HR BESTIES - HR Besties: Toxic Positivity

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

Today’s agenda:  A thoughtful (and bold) introduction Cringe corporate speak: workshop Hot topic: toxic positivity: what it is and how to deal with the toxic positivity trap in the workplace #goodvibesonly Seeing the silver linings is okay and so is having feelings Toxic positivity and layoffs Feeling safe to talk about ways to improve in an organization Hype vs. hope Toxic positivity and support are not the same thing Questions/Comments  Your To-Do List: Grab merch, submit Questions & Comments, and make sure that you’re the first to know about our In-Person Meetings (events!) at ⁠https://www.hrbesties.com⁠. Follow your Besties across the socials and check out our resumes here: ⁠https://www.hrbesties.com/about⁠.  Subscribe to the HR Besties Newsletter - ⁠https://hr-besties.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠ We look forward to seeing you in our next meeting - don’t worry, we’ll have a hard stop! Yours in Business + Bullsh*t,  Leigh, Jamie & Ashley Follow Bestie Leigh! ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@hrmanifesto⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/hrmanifesto⁠ ⁠https://www.hrmanifesto.com⁠ Follow Bestie Ashley! ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@managermethod⁠  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/managermethod⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyherd/⁠ ⁠https://managermethod.com⁠ Follow Bestie Jamie! ⁠https://www.millennialmisery.com/⁠ Humorous Resources: ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠YouTube⁠ • ⁠Threads⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠X⁠ Millennial Misery: ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠Threads⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ • ⁠X⁠ Horrendous HR: ⁠Instagram⁠ • ⁠Threads⁠ • ⁠Facebook⁠ Tune in to “HR Besties,” a business, work and management podcast hosted by Leigh Elena Henderson (HRManifesto), Ashley Herd (ManagerMethod) and Jamie Jackson (Humorous_Resources), where we navigate the labyrinth of corporate culture, from cringe corporate speak to toxic leadership. Whether you’re in Human Resources or not, corporate or small business, we offer sneak peeks into surviving work, hiring strategies, and making the employee experience better for all. Tune in for real talk on employee engagement, green flags in the workplace, and how to turn red flags into real change. Don't miss our chats about leadership, career coaching, and takes from work travel and watercooler gossip. Get new episodes every Wednesday, follow us on socials for the latest updates, and join us at our virtual happy hours to share your HR stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So we try to be an inclusive podcast, right? Absolutely. Is that word still legal? So we want to talk not just about HR and we'll give peaks behind that, but that's why I like to sometimes talk about my days working in sales. Now again, this was me right out of college, but this was corporate, big time, B2B sales, meaning we were calling executives at Fortune 1000 companies. And when I started, I was calling chief financial officers.

And I've talked about how a big part of our role was getting people's attention. And what was a big role then is still now, how do you do that? And I've mentioned the email subject lines that I used and suggested and got moderately disciplined for. But sometimes you really had to think outside the box. I used and suggested and got moderately disciplined for. But sometimes you really had to think outside the box. So I had a few people in particular, and if you've been in sales, this may resonate, of this was a prospect and you had your mind on this.

This is going to happen. I'm going to get through to them somehow and at least get a response of like, go F yourself or something like that. But I really wanted to get creative. But at this time, I actually wasn't thinking about this because it was on the weekend. And back then, I really had pretty good work-life balance. And so on a Sunday, I was sitting and doing something I like to do every week, which is to read the New York Times. And I did it at the library because I didn't have money for subscription back then. But I would go and read the New York Times, especially Sunday styles, which is they have like wedding

announcements and things like that at the end. It's so good. And so there I am reading through these aspirational lives that are completely different from mine. And so they'll include these things of like where their parents work. And so as I'm reading one, the bride's father is the chief financial officer of XYZ corporation. Dang, slam dunk for Ashley. So what would a normal person do with that? Literally nothing.

