Do ideal working environments exist?
The cyclical nature of trends remains one of my favorite human behaviors to observe.?Each time we swing too far in one direction, the pendulum swings the other way.?The economy, political parties, jean styles, it all goes up and down, back and forth and work is no exception. ?
In the late 1960’s literal toxic work environments were first dubbed as such when the workplace included cancerous chemicals and infectious microbes.?By the 80’s, the term’s meaning expanded to include behaviors and regulations in a workplace.?Today, we are on the lookout for Toxic Positivity in the workplace. ?You’ve heard the phrases:?
“That’s just the way he isâ€
“At least we have a job!â€
“Stop being such a downer!â€
“It could be worse!â€
“Cheer up!â€
“It’s fine!â€
Linguistic equivalents to “nothing to see hereâ€â€¦
Apparently, too much positivity basically boils down to denying the truth surrounding what’s happening in the environment.?In case you have never been to therapy, denying emotions can have serious negative health consequences, including anxiety and depression.
So, now we know what a negative work environment looks like – the question is, what does a great work environment look, feel and sound like? ??And even more fun to ponder – what will we call it now that “positive†is a dirty word?
Do IDEAL working environments really exist?
Share what a GREAT work environment looks, feels and sounds like in the comments!
Creating positive outcomes for shelter dogs and cats AND supporting horses and riders to achieve learning goals.
2 å¹´A great work environment includes leaders who successfully reflect a culture of empowerment, trust, creating motivation by understanding individuals strengths, passions and capabilities. An ideal work environment has a culture of opportunity and growth so that individuals can contribute to its success.
WFM Expert | ICMI Top 25 | Speaker | Consultant
2 å¹´I think it's important to focus on ideal and not perfect. Perfect indicates something that has become static and shouldn't change. Where ideal could mean that it's a great place to work but it gives you something to work on and improve upon. That's the environment I'm in now. It isn't perfect, there are things that need to improve, people that need to grow, processes that need to start/stop, but the overall environment is great and even ideal for me. I love it because it's safe to be myself and ask 100s of questions, to step up and step into leadership opportunities, to create, to fail, and to ask for help. For me, similar to Tim H., an ideal environment centers on the soft skills and EQ focus of kindness, empathy, humility, curiosity, and safety. That's another piece, ideal will be personalized. One person's great environment is another person's nightmare. Lastly, ideal environments aren't static. You have to work on them and help create them. A passive culture sucker will quickly ruin an environment simply because they're there to absorb and not create. At least that's true of my ideal work environment. -Dan Ps. I'm thinking I should go get Passive Culture Sucker trademarked. That's solid! ??
Account Executive with McGriff Insurance Services
2 å¹´Ideally A safe- vibrant- smart work space- exceptional leaders- mentors on staff or access- collaborating everyday- NO more excuses Live our workplace as if it means something to ourselves and our teammates.
Focused on Empowering Employee Ownership and Strategic Market Opportunities
2 年They absolutely do exist! An environment where transparency, empathy, and normalization of failure is key. We all fail - we all have hard days - we all need support. Provide for your employees the safe place you wish you could have during any “fill in the blank†moment.