How About We Start Talking About the Unspeakable…
Perhaps for a moment… let’s put aside the usual workplace hype and talk about something less shiny…
Things that happen behind the scenes,
the underground of workplaces…
Like… workplace toxicity…
And I feel that oftentimes we hear toxicity, or generally workplace culture, spoken of like it’s something out there,
something in the air…
But culture isn’t anything other than people’s behaviour,
collective customs,
ways of working
And relating to each other…
It’s not something “floating” separately from us…
It is us…
I recognise many have either seen or been subjected to toxic behaviours, or both, as I have.
And I don’t know how much you’ve given thought to this, but…
Have you ever wondered if someone can be a loving father or wife, but disrespect others at the workplace?
Or soft and sweet to their partner at home, but as soon as they enter their work place, they turn into someone who shows toxic behavior?
And have you ever wondered if maybe your tiredness isn’t about how much you work,
But perhaps…
Tired of showing up as different versions of yourself in different environments?
Have we gone too far in creating a distinction between personal life and professional life?
Why is there such a separation?
Why do we hold on to different roles in different spheres of life?
We are born one person,
And we die one person.
So why the compartmentalisation of life?
The values we stand for with our family are the same values we stand up for when we show up in our workplace.
Or at least, they should be…
Despite the type of job we do.
Despite how much money we make.
Despite how we dress.
Because if there is a separation between how we show up for our family and friends,
And how we show up in our workplace…
If we have to wear different faces wherever we go, because we can’t be truly ourselves…
Then maybe we’re not fully showing up authentically to ourselves…
And maybe the places we go aren’t asking for our true selves either…
So maybe…
We’re not tired of working.
We’re tired of putting on the “masks” we wear to survive in environments that have no capacity to hold our true selves and authenticity.
From my experience…honesty, sensitivity, truth-telling, and even showing curiosity hasn’t always been easy, and sometimes felt like being judged as inconvenient…
While not always, but more often than it didn’t.
And that’s not victimhood — that’s a fact.
To me, if the trajectory of those intrinsic “norms” we create,
feed into,
and allow for…
… continues, it can only pave the way towards collapse…
Because nothing build on inauthenticity can hold for long.
Because…
Innovation,
Creativity,
Advancement…
Cannot thrive alongside…
Lack of humanity,
Lack of integrity,
And failure to uphold one’s values.
