Abstract
Black tax is a socioeconomic term that is traditionally understood to be a phenomenon relating to having to financially care for one’s socioeconomically disadvantaged family and extended family once one is in a financial position to do so. However, this study proposes that Black tax is not exclusively economic and can be seen as an organisational psychological phenomenon. When Black professionals enter the South African workplace, they may be faced with different challenges, duties, obligations, responsibilities and burdens to themselves, and others like them. This is what the current study terms “psychological Black tax”. The main objective of this study was to understand the different ways in which Black professionals experience the phenomenon in the South African workplace. A qualitative research approach was followed. Data were collected from four focus groups comprising 23 Black South African professionals in total. Thematic analysis brought about eight new themes on this topic:. Managers need to be aware of the existence of these burdens and lead inclusively to ensure that the organisation does not disadvantage the Black employee. This study introduces a novel concept and demonstrates how it is operationalised at work.
Keywords: Black tax, psychological Black tax, Black professionals, South Africa, South African organisations.