“I know the world is on fire, but did you get a chance to read my email?”
Addressing the uncomfortable cognitive dissonance in today’s workplace
It happened sometime between the Delta COVID spike and Russia invading Ukraine; there was some marketing campaign du jour we were attacking at work, arguing over things like channel strategies and key messages, when I unraveled, put my face in my palms and thought to myself, “Who. Cares???” The world around us, for two years, had been a history textbook come to life, with one unprecedented event after another shaking the human experience to its core. And yet, from the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, I sat at a desk robotically responding to emails about <insert corporate topic here> from people who, for all I knew, didn’t exist in the same world I did. Or maybe we all just became really good at pretending like everything was fine.
It’s become all too common. One morning, you’ll read in the news, “A gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle opened fire at an elementary school, killing dozens”. Your heart sinks as you absorb the shock of the news and the magnitude of its effect on the world.
Then, a moment later, PING! Someone IM’s you:
“Hey did you get a chance to look at that JIRA ticket I assigned you? It’s URGENT!”
I’ve encountered these bizarre moments countless times in the past couple years. And every time I experienced them, I felt dirty for aiming my and my colleagues’ energy towards the day-to-day minutiae of our corporate constructs, things like user stories, PowerPoint slides or marketing brochures, instead of the chaos happening in our communities. It felt so disingenuous, so fake. Like a way to distract us from legitimate issues. Every time, it made me question if anything I was doing at work mattered in the grand scheme of life. I became too exhausted to do my work because I was trying to reconcile all of the emotions and multiple conflicting realities around me. I didn’t expect my little team to do anything about the emblazoned world around us, but my goodness are we at least going to acknowledge it?
I think a lot of us have had similar experiences, thoughts and self-reflections. It’s not farfetched to conclude that the events since 2020 have been the cause of a record number of people uprooting their day-to-day lives for something with more connection to their sense of purpose, to their souls; that these events caused even more people to reflect on who they want to be and what they want to do in the context of the greater world.
End of the taboo
One of the norms that baffles me most about working for any organization is, to some degree, being compelled to check the events of the world (and your feelings towards them) at the door when you begin each workday. Like a real-life version of the show Severance.
Growing up, I was taught to avoid “hot topics” like religion and politics at school or work. In today’s climate, I question if that taboo still makes sense. Because seemingly every piece of our daily lives (and, at times, fundamental morality) is subject to some political slant. Our communities feel increasingly polarized, and social media algorithms fuel the comfort to consume only the content that confirms and validates our viewpoints and shields us from anyone who is not part of our social, political or spiritual tribe. With the world running amok and a landscape of constant information overload, we obviously have a lot of emotions and feel like we have to suppress them to avoid confrontation. To cater to an archaic workplace taboo.
However, research shows conversations about political and social issues are happening whether leaders know it or not. Data from PwC’s “Global Workforce Hopes and Fears 2022” survey shows that 65% of employees report having conversations about political and social issues in the workplace, with the figure being even higher for ethnic minorities (73%) and younger employees (69% among ages 26 to 41). The majority of these employees report positive impacts from the discussions, including better understanding their colleagues, creating a more inclusive work environment and increasing their empathy.
Still, only 30% of employees said that their organization gives them the support and foundation to work effectively with people who have different views than their own. “This is a missed opportunity, given the importance of empathy and openness in building trust,” the report states. In other words, while these conversations are taking place, they’re happening in the dark, away from leadership’s opportunity to set incredibly positive norms.
As I’ve said, today’s organizations cannot exist in a vacuum.
Normalize the conversation
So, what can we do? How can leaders address this heavy form of cognitive dissonance as they work with their teams every day?
I don’t think there’s a silver bullet to handle it, but perhaps a first step is recognizing, respecting and reflecting on our shared humanity. Making it okay to talk about our human overwhelm in regards to the world around us, with ourselves and with our teams.
If you’re a leader, I want to challenge you to normalize discussing current events and sensitive topics with your teams in a safe, constructive way.
Here are three approaches to consider:
Lead the way: Team members might not feel comfortable voicing their emotions on their own. But, if you as a leader can spark a conversation by modeling the way, you’ll chip away at the social stigma that people can feel around discussing current events in the workplace
Dance with discomfort: Today’s events and issues are full of uncertainty; there’s no crystal ball to fully grasp their impacts. But, as an example, just because no one knows how the economy will look in six months doesn’t mean they’re not worried about it now. If you can find the courage to embrace the uncertainty, to say “I don’t know what’s happening or why it’s happening, but I’m scared/angry/upset too,” you’ll help others to become okay reconciling their own discomfort
Empathize, don’t strategize: This is time for human-centric sharing & listening. As a leader, don’t jump to problem-solving mode if a team member shares that they’ve been feeling distracted or upset, and make this clear to others as well. We’re here to pass neither judgment nor idea, but simply to understand
As leaders, a big part of our jobs is creating an environment of psychological safety, trust and belonging with our teams. In today’s increasingly polarizing and heavy world, meeting our people where they’re at means letting them share their perspectives on topics that impact them, and helping them understand their colleagues better. It means having the courage to bring our whole selves to work so that our teammates can too.