Dysfunctional Workplaces

One thing I've learned is that even in the best work environments, small pockets of emotional and mental disease can develop, usually when too much power gets shifted to an abusive person or group. In many cases, this psychic rot spreads quickly throughout a department and sometimes an entire organization. It leaves the people whose livelihood depends on enduring this negativity day after day, stressed out and sick. It continues to add up until we've become a victim and/or a contributor to the problem.

Ideally, you can find a place where you can surround yourself with a strong enough network of friends that allow you to maintain a healthy perspective and weather such instances without getting blindsided by them. I think it's particularly important when conflicts arise, that we don't get caught in the trap of assuming that WE are the problem, that there's something wrong with US and that we should change to fit in, when it's entirely likely that we may be subjecting ourselves to a diseased work culture.