The Changing Meaning of Workplace Positivity: Can 2023 be the Most Authentic Year Yet?

As the page turns to 2023, the feeling of a new year can be a complex reality. Against the backdrop of war, an energy crisis, mass global geopolitical challenge and economic flux, this is a year of uncertainty. It's hard not to have a sober tone in contemplating 2023 and the desire to live and work better. 

However, unlike previous times of crisis and uncertainty when traditionalism was often both a cure and a curse for organizational challenges, the world of work has changed fundamentally over a relatively short time. So too has the value of relentless positivity as a packaged cure to workplace woes. 

The impacts of the pandemic, the changing world of hybrid work and the heightened currency of diversity means the workforce of 2023 has created a new genesis of openness between the personal and professional.

A result of this has been a heightened shift in addressing the positivity paradox on employees. Studies show that the forced suppression of negative feeling has the adverse effect on an individual’s mental health.

The recognition by organizations that business is, at its core, its people. And people, just like organizations, experience setbacks. Companies who accept these honest emotions with empathy and without judgment can build authentic cultures and resiliency among their people.

The space between positivity and professionalism 

The perception of professionalism has long been intertwined with unwavering optimism resulting in a rising swell of forced inauthenticity in the workplace. This often means the denial, minimization, and invalidation of natural human emotion. The idea of a professional mask to project only a strong and positive image often has the completely adverse effect. 

Moving into a future with increasingly blurred lines between the personal and professional self, there is rising rejection for falsities in interactions. A new genesis of honesty in the workplace is emerging. There is a widespread acceptance that setbacks and challenges are as prevalent in the professional arena as they are in many walks of life. Encouraging candid conversations on topics that were previously deemed out of bounds will allow employees to fuse life and work in a way that channels resiliency and avoids burnout and anxiety. 

The learning long game  

Synonymous with an admittance of employee challenges, is an evolving view of the employee and the need for transformation and change. The idea of a job for life seems historic in application, replaced instead with a sense of fluidity around career progression and skill acquisition. 

Core to future career achievement is the ability and motivation to learn. In an environment constantly poised for change, siloed career paths based on building expertise in a specific area is quickly debunked by the pursuit of personal growth and broad-based skill acquisition. 

The reality that employees are building towards a job that doesn’t yet exist has a significant impact on professional development and learning. In fact, LinkedIn research shows that pre pandemic, employees were influencing their own development with learning and advancement often requested as part of a benefits package.

Employees are creating their own professional development paths, anchored in an ability to learn new things and apply those learnings to new scenarios and situations.

In a time of great change, there is a new employee emerging. One that is looking to be more open, managing their own futures and accelerating opportunities. Regardless of external challenges and stressors, there has never been a better opportunity to create a workplace where employees feel empowered to be themselves, share their challenges and design career paths that enable mobility and transformation.

In doing so organizations can create a more meaningful and authentic employee experience, motivating their workforce and building a loyal and resilient workforce of the future.