Toxic positivity means that there is a strong sense of minimizing or denying negative feelings as wrong or harmful to the individual and surroundings.
What makes positivity toxic is the fact that it doesn’t allow other than positive feelings at all and considers those as faults or failures of some kind.
I can recognize toxic positivity in my actions. I usually try to hide or dismiss the negative feelings at work and I usually also leave negative feelings unprocessed and non-reflect on why I’m feeling those negative feelings.
Research shows that this kind of action can increase feelings of stress in your body and wear you out little by little. In the long run, there’s a good chance to get burnout even without knowing where it came from. Accepting all kinds of emotions is one important key to avoiding stress and burnout. Positive psychology as a discipline emphasizes the importance and significance of all kinds of emotions as a message of something that should be considered, but for some reason, the opposite is often the case in workplaces. When you can’t talk about work-related problems or bad practices openly and acceptably it may also have a huge negative impact on the business.
A famous Finnish researcher, Frank Martela, says that the challenge is that if negative emotions are seen as negative, people feel guilty for experiencing them. In this way, guilt also becomes a friend of the original negative feeling. That’s double the amount to hide!
My wife always says that there are no negative things, they are just things among other things to consider. Also, all emotions can be approached with a neutral attitude. Speak about things and emotions freely and without coloring them negatively. Mistakes have gotten a huge negative tone although also ‘a mistake’ is just one thing or circumstance, a one way how things have turned out. In fact, mistakes are the precious ones, the ones that we can learn the most from.
Toxic positivity is a crucial topic because nowadays it’s easy to lost in the sea of undealt negative feelings and hard to find a way to communicate or solve the situation. Managers should take the culture of processing emotions and the messages behind them into close consideration and develop ways to deal with those in all kinds of work environments. Building trust in companies is important for a safe environment to express feelings and thoughts of all kinds.
Imagine how awesome your situation would be when finally you could embrace those unpleasant feelings in a new way. You would see negative feelings as truly valuable things and things that will develop you. No more feelings of guilt, inadequacy, or failure. By being able to face negative emotions in a healthy way, you can teach that approach to others and make the workplace happier and a well-being unit. Leaders have a great responsibility in building the culture to support the proper environment for this to happen. According to research on emotional regulation, the leader’s ability to manage emotions will determine team morale and motivation.
Not being able to say and feel, pretense, stress, guilt, etc. are all big factors that have huge effects on people and work success. They affect overall well-being and hinder productivity, creativity, etc. Such a big reason to pay good attention to toxic positivity and learn to deal with negative feelings in a tolerant way.
Here are a couple of good resources about this topic:
📚 Read about toxic positivity from the Finnish article: Toksinen positiivisuus – miten myönteisyydestä tulee myrkkyä? (Toxic positivity – how does positivity become poison?) – https://www.aalto.fi/fi/oasis-of-radical-wellbeing/toksinen-positiivisuus-miten-myonteisyydesta-tulee-myrkkya
📚 Tips to Avoid Work From Home Burnout and Recognizing Toxic Positivity – https://m9solutions.com/tips-to-avoid-work-from-home-burnout-and-recognizing-toxic-positivity/
📚 What Toxic Positivity Looks Like at Work—and How to Deal With It – https://www.themuse.com/advice/toxic-positivity
📚 What Is Toxic Positivity and How Is It Bad for Your Workplace? – https://money.usnews.com/careers/articles/what-is-toxic-positivity-and-how-is-it-bad-for-your-workplace
📚 Handling Negative Emotions in a Way that’s Good for Your Team – https://hbr.org/2019/06/handling-negative-emotions-in-a-way-thats-good-for-your-team
