Toxic Positivity at Work Is Silencing My Team’s ConcernsToxic Positivity at Work Is Silencing My Team’s Concerns

[Root] Access is an advice column for questions about IT issues, career moves, and workplace concerns.

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Dear [Root] Access,

Our software development team has been running on fumes for months. We’re an ambitious group driven by a shared passion for our projects, but relentless pressure from upper management has taken a toll.

Despite raising concerns about the crushing workloads and aggressive timelines, we’re always met with the same canned responses: “Stay positive” and “Focus on what you can control.”

We can’t keep up, and management seems to view our struggle as an attitude problem—something to be “fixed” by simply thinking more positively. And anyone who pushes back risks being labeled “not a team player” or accused of dragging down morale.

How can I insist on more realistic expectations while maintaining good standing with management? I don’t want to come across as “negative” or a “whiner,” but it’s clear that forced optimism isn’t solving the problem.

—Forced Smile

Dear Forced Smile,

It’s management’s job to create a productive, sustainable work environment. A good manager listens to you when you raise workplace concerns, but a great manager takes proactive steps to prevent burnout before it becomes an issue.

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What do you see if you look at this from your leadership’s perspective? It might seem like there’s too much work and not enough progress. Maybe senior leaders keep rejecting requests for additional headcount. Maybe they empathize with you but mistakenly believe it’s best to suppress any workplace emotion that isn’t falsified joy. Or perhaps they simply don’t care. 

To address burnout while staying employed, you’ll need to frame it in terms management can relate to. How has software quality been affected? How many errors have occurred due to the team getting burned out by the demands? What measurable benefits could the company achieve by balancing workloads? 

But raising concerns may only get you so far. I once coached a client in a similar situation. Their manager had stopped scheduling 1:1s with them and ignored their feedback. Things didn’t improve, so they ultimately found a new job at a company that treated them more respectfully. Ideally, we shouldn’t have to change jobs because of burnout, but sometimes, it’s the best decision for our health and career growth.

Toxic positivity and burnout are serious problems. Both can make us feel like robots, mindlessly completing tasks without room for critical thinking. But you’re a person, not a robot, and people deserve workplaces that acknowledge and respond to human needs. The first step to addressing this is identifying what leadership cares about most and then advocating for your needs accordingly.

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