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Toxic positivity does more harm than good

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Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#31

Post by hntrader »

haunter wrote: post #11

Prime example is the current Cosmo row about putting obese models on cover ("This is healthy") while Covid is rampaging in the US and killing obese people https://www.rt.com/news/511466-cosmo-fat-healthy-covid-cover...

It's a bit different to the intended meaning of toxic positivity in the article, which is about dishonest cheerfulness. Maybe we need a different name for what you're describing. Promoting metabolic disease as healthy, when it's one of the leading causes of early mortality, is certainly some type of toxicity ...

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#32

Post by bavent »

PointyFluff wrote: post #12
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #8

I've felt a lot of "false" positivity espoused by project managers, especially those in charge of agile ceremonies. Examples: "I'm really {proud,impressed} of all of you for your output this sprint", "You guys are {killing,crushing,owning} it", "You all should be very proud of what you guys did", etc. These aren't given after periods of crunch time, they're literally every week to the point where it feels so contrive…

They should just dole out cryptocurrency every time they say that. The words would have meaning again.

My work effectively does. "Points" we can redeem for physical goods or trips.

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#33

Post by jdsalaro »

op03 wrote: post #7
fastball wrote: post #2

I think Toxic Positivity is a bit of a misnomer, I'd probably call it "False Positivity". It's not some subset of real positivity that is toxic, it's just... not actual positivity. It's an act.

Next up True Negativity or Positive Toxicity. Take your pick. “Our language is an imperfect instrument created by ancient and ignorant men. It is an animistic language that invites us to talk about stability and constants, about similarities and normal and kinds, about magical transformations, quick cures, simple problems, and final solutions. Yet the world we try to symbolize with this language is a world of process…

"Makes broad, meaningless and demeaning generalizations about language and its creators by alluding to their inability to capture the world's complex nature while doing that very same thing by means of rigid categorizations and stark remarks all in the interest of sounding edgy" - Wendell Johnson

Nice, albeit terribly useless, soundbite.

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#34

Post by antisthenes »

haunter wrote: post #11

Prime example is the current Cosmo row about putting obese models on cover ("This is healthy") while Covid is rampaging in the US and killing obese people https://www.rt.com/news/511466-cosmo-fat-healthy-covid-cover...

This is just a corporation pandering to one of their demographics.

Toxic positivity is something that happens in interpersonal communication. It's meaningless praise and excitement, bordering on condescension. It usually also comes from a person who isn't really qualified to distinguish accomplishments from regular work, because they aren't an expert in the field.

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#35

Post by croissants »

haunter wrote: post #11

Prime example is the current Cosmo row about putting obese models on cover ("This is healthy") while Covid is rampaging in the US and killing obese people https://www.rt.com/news/511466-cosmo-fat-healthy-covid-cover...

I think the article touches on a distinction between these things:

> Even the oppressive insistence that we should love our body, no matter what, can tip into upbeat intolerance by implying that it’s not OK to want to work on tummy folds or laugh lines.

I read the Cosmo cover as suggesting "it's OK to not want to change your body", toxic positivity would be "it's not OK to want to change your body". In that case, toxic positivity is more restricting -- it's the difference between "it's fine to not be sad" and "it's not fine to be sad".

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#37

Post by brutal_boi »

PointyFluff wrote: post #12
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #8

I've felt a lot of "false" positivity espoused by project managers, especially those in charge of agile ceremonies. Examples: "I'm really {proud,impressed} of all of you for your output this sprint", "You guys are {killing,crushing,owning} it", "You all should be very proud of what you guys did", etc. These aren't given after periods of crunch time, they're literally every week to the point where it feels so contrive…

They should just dole out cryptocurrency every time they say that. The words would have meaning again.

Sometimes, Sometimes not. I can imagine everybody taking out the phone to check crypto prices as soon as the words were said

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#38

Post by dnautics »

PointyFluff wrote: post #12
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #8

I've felt a lot of "false" positivity espoused by project managers, especially those in charge of agile ceremonies. Examples: "I'm really {proud,impressed} of all of you for your output this sprint", "You guys are {killing,crushing,owning} it", "You all should be very proud of what you guys did", etc. These aren't given after periods of crunch time, they're literally every week to the point where it feels so contrive…

They should just dole out cryptocurrency every time they say that. The words would have meaning again.

Or you know, currency.

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#39

Post by Trasmatta »

hntrader wrote: post #29
Trasmatta wrote: post #5

This has kind of been a problem at my workplace. Everything from the company's marketing material to its recruiting practices exudes an almost overwhelming amount of positivity. They put a huge emphasis on hiring "the nicest people in the world". Disagreements or arguments at the company are almost non-existent, because everyone tries their hardest to be positive and nice at all times. Every other sentence in Slack e…

> I will gladly take it over a workplace with toxic negativity Agree, having a colleague with a negative disposition (< 3rd percentile of general population) is in my view much, much worse than colleagues that exude the normal amount of fake positivity, even though the latter is annoying and draining and is more deceitful than the former.

Yeah, that's basically where I'm at. It's irritating sometimes, but my stress levels are much lower than places I've worked with a negative atmosphere, so I will live with it.

Re: Toxic positivity does more harm than good

#40

Post by dawnerd »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #8

I've felt a lot of "false" positivity espoused by project managers, especially those in charge of agile ceremonies. Examples: "I'm really {proud,impressed} of all of you for your output this sprint", "You guys are {killing,crushing,owning} it", "You all should be very proud of what you guys did", etc. These aren't given after periods of crunch time, they're literally every week to the point where it feels so contrive…

Same people I guess that think you have to find something positive to say about every code review.
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