In the world of commercial enterprise, we are encouraged to present an altered version of ourselves, to deliver prescriptive emotional responses. But what damage are we doing ourselves in the process?
I really enjoyed reading this. I think first and foremost it's so important to bring this topic into light. There are plenty of humans who carry all this emotional baggage and have no awareness of its source. This is definitely one of it. Raising awareness of how toxic 'designated workplace emotions' can be, or even showing that such thing exists, can be life changing.
Kind of bleak this week, Larry. You usually give an answer to your impasses. My vote is to change commercial enterprise, or at least its legal definition. I have a definite desire to change the way it's practiced, to wit: legally, if an organization manufactures or sells something, they are responsible for the outcomes. From a liability point of view, this would stop most of the harmful products. Charge business organizations (all of them, from mom-and-pop stores to trillion-dollar corporations) with fulfilling a need for the public, as was the case in the United States until the early 20th century. These sound like radical and far-fetched ideas, and indeed they would not be passed in any first-world country, but they are understood and supported in principle by (I'm guessing) a majority of the population. This would take the edge off of the severe problems you outline in a way that a country-wide general strike for real feelings would not. In other words, if a company is charged with being responsible for its products and for fulfilling a public need, they would have no real reason to treat their human resources as objects. Employees (including managers) would be able to show how they really feel.
I really enjoyed reading this. I think first and foremost it's so important to bring this topic into light. There are plenty of humans who carry all this emotional baggage and have no awareness of its source. This is definitely one of it. Raising awareness of how toxic 'designated workplace emotions' can be, or even showing that such thing exists, can be life changing.
Great topic! 👏🏼👏🏼
Kind of bleak this week, Larry. You usually give an answer to your impasses. My vote is to change commercial enterprise, or at least its legal definition. I have a definite desire to change the way it's practiced, to wit: legally, if an organization manufactures or sells something, they are responsible for the outcomes. From a liability point of view, this would stop most of the harmful products. Charge business organizations (all of them, from mom-and-pop stores to trillion-dollar corporations) with fulfilling a need for the public, as was the case in the United States until the early 20th century. These sound like radical and far-fetched ideas, and indeed they would not be passed in any first-world country, but they are understood and supported in principle by (I'm guessing) a majority of the population. This would take the edge off of the severe problems you outline in a way that a country-wide general strike for real feelings would not. In other words, if a company is charged with being responsible for its products and for fulfilling a public need, they would have no real reason to treat their human resources as objects. Employees (including managers) would be able to show how they really feel.