Positivity is a virtue – but too much of it can be Toxic. Here’s how Toxic Positivity creates an unhealthy work environment.

Toxic positivity, the excessive and ineffective overemphasis on positive attitudes at work, often cloaks the real issues that employees face. This misguided approach can stifle genuine communication and create a culture of insincerity.

Discover the profound impact of toxic positivity on workplace culture and learn how to foster a more authentic, supportive environment by reading on.

Genres

Psychology, Business Management, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Mental Health, Workplace Culture, Leadership, Employee Well-being, Corporate Ethics, Professional Development

The article by Jamela Adam explores the concept of toxic positivity in the workplace, a situation where an overemphasis on positive thinking leads to the dismissal of genuine employee concerns and emotions. It highlights how such an environment can invalidate personal experiences, leading to increased stress, anxiety, and decreased job performance. The piece delves into the negative consequences of this mindset, including a culture of avoidance and the potential for mental health issues among employees.

Review

The article provides a comprehensive look at the pitfalls of enforcing a positive-only mindset in professional settings. It effectively uses expert opinions and survey data to illustrate the prevalence and impact of toxic positivity. The writing is clear and accessible, making complex psychological concepts understandable for a broad audience. It serves as a valuable resource for managers and employees alike, offering insights into the importance of acknowledging a full range of emotions to maintain a healthy work environment. The article could benefit from more concrete examples and strategies for combating toxic positivity, but overall, it is a well-researched and informative piece that addresses a significant issue in modern workplace dynamics.

Recommendation

Every cloud has a silver lining, right? Though this sentiment is well-meaning, when the corporate culture makes light of serious challenges – or, worse, denies they exist – employee burnout increases and morale plummets. In a brief article for U.S. News & World Report, writer Jamela Adam sheds light on the harm that can result when well-intentioned optimism deteriorates into toxic positivity. Adam offers clues to know when toxic positivity has taken hold and suggests steps that managers and workers can take to combat it.

Take-Aways

• In the interest of promoting optimism, employers can – inadvertently or intentionally – create toxic positivity.
• Toxic positivity can damage workers’ mental health, hamper performance and cause problems to fester.
• To combat toxic positivity, managers and employees must communicate candidly in an environment that boasts psychological safety.

Summary

In the interest of promoting optimism, employers can – inadvertently or intentionally – create toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity burgeons when a commitment to optimism causes people to dismiss or gloss over concerns, problems or negative emotions. Toxic positivity is common: Some 68% of survey respondents say they’ve encountered it recently, while 75% of respondents say they themselves brush aside negative emotions in order to feel happy.

“Toxic positivity makes you believe you should have a positive mindset no matter what you’re going through. It causes you to dissociate from your negative feelings and pretend it’s all rainbows and butterflies when it’s not.”

Signs of toxic positivity in the workplace include a constant stream of cheerful emails, a top-down culture of managers telling workers to “smile through it” or to “look for the silver lining,” and a tendency to sugarcoat or ignore problems while insisting everything’s OK. Managers who ask employees to view the company as one big happy family or who say people should be grateful they don’t work in a worse place can also signal the presence of toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity can damage workers’ mental health, hamper performance and cause problems to fester.

An emphasis on motivation or enthusiasm can lead managers to create an environment of toxic positivity. But even when it’s well-intentioned, toxic positivity can cause harm in the workplace. It can impinge on workers’ mental health, as their negative feelings are made to feel unjustified or invalid. Toxic positivity can cause people to suppress their negative feelings, which can lead to anxiety and depression. Moreover, toxic positivity urges employees to continue working even when they feel overwhelmed and need rest, which can lead to burnout. And if people judge themselves for struggling at work or having negative emotions, they can feel shame, which in turn can harm their self-esteem and lead them to isolate themselves.

“Ultimately, toxic positivity leads to a lack of communication and collaboration – impacting the overall productivity and success of the workplace.”

For a company, toxic positivity fosters a culture of pretense in which people avoid tackling problems and facing difficult but necessary conversations. When discussing problems becomes taboo, the issues can fester. Employees prefer to let challenges go unaddressed rather than striving to find appropriate remedies, and people become overwhelmed and discouraged.

To combat toxic positivity, managers and employees must communicate candidly in an environment that boasts psychological safety.

To alleviate toxic positivity, managers can instead adopt an attitude of realistic positivity – that is, balancing a positive outlook with a candid recognition of difficulties. Acknowledge problems, validate people’s concerns or struggles, and find solutions. Check in with your employees frequently. Ensure that they feel psychologically safe to be truthful about how they’re doing and that they have the tools they need to do their best work. Learn more about toxic positivity and ways to help your people feel validated and encouraged instead of ignored and dismissed.

“Instead of assuming everyone is doing OK and ignoring tension, it’s essential to create an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their feelings.”

Employees can contribute to reducing toxic positivity, too. By voicing your concerns and being truthful about your needs, you can call attention to problems that managers might otherwise gloss over. Set your own boundaries and be real about what you can and can’t do. No one can feel positive and enthusiastic all the time, so validate your own negative feelings and your need for rest. Call out toxic positivity when you observe a manager engaging in it.

About the Author

Jamela Adam is a writer covering personal finance and business topics.

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