Right, keep reading. But I'm not normal. And so I saw this and I thought, oh my gosh. So I pretty much ran out of there and ran to the local, you know, wherever I went and got a copy of the paper and took it home. And I got out my scissors and I cut out the wedding announcement of a complete stranger's daughter.

It's giving stalker. I mean, I guess I thought of it as initiative. And so I thought, what do I do with this? So I brought it back to the office. And so I went, we had a mail room where you could get thank you cards, generally thank you cards for people that other people had actually met in person. But so I went and wrote this card out and wrote a note saying, you know, dear so and so man, I saw this and I was so delighted and congratulations.

Again, probably putting more detail in the note than necessary. And I sent it and congratulations. Again, probably be putting more detail in the note than necessary. And I sent it off. And I also included my work email in it because I am a complete loser. It's actually really thoughtful. Thank you for that because you know who thought so as well? That CFO. Hell yeah. Because this was in the days of a little bit more reliable postal service times. And so it was like, yeah, I think they were in like, let's say Chicago, they were living not New York.

But I got a note like five to six days later, an email. It wasn't a restraining order, a shocking turn of events. I thought there might be a PDF from Pacer with the docket on top, but it was a note saying Ashley, thank you so much for your thought and genuine care. And the best part is in the email, I'd be happy to take a meeting. Yes. So I have to say, even though it felt like a little bit like a loser strategy, I felt like a winner. I talked about it in the team meeting and I could see my boss was actually pretty happy with me because this was a good thing. Other people in the team meeting were like,

yet again, there she is. I was that one, that one. And that that was that. So again, you always have to use your discretion about how that's going to be perceived. And I sent it to the corporate office. Like I didn't go deep and find a home address or things like that. That wouldn't be appropriate. Yeah. I don't know if that clearly stopped me sometimes at 22. But anyway, initiative and the workplace takes all forms. And sometimes it takes forms that are really right on the edge of stalker and superstar. Edge of reason. I mean, hey, look, it worked.

It did. It did. So, yeah, there we go. It was so thoughtful. You know what I mean? So, I mean, that's at the end of the day, we want to work with people we'd enjoy working with, right? And so you came through as thoughtful and you consider it. And I mean, that's good karma right there. So it just came right back. I think so. I love that. I do sometimes now try to think about things on the flip side. And what if it was like some sales vendor and I got it, like a card in the mail with some very personal... You'd be like, F this guy.

You just throw it away. Totally. So in a few months time, you'll hear an intro story of me totally roasting somebody that sent a personal newspaper article to me. So you know, it depends. It depends on the source, I suppose. I love that. It's so positive in a non-toxic way, which is a wonderful lead-in to today's topic, toxic positivity.

All right, here's what we got on the docket today. Thank you, Ashley, so much for that water cooler talk, giving all of us ideas on how to hustle a little further in our personal lives and work. Love it. Next, we'll move to Cringe Corporate Speak and Jamie's up at bat on that one. Then our topic of today, I already alluded to it, all things toxic positivity. Maybe some of those red flags to help you identify whether you are in a toxic positivity environment, culture, and what to do about it if you are, right?

So we'll share some of our experiences with you on that. And then as always, questions and comments at the end. How does that sound? Good? It's a strong agenda today. Perfect. Positively positive. Love the topic.

Positively positive. Jamie, what do you got? Workshop. Oh, God. Use it in a sentence. I actually heard this very recently and I stopped dead in my tracks and I was like, I'm sorry, what? We're doing what? And the person was referring to, we're going to have to go back and workshop that and then

I'll come back. Like, I'll bring it back and I'm going to tell you, it was very hard for me to not have a visceral reaction on the video call. Sounds like someone who's not done a lot of workshopping would say, you know what I mean? Because it's like what point in time was it? Like what date time meeting was it that workshop was went from a noun to a verb? Yeah like workshopping like what? It never did for me. No, and none of my businesses, I have not heard that. I found an answer.

I found an answer. If we ask- I was like, are you live Googling? Cause I'm live Googling too. Oh, did you? Like, does it have a date when idiots started saying that? I found that it was a noun starting from the mid 1500s. Okay.

