Work & AmbitionDiagnosis
Toxic Positivity
TOK-sik poz-ih-TIV-ih-teenoun
What it means
An insistence on good vibes deployed to prevent anyone naming the problem.
What it actually means
Be unhappy quietly.
How it is used in a sentence
"Let's keep the energy positive in the all-hands."
Filed under
Work & Ambition — Everything your employer calls a benefit and your therapist calls a symptom.
Diagnosis — The phrase already names a real problem. We define it properly.
How are you coping
Related entries
Burnout
Work & AmbitionBURN-owtnounDiagnosis
The occupational condition produced by a culture that has a word for it precisely so that it does not have to change.
Real meaningYou are exhausted and it is your responsibility to fix it.
We're a Family
Work & Ambitionweer uh FAM-uh-leephraseEuphemism
A claim of kinship used to justify the hours and the pay of an arrangement that can be terminated unilaterally.
Real meaningYou will be asked to make sacrifices a job has no right to ask for.