For Nola Remi-Adelasoye, improving workplace culture is personal.
“I want to make sure organizations are focused on their employees’ mental health because I’ve been there,” said Remi-Adelasoye. “I’ve experienced workplace bullying. I’ve been treated less than.”
Nola Remi-Adelasoye
The challenges she’s faced are not “just because I’m a Black woman or an immigrant with an accent,” she shared, but because co-workers have ignored her education, experience, or skills. Employers often didn’t know how to support her or make meaningful changes.
Driven by these experiences, Remi-Adelasoye decided to take action to create a better future for employees facing similar challenges.
In February, she began the Online Campus’ Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Organizational Psychology program to continue her educational journey and gain more knowledge. Her goal: To help organizations put their employees first.
Graduates of the Adler University I/O Psychology program go on to foster psychologically healthy environments in fields as diverse as consulting, corporate enterprise, nonprofits, academia, and the public sector.
When she does complete the program, Remi-Adelasoye said she hopes to become a consultant for organizations. Using the principles of I/O psychology, she wants to help improve safety and performance of workers, as well as becoming a researcher and lecturer to instill knowledge in others.
“Through the I/O Psychology program and earning a Ph.D., I’ll be better positioned to make changes that I’m passionate about, especially concerning workers’ mental health,” Remi-Adelasoye said.
The decision to join the program also reunites her with one of her mentors — Jason Walker, Psy.D., Ph.D., I/O Psychology program director. Dr. Walker had been one of Remi-Adelasoye’s professors at Yorkville University, where she earned a master’s degree in counselling psychology in 2023.
Although Remi-Adelasoye has always had a goal of earning a doctorate, she was initially interested focused on Adler’s Psy.D. program. It was her experience working with Dr. Walker in writing a chapter for the book International Human Resources that sparked her interest in I/O psychology. Their chapter looked into the implications of workplace bullying and harassment amongst migrant workers.
“The research opened my eyes because there were many reasons for the bullying and harassment, but often times many of these were not intentional,” said Remi-Adelasoye, adding that many of the organizations were simply ignorant of the migrants’ needs, which can differ from local workers.
“The local workers have their own set of challenges, but migrant workers need to acclimatize to a new space, they may be separated from family, they’re not as familiar with sick or health care policies,” she said. “When organizations don’t consider their unique needs, it can be difficult for the worker to function at the same level as their local co-worker.”
Remi-Adelasoye said she could relate to the migrants’ experiences. Born in Nigeria, she has moved to South Africa and Ireland before settling in Mill Bay, a small town on Vancouver Island.
“It wasn’t until I left Nigeria when I first experienced being treated differently,” she said. “Many people, even here in Canada, weren’t focusing on my intelligence and skills. Now I’m working on my doctorate that will not only help me professionally, but also to help many others experiencing similar challenges.”
Remi-Adelasoye said the doctorate program isn’t going to be easy, but she’s ready. It also helps to have Dr. Walker as a mentor.
“Being able to continue to learn from someone like Dr. Walker is such an encouragement for me, even on courses that I find challenging,” Remi-Adelasoye said. “He always tells me, ‘You’re allowed to struggle but never quit.’ And I never will.”