Too much positivity? | We have to say goodbye to toxic wellbeing 

It’s well accepted that the wellbeing of employees is an important factor in the overall success of a business.

Since the pandemic, companies more than ever are acknowledging the importance of the mental and physical health of workers as integral to innovation and productivity. As a result, ‘wellbeing’ as a concept is now an important pillar in the culture of most firms, both as a tool to attract and retain talent, and to ensure productivity while minimising burnout.

But too much of one good thing can be bad. Even though a focus on wellbeing has good intentions behind it, there’s a phenomenon brewing beneath the surface on social media of toxic positivity and wellbeing, that can have the ironic inverse effect of making workers feel rubbish.

What is toxic positivity?

Toxic positivity or toxic wellbeing is the phenomenon of organisations, or users on social media, proposing that a positive mental attitude and healthy lifestyle are key to ‘having’ wellbeing, despite a person’s emotional pain or difficult situation.