The Hidden Cost of 'Positive Vibes Only' at Work

On the surface, “positive vibes only” sounds harmless — even inspiring. But in the workplace, relentless optimism, lacking realism and openness, can backfire, creating a culture where people mask their concerns instead of addressing them.

Forced positivity comes with the unspoken expectation that employees should stay upbeat regardless of stress, fatigue, burnout, or team challenges.

And while maintaining a positive environment is key, forcing a culture of unrealistic optimism isn’t grounded in reality. It creates a false environment and sets a fictitious narrative about what is happening in the world.

Even with the best intentions, I’ve watched how forced positivity ultimately builds pressure within teams — tearing down trust, psychological safety, and resilience.

How forced positivity erodes teams

A truly positive work environment recognizes the power of the individual. In fact, most high-performing teams believe that they’re free to take risks, share ideas and opinions, and work through their mistakes.

Forced positivity, on the other hand, invalidates people’s emotions and creates a culture where employees feel they have to hide their thoughts and struggles.

This could look like:

• Dismissive language: “Look on the bright side” or “It could be worse.”
• Unspoken energy expectations: Staying upbeat at all costs.
• Shutting down the critique: Only celebrating wins, not learning from setbacks.

Without genuine support and intelligent leadership, teams risk losing the trust and transparency needed to learn, grow, and evolve — leaving employees feeling unsupported in both their development and well-being. It is critical to maintain emphasis on team-level impact while still acknowledging the individual experience.

In a culture where vulnerability is discouraged, burnout often goes unspoken — and unresolved. According to SHRM’s 2024 State of Global Workplace Culture report, nearly one-third of employees (30%) are struggling with burnout, and 50% of them are actively looking for new jobs.

What’s driving them out? Inconsistent or ineffective management, unfair treatment, a lack of empathy from leadership, and too little attention paid to employee well-being. All of these challenges are magnified in organizations that fail to create space for authenticity and growth.

What’s driving them out? Inconsistent or ineffective management, unfair treatment, a lack of empathy from leadership, and too little attention paid to employee well-being. All of these challenges are magnified in organizations that fail to create space for authenticity and growth.

Leading with the head and the heart

All effective leaders know the ins and outs of business, but emotionally intelligent leaders also recognize the emotional dynamics within their team. They’re able to align logic with empathy, and marry what’s in their head and what’s in their heart.

These leaders humanize leadership by treating each team member as a whole person. They are also willing to be vulnerable enough to admit when they are struggling as well, something I’ve done many times in my own leadership journey.

I will never forget the day George Floyd was murdered: May 25, 2020, my husband’s birthday. During the days that followed, I was in the middle of a meeting with my team, and I started crying as I recalled dinner conversations with my son and husband. I knew I still had to work, but in that moment, I was able to be hurt and emotional. That experience showed me firsthand how modeling emotional honesty invites others to do the same. It creates space for real connection along with psychological safety.

After that day, I noticed a big shift. My team members started being more open about the challenges they were facing, both professionally and personally. It unlocked a level of transparency I hadn’t seen before.

When leaders model this behavior, they pave the way for emotional honesty and create a safe space for their teams to do the same.

Embedding emotionally intelligent leadership into your organization

Emotionally intelligent leadership doesn’t rely on toxic positivity; it builds trust through transparency and behavior modeling. That process starts with setting the tone at the top, where leadership teams and executives demonstrate emotional intelligence in how they communicate, make decisions, and support their teams.

At SHRM Linkage, we begin by identifying the traits and behaviors your organization prioritizes in emotionally intelligent leaders and determining how you will measure leadership success. With that baseline, you can assess current leadership teams and spot any gaps as well as  success stories.

Say you find that a leader needs to be more innovative. They can’t just say, “I’m going to be more innovative now.” Instead, you need to give them opportunities to practice innovation. Programs like coaching, stretch job assignments, performance feedback, rewards, and recognition all help develop and reinforce desired leadership behaviors. Recognizing leaders who exhibit these traits is key because it also encourages other leaders, and by extension, their teams, to model the same behaviors.

One way organizations can embed this mentality in their teams and processes is by following the Purposeful Leadership Model to develop intentional and inclusive leaders. Purposeful leaders aren’t a nice-to-have — they are essential in building effective teams with high capacities for trust. Our work with SHRM Linkage clients shows that organizations that practice purposeful leadership see up to nine times greater employee engagement than their counterparts.

Outperform by leading with care

When we build cultures grounded in emotional honesty and trust, our organizations don’t just feel better to work in; they also perform better.

As leaders, we need to stay attuned to the signs of forced positivity in the workplace. Forced positivity may look like optimism but it erodes trust. If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: real leadership doesn’t rely on toxic cheer. Purposeful leaders earn credibility through honesty and genuine care. If we want to keep our teams engaged, supported, and growing with us, we have to take culture seriously — and lead with the head and the heart.