The Danger of Positive Vibes: Are You Guilty of Toxic Positivity?

The ‘good vibes only’ mantra may appear to come from a nourishing place, but there can be serious repercussions of feeling the need to be constantly upbeat. This can be particularly true in the workplace, as trying to maintain a positive mindset can mask underlying issues.

It could also be detrimental to your team’s mental health if they feel they must suppress signs that things aren’t right. Instead of boosting the mood, this false positivity can make workplace interactions feel insincere, leading to a toxic environment.

What is toxic positivity?

While many of us like to be thought of as happy people, most of us know that the human mind is much more complex than feeling just one emotion.

That means things like anxiety, depression and grief are overlooked, which means they’re not dealt with or taken into consideration. Burying such emotions won’t make them disappear and the pressure to hide them can exacerbate such issues further.

A study by Science of People found 67.8% of participants had experienced toxic positivity from another person in the past week. While some individuals are more predisposed to toxic optimism, it’s important as a manager not to let it become the culture within your organization.

How to avoid toxic positivity in the workplace

Instead of encouraging employees to suppress negative emotions, managers should be allowing staff to lean into their authentic feelings. This culture shift is unlikely to occur instantly, but there are a number of ways that toxic positivity can be discouraged and a new openness found between colleagues.

1. Give all emotions equal standing

It can be tempting to prioritize positive emotions over negative ones, but it’s important that you give both equal status. Rewarding colleagues for seeming upbeat can drive unhappy feelings underground, where they can easily grow into something bigger and harder to deal with going forward.

2. Lead by example

To effectively change the culture within a business you need to be prepared to lead by example and this goes for moving away from false positivity. As a leader, it’s often assumed that you need to always show strength to your employees, but expressing your own emotions and vulnerabilities will demonstrate that they can too.

3. Consider emotions as tools of communication

Emotions, both positive and negative, are natural and they have a purpose, which is to communicate vital information about a situation we find ourselves in. While some emotions, like happiness, help us to be creative, acknowledging anger or fear can lead to better understanding a scenario and dealing with it appropriately.

4. Encourage employees to express their needs

It’s easy to misinterpret emotions out of context, so encourage staff to explain their needs at the same time as expressing emotion. This will enable colleagues to react in the most appropriate manner and not offer advice when empathy is needed or vice versa.

5. Facilitate the analysis of situations

Colleagues often recognize that they haven’t acted in the best possible way to other employees’ emotions after the event. Making it easier to revisit these interactions and allowing staff to feel heard can make them feel more at ease expressing their grievances, making way for authentic positivity in the future.

6. Discourage dismissive phrases

Language is a very useful tool and it can shape the way personnel feel about a situation. It’s common for positive toxicity to spread when phrases such as ‘cheer up’, ‘look on the bright side’ or ‘it could be worse’ are heard around the office. This type of language is dismissive and can make employees feel like their emotions aren’t valid, so should be discouraged by management.