marie Antoinette doll and all. When she goes to summer camp, she doesn’t flitch when asked “Why are you dressed like that?” She has no shame in her hobbies that include raising spiders and torturing her brother.
If you display confidence and happiness within yourself, this often radiates to others. This can be challenging in the workplace, but it is important to lead by example.
What does it mean to embrace your inner weirdo? Dare to be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to share ideas and ask questions that may seem a bit quirky. Companies such as Lyft, DoorDash, and Square were considered wild ideas ten years ago and are now reliable business models. Wear neon socks and share your passions.
If you want others to be comfortable bringing their whole self to work, then you need to be too. Allow others to embrace their weird. Allow others to bring their truth. This will result in a more honest, productive, and fun workplace where people are happier and innovative ideas flourish.
Ask Questions and Stay Curious – “Nice knife, can I play autopsy with it?”
How is Wednesday so informed about death and the dark arts? Because she has remained ever curious! She seeks out knowledge every opportunity she gets. She is often found reading the big book of “Wounds, Scars, and Gouges” and looks to her Uncle Fester to learn more.
Likewise, we should continue to grow our knowledge and expand our minds personally and professionally. If we do not remain curious and open, we will not create a strong and inclusive workplace. So, if you don’t know the answer, ask.
Sometimes asking questions in the workplace can be nerve-wracking and intimidating. We often worry about what is okay to ask and what is not. But asking questions will lead to finding answers and those answers will broaden your mind. Seek out those with more experience on topics you want to learn about, just as Wednesday does with Uncle Fester.
Curiosity of differences can create belonging. A culture of questioning creates safety for people to be curious of each other and the work they do. Cultivate relationships with people who are different from you so that you can learn and understand other points of view and different ways of thinking. If you meet someone at work who appears different then you, it is okay, and important, to be curious. It is also critical to be mindful take it upon yourself to learn about those differences, unless that person offers to share their personal insights, to not burden them and tokenize their very real experiences.
Find a balance. Remain ever curious. Just as Wednesday does. Her fascination and subsequent research on the Bermuda Triangle propel her mind. Do the work.
Stay true to your Values – “No one torments my family but me.”
Yes, it’s true, from electrocution to dagger throwing, Wednesday takes great pleasure in tormenting her brother Pugsley. But in the end, they support each other and are really quite a duo. She is protective of him and makes it clear that she is the only one who may torture him. Similarly, she stands up for her friends by resurrecting dead frogs and commanding them to attack the school bully.
While at summer camp, Wednesday is cast in a play to portray an Indigenous female. Rather than follow script, she breaks character and rejects the Pilgrims’ offer to break bread. Instead, she presents a history lesson my seven-year-old mind had never been exposed to before. In a brief monologue, Wednesday exposes the truth about colonization and the inter-generational, damaging effects it continues to have today.
As you can see, Wednesday is not one to take any nonsense from anyone. And neither should you. If someone is causing harm to you in the workplace, you should address it. Just as if you see someone causing harm to another individual in the workplace, you should address it. Understandably, this is not as easy as it sounds, nor can we resurrect frogs to attack, but a crucial step in creating safe and inclusive workplaces. Take courage from Wednesday and stand up for what you believe in.
Accept People as They Are - "The human spirit, it is a hard thing to kill.”
Wednesday is an inspiration. A prime example of how doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, or where you are from, you have a place in this world. Perhaps this is why she and Pugsley take Joel, a fellow camper punished for reading a book, under their eerie little wings. Likewise, her uncanny yet unsurprising friendship with Parker, a depressed and bullied classmate.
Upon meeting, Parker, blatantly states that Wednesday is a ‘freak’ and ‘weird.’ However, over time, the two form a bond. In fact, Wednesday forms a circle of friends consisting of her, Parker, Layla, and Kayla. Despite their obvious, stark differences, their bond is notable.
She accepts them just as they accept her. Perhaps the next time you meet a new employee, take them under your wing. When you encounter someone different than you in the workplace, don’t be quick to make judgements.
Trust Your Instincts – “I meant to behave but there were so many other options.”
Whether it is dropping your baby brother from the rooftop or suspecting your uncle who was lost in the Bermuda Triangle for 25 is an imposter, Wednesday has always done what she thinks is right. She has strong instincts and trusts them. Suffice it to say, Gomez caught the baby and Uncle Fester was in fact an imposter, attempting to steal the Addams family fortune. Once again, in the following movie, she believes the nanny hired to care for her and Pugsley is also a fraud, and once again is right.
It’s hard to trust your gut, especially when it comes to our professional life. Do we do what is safe or do we do what we feel? Is it worth the risk?
We are born with intuition and then learn behaviours and take cues form society that may conflict with our intuition. When should we say what? It is hard to know. But if you can get back to your true self and trust yourself, this will guide you in how to trust and understand others as well.
The Addams Family is truly lesson in diversity and inclusion. They longed to live in a place where their differences were welcomed, just as we all do. Not without conflict, the residents came to support the Addams Family over time. Accepting others as they are and embracing their differences is the only way to move forward.
About Saffina Jinnah:
Saffina Jinnah is a brown girl living in Vancouver, BC. A first generation Canadian, her parents are from Uganda. In her day-to-day life she works in non-profit funding, is an active volunteer, and loves to read in coffee shops sipping something over-sweetened and over-caffeinated. You can read more of her writing at Confessions of a Brown Girl.