Yeah, like a workshop, a wood workshop or something. I mean, we'll just hold for a second. I don't mean to sound ignorant of history, but I'm having such a hard time with centuries and centuries ago sitting in what context was it used then? Like for Pinocchio, like Geppetto's workshop. Oh, you're so right. Yeah, like a workshop where you do literal's workshop. Oh, you're so right. Yeah, like a workshop where you do literal work. Oh gosh, you're so right. Like a work with your hands.

Like Santa's workshop. Like, oh, should we go invade? Yeah, like, let's go check. Let's go met to Mesopotamia. No, girl, they were making puppets back in the day and shit. Okay, benches and tables and shit. You're so right. Oh my God. She's like making T-Rex. That's funny. Like we're going to have a workshop on this battle of Gibraltar. Okay.

I also love that you went straight to Geppetto as the example of the workshop. That's a good one. It's a reliable, it is a good workshop. Okay, thank you. Oh, gosh. Yeah. I don't know why. Oh, my gosh.

I'm so glad you brought that up because I was literally thinking, like, what kind of planning session would they call workshop? Again, like now I've said this in front of you two and others clearly, those listening. Just like the stuff when people say in meetings, everyone else is've said this in front of you two and others, clearly, those listening. Just like the stuff when people say in meetings, everyone else is like, this dumb ass. That was me. So, okay. That's funny.

I love it. Well, do as you say, not editing that out. But so, 1500s workshop. Got it, totally. But the first usage was by the Muscatine Iowa Journal in the 1960s as a verb. That's it. Oh, no. Come on. Somebody is trying to move from Muscatine to Des Moines, get to the big city with the... We're going to workshop it straight to the top.

Respectfully, of course, if you're in that area of the world. Yeah. Oh, man. I have not had it as a verb, y'all. I've never workshopped it. Yeah, I mean, that was definitely a first for me. I was like, wait, what? I've heard it. I tell you what, I think there's a 100% correlation between the number of people that use workshop as a verb and the people that end their sentences in right with like a question mark. Like, we're going to need to go back and workshop this because everything I'm saying is, you know, sped up, right?

Like that. I do think there's a total correlation. So if you have said workshop as a verb or if you've said right at the end of the sentence, again, this isn't right. This is a moderate shade, I guess, do you, but just know that others in the meeting are probably having some of the same thoughts that we are. So we're just letting you know semi privately. Semi privately, right?

This is a safe space. We only have over a million downloads. It's true. I know, yeah, that happened. That happened. Yeah. Oh man. Well, shall we workshop this shit?

I guess. I don't know. I should pet him. I know. Should we Pinocchio? Yeah, I was like, I wish I had a long nose right now. Well, you know what? I'm going to save this for the questions and comments at the end.

Ooh. Okay. Okay. Just let me write it down. I'm going to write it on my hand. Oh, there you go. We'll jump right in then to the hot topic of today, which is all things toxic positivity, right?

And the toxic positivity trap. So what are some red flags that you all have seen? Because if you're sitting at home, you may be like, what the hell is toxic positivity? Maybe you've never heard of it. Maybe you study it. I don't know. Everyone's in a different place with toxic positivity. But what would this look like red flags wise, like in a workplace? Yeah. I mean, I think toxic positivity is very like a good vibes only type. And you know, you've seen those t-shirts or the bumper sticker, good vibes only. And look, I mean, I think toxic positivity is very like a good vibes only type. And you know, you've seen those t-shirts or the bumper sticker, good vibes only. And look, I've even said it, I'm guilty. It's something where maybe we're putting lipstick on a pig to quote one of our

previous corporate cringe speaks, but it's almost like dressing up something that maybe isn't so great. And that's what is the toxic part, right? Like no negative emotions ever allowed, right? You can't just express the reality of things sometimes, because come on, things aren't always great at work or anywhere, you know? So I think in a toxic positive workplace, you know, they just don't allow kind of those real perspectives. Yeah. And I think it's okay to like feel your feelings and even vent anger or frustration. Yes, do you need to move on and not harbor it? Sure. But I'm a very like, and I always have been like a silver lining girly, like everything happens for a reason. But that too is toxic

