I've so many thoughts and feelings about what you've written here that I'm starting to feel like it might be a whole post rather than a comment but the gist is that much of what you have written resonates very strongly with me but there are a couple of points which don't sit quite as well. I'm not convinced that your choices examples of 'cancel culture' are the best, as I'm not convinced that it is a genuine thing when applied to celebrities, who seem to mostly dust themselves down, peform an act of contrition and come back just as strong and often stronger aftewards. Or in the case of Rowling, garner themselves a new fan base as leader of whatever abhorrent corner of the internet their particular brand of hatred most appeals to.
So much more, but that last paragraph (which is almost word for word what I said in a podcast interview in summer 2021 and still what I beleive to be true) is where the gold is, except for one small caveat. I think these conversations absolutely must be had in offices. Most of us spend a huge amount of time at our places of work and as your experience shows, poor working relationships can destroy our sense of safety and wellbeing. Healthy relationships in all areas of life come from being able to have difficult conversations and although it can feel off limits when there are systems of hierarchy at play, we must begin to shift the culture so that people feel safe to do so. This is something that is big in my mind at the moment and I am likely to be writing more about in the next few weeks as I figure out how to navigate some tricky work situations. With your permission I will lin to this article when I do. (I will probably use a chunk of this comment to get me started!).
I've so many thoughts and feelings about what you've written here that I'm starting to feel like it might be a whole post rather than a comment but the gist is that much of what you have written resonates very strongly with me but there are a couple of points which don't sit quite as well. I'm not convinced that your choices examples of 'cancel culture' are the best, as I'm not convinced that it is a genuine thing when applied to celebrities, who seem to mostly dust themselves down, peform an act of contrition and come back just as strong and often stronger aftewards. Or in the case of Rowling, garner themselves a new fan base as leader of whatever abhorrent corner of the internet their particular brand of hatred most appeals to.
So much more, but that last paragraph (which is almost word for word what I said in a podcast interview in summer 2021 and still what I beleive to be true) is where the gold is, except for one small caveat. I think these conversations absolutely must be had in offices. Most of us spend a huge amount of time at our places of work and as your experience shows, poor working relationships can destroy our sense of safety and wellbeing. Healthy relationships in all areas of life come from being able to have difficult conversations and although it can feel off limits when there are systems of hierarchy at play, we must begin to shift the culture so that people feel safe to do so. This is something that is big in my mind at the moment and I am likely to be writing more about in the next few weeks as I figure out how to navigate some tricky work situations. With your permission I will lin to this article when I do. (I will probably use a chunk of this comment to get me started!).