What Is Toxic Positivity and Are You Suffering from It?

You, or someone you know, has likely at some point had a toxic boss and you’re probably also familiar with the perils of a negative or whinging colleague, and how this can impact your procurement team’s culture and motivation. 

But what about Toxic Positivity? Is it a real thing? If so, how come so few people are aware of it? 

If you haven’t heard of it, and many people haven’t, it’s linked to the idea that it’s also possible to be too positive at work and, in turn, create a situation where positivity reaches a ‘toxic’ level. It can have a detrimental effect on the organisational health of your procurement team, and also, let’s be honest, your own mental health. 

Here’s what you need to know about toxic positivity, and what you can do about it.

What is Toxic Positivity?

Toxic Positivity is when there is an excessive and ineffective over-generalisation of a happy and optimistic state across all situations, regardless of how challenging they are. 

Think of one of your worst days in procurement (obviously, don’t dwell on it too much!). What would it have felt like if someone had said to you, “Just be positive and you’ll be fine”? That is basically how toxic positivity works. It’s the idea that we should remain optimistic no matter what. And it isn’t healthy. 

Positivity can, of course, be a very good thing in the increasingly unpredictable world of procurement, but only in healthy amounts. But, while this is true, positivity should not be enforced to the extent that it invalidates genuine emotions and experiences, as it can become counterproductive and harmful.

Here are some examples of toxic positivity: 

• Minimising negative emotions: Someone, either in your procurement team or outside of it, dismissing or downplaying your feelings of stress, frustration, or sadness.
• Enforced cheerfulness: A manager, or someone in your procurement team, expecting you to always display a cheerful demeanour, regardless of your actual emotions or circumstances.
• Clichéd responses: Someone using platitudes like “just stay positive” or “look on the bright side” in response to your serious concerns. 

The Impact of Toxic Positivity

Toxic Positivity can undermine the emotional and psychological well-being of those around you. and this can lead to some grave consequences: 

Emotional suppression and reduced authenticity

We all know that the key to being a good leader (in any capacity) is authenticity. But unfortunately, toxic positivity takes away everyone’s ability to be authentic. Basically, if you’re valuing positivity above all else, it makes you feel as if you can’t be yourself, which can hinder you from making true connections with your procurement colleagues, as well as be a barrier to collaboration. 

Toxic positivity also leads to emotional suppression, where you feel pressured to hide your true feelings. This can lead to anxiety, stress and even depression. Additionally, suppressing your emotions also affects your cognitive functions, which can reduce your performance. 

Problem solving issues and burnout

We all know that procurement as a function is evolving fast, which means that we all need to be great at problem solving and dealing with complexity. Unfortunately though, toxic positivity can be a barrier to this. If, within your procurement team, your attitude is just to ‘stay positive’, it means you’re more likely to ignore or dismiss negative feedback, which prevents you from doing anything real to solve your issues. 

And, finally, toxic positivity can lead to something we’re all fairly familiar with: burnout. Forcing positivity into situations may make you feel like you have to always try harder and do more, which can very quickly lead to physical and mental exhaustion.

What to Do About Toxic Positivity

We all love positivity, but realism is also just as important. So, for this reason, if your procurement team  is suffering from too much of a good thing, here’s a few things you can do to reset:

Encourage open communication

Regardless of how senior you are in your procurement team, you can always role model open communication. This might mean that, whenever you’re interacting with others, you can encourage them to talk to you about their fears, concerns or frustrations, and reassure them that you won’t judge them. 

When someone is open with you, ensure that you validate their emotions. Even simple things like ‘I understand why you might be frustrated with that supplier’ or ‘it’s ok to be upset about the result of this RFP’ can make a significant difference. 

And if you’re a leader (and even if you’re not), be vulnerable. Cry at work, if that feels right. Role model the transparency and honesty you’d like to see by showing your team that these feelings are normal. 

Balance positivity with realism

Sometimes in procurement, things are just not ok. They are stressful. They are frustrating. Perhaps some days, you even feel like quitting the profession altogether. 

Instead of pretending you don’t feel that way, sit with these emotions. Ask yourself why you feel this way, and what you can do to resolve the genuine issues and challenges you are facing. 

And once you’ve diagnosed these, take action to fix them. After all, positivity can help you reframe situations, but it certainly doesn’t solve them.

Have you ever worked in a team or an environment that suffered from toxic positivity? What was it like? Let us know in the comments below.