positivity. But I do try to see the outlook of things. Like obviously losing my job. I'm trying to see like, okay, now I can spend more time on the podcast and my socials and building my brand. But also is it? Well, I think it's, I think, well, first of all, I'd say for you, Jamie, yes, it can be. And there's all the natural feelings, though, that go along with that. Is that anytime, especially job loss is something that a lot of people out there have faced or they have loved ones that are facing. And it's hard because while you don't want someone to just wallow and feel upset, there's part of that that's very natural and there's a lot of really natural feelings with it and to use Lee's word of real. And then to your point, like that's good, but it's really hard to

immediately flip the script because there are a lot of good things that you have that you now have time to spend on. But it's also a really rocky, windy road to get between the shit that you've gone through and the wonderful things that hopefully are coming. But the real aspect is the one that I think more leaders in particular need to recognize, especially those leaders that are setting things from the top that may be having this, okay, onward, you should feel lucky to still have a job to those remaining. Like you shouldn't, you know, it's not natural

to feel guilt and to feel worry. And what do I say to my friends? Can I still reach out to them? What do I possibly do and say? And so if in the workplace, you're trying to make people pivot from those natural feelings to something that's, again, good vibes only, only, then you're missing out on the real. And that will get out in other ways.

That gets out inside text that gets out to people cutting out early, going to lunches, giving a big middle finger to the screen during the all hands. All of those things are really happening, whether you want to recognize it or not, when you're not creating space for more productive conversation. So I guess that's a point is toxic positivity. And let's say something like a layoff. We've done an episode on layoffs, but even since we did that one, which was a while ago, it's so much more common.

And I hear people saying, like, are people just getting numb to about it? Are people not talking about it? And so in those circumstances, like, let's say you're a team member that's, you do have your job, but others lost theirs, maybe others you work besties or others you worked closely with. How do you have real conversations with team members that are still employed? Yeah, I mean, it's like almost feeling a guilt that you are still employed and they are not, that they are gone, right? But I think also from an HR standpoint, whenever anyone has

come into my office and maybe they're venting, I always stop them and be like, okay, do you want to vent or do I need to bust out my pad and pen and take notes because you want advice or you need me to do something on this? And I think that's a healthy way to look at someone venting and feeling their emotions, right? I know, shout out to my husband, but even to him, sometimes I have to preface, I just need events. I don't need solutions. Yeah, I don't need you to fix this.

I just need to bitch for a good five minutes and then I'll say my piece and I've moved on because it's okay to feel your emotions and it's healthy, frankly. We shouldn't bottle them up and be shaming people for having emotions or frustration about something that's happening at work. the world are coming together to decide who the undisputed champions of the world are in the FIFA Club World Cup. The world's best players, Messi, Holland, Kane and more are all taking part. And you can watch every match for free on Dazone starting on June 14th and running until July 13th. Sign up now at Dazone.com slash FIFA. That's D-A-Z-N dot com slash FIFA. It's important, you know, the folks that remain to not bring this, to just be grateful you

have a job energy, right? You already kind of mentioned that as well. It really is invalidating of people's emotions. So I think that that is so important that, hey, okay, everyone's on different paths, but everyone still deserves to be heard and should have the space to be heard. And when you just shut folks down, it really, that silencing hurts, you know? It really, really does. And to me, that's probably the biggest red flag of a toxic, positivity sort of environment where no one can really feel safely. I don't know how to put that, but I've definitely had in the past managers say,

oh, just be grateful you have a job at all. When I bring something up, that is less than great. And it's like, well, I'm just trying to drive some solutions here to make something better. I'm not like bitching. I'm just saying, hey, like this is an area of opportunity. Like let's maybe make it better. And it's just bizarre how, you know, in those toxic positive, you know, sort of environments, there's like no accountability, you no accountability from a lot of people. That's my sense.

