Private Messages, Public Silence

by Asha Dullabh, Clinical Psychologist

After publishing The Corporate World: At This Rate, Are We Even Living?, I expected engagement in the comments. Instead, what I received were private messages. These messages struck a deep chord—reflecting an unspoken reality many are feeling but few are willing to voice publicly.

Some were from executives. Others were from employees at various levels. But the message was the same—people feel watched.

Here’s what was shared with me (shared with permission, but anonymously):

One response stood out:

"It’s hard for people to be themselves nowadays—in the real world and the digital—because we are constantly being observed and monitored at every turn."

"Speaking freely can easily be misconstrued as being a risky person. It’s scary because such constraints limit robust and progressive dialogue. It can’t be that in the effort to rise to the top, people are losing themselves. Then what’s the point?"

The irony is suffocating. We call for authentic leadership, creativity, and innovation, yet the very systems in place encourage self-censorship, conformity, and fear.

What happens when people stop speaking up? The conversations that could spark real change never happen. People opt for safe, rehearsed answers instead of truth. Workplaces become echo chambers of whatever is “acceptable” to say.

In a world that demands leaders, we’re training people to stay silent.

Where Do We Go to Think Freely?

Another private message took this thought further:

"As the workplace of the future takes shape, I believe we desperately need 'human sanctuaries'—places where digital surveillance can't reach."

"Imagine spaces where our deepest thoughts and ideas can exist without fear of being judged by algorithms or canceled by society. A place to explore freely, where ideas don’t have to be perfect or labeled right away."

"Demanding everyone to be the same leads to dangerous groupthink—where creativity is stifled, and the fear of speaking up silences progress."

This is the unspoken crisis of the modern workplace—people aren’t just afraid to speak; they’re afraid to think out loud.

• What happens when free thought only exists in private conversations?

• If people feel safer discussing ideas behind closed doors, are we really fostering innovation?
• How much brilliance have we lost because someone was too afraid to share it?

This is why we need Mental Athenaeums—sanctuaries for thought.

These are spaces—physical or digital—where people can:

? Explore ideas without fear of judgment.

? Disagree, challenge, and refine thinking without career consequences.

? Speak without an algorithm deciding what should be seen.

Because the best ideas—the ones that shake industries and shape the future—were never born in environments of constant surveillance.

The Future of Work: Will We Need Therapy to Detox From It?

A final message exposed the deeper layers of this issue:

"I do think going forward, people will need some sort of therapy because corporations run our perception and perspective in the interests of shareholders."

"The irony of capitalism—create the customers that overconsume and create consumerism as we know it... but this conversation is so layered."

Workplaces are no longer just places of employment. They shape how we think.

• They define what is considered appropriate discourse.
• They create narratives about success, ambition, and identity.
• They dictate what we engage with and what we avoid.

And if we’re not careful, we won’t even realize it’s happening.

The corporate world of the future will either:

? Recognize the value of open, honest dialogue, or

? Continue pushing people into private conversations, while public spaces remain silent.

Which direction will we take?