This like insane lack of accountability. Everything's personal and not systemic or not focused on the organization. It's complex, right? But it's just in my experience, it's like people just, they don't wanna talk about things like in a real sense. They don't want to workshop things to get better.

Yeah. I had a I once had a boss say something to me that years and years ago that stuck with me. I think I couldn't find my keys. You know, they were she was like, you know, every time I lose my keys, I found them, which I was like, okay, helpful, you know, there, but also, but she's like, every time I lose my keys, I remember the human's capacity to forget, to forget. And so that means that as you go through some of the toughest moments, it doesn't mean that you'll completely

forget them, but they will get easier over time. I do think at that time, I was still looking for my keys, and so I didn't appreciate them. Yeah, you're like, okay, whatever. At that point in time, but now as I lose my keys and find them, I do think it shows when you go through tough times, it can feel all consuming. And so as an organization, part of the role is to make sure that it's not all consuming those things that can be. And that's where you can provide that support. And whether it's a leader that is like a CEO on a town hall that's talking about, you know, a lot of people have this aspiration to be a CEO, but this is one of the aspects that's really hard.

And this is job law. And using, again, real, some of the things you can do are to use real terms and saying, I know you all, there's others here that are wondering, you know, what happens to them? How do I reach out to them? Here are we're going to send some ways. And you can have your own talking points, but sometimes if you're just at a loss, here's ideas of things that you can do and say to other colleagues and just that it's knowing that they need to hear from you. This is what we're doing to support them. Some of those aspects, and these are the cuts I'm taking personally,

and it's a fine line because the problem I see at times is when it's those employees that are on the bottom of the org chart or mid levels of the org chart and they feel like the ones that are going through it all and that nobody at the top feels that way. And so sometimes to the extent you can talk about specifics, but just to understand that's what their feeling is. And there's a difference between the hype and hope. So a hype to be like, you know what, it's good, we are all good, we are getting back into it, like flip, let's have the carnival on the day of a layoff to Jamie's previous example. But there's another of giving hope. People do want to have some glimmer and say, this is our plan and this is what we want to do. So to the extent that you can provide that more certainty moving forward, sometimes that's what you can do. It doesn't have to be perfect,

but pretending that there's nothing in the middle, no very real feelings, those feelings will come out in other ways. I think that's good, like manager advice. What if you're an employee and you are stuck in an environment like that? I mean, how would you advise someone that came to you for coaching on this?

What do I do in this toxic positivity environment? Well, Thuart, I mean, I'd flip that to you for coaching on this? What do I do in this toxic positivity environment? Well, Thar, I mean, I'd flip that to you, Leigh, our toxic workplace rescue chief. Right. Yeah, I mean, I mostly deal with the abusive, toxic, toxic, toxic negativity environments. But I'd say that it's important to not fake it. You may have to put a little polish on it, you know? I mean, I would not advise being too real in environments like that just because it's not safe. It's really not. I've been very authentic and real in those environments, the toxic positivity environments, and it really does make you a target, especially

to your peers. And I mean, just keeping it real, right? I'm just keeping it real. But I think that it is important still to not overly pretend things are great, right? Maybe just, you know, phrase things a certain way or, you know, be careful. Cognizant who you're talking to, right? You know the ones that are very toxic positive in your office, maybe to have a little avoidance of being too real and open and authentic with those people just because you cannot trust them because don't confuse toxic

positivity for support. They're not supportive, you know, they're full of shit. So just, you know, you got to be, you got to be kind of honest with that. I think that's really important. And then find your, I would find your person, you know, find your safe place. It may not be there at work, you know, like Jamie was saying, it's her husband that she can bitch to and that's great. You know, I mean, find that trusted mentor or support that you can have that real, real talk with. Because an environment like that, again, it is toxic, right? It's starting with the word toxic, even though it may feel okay or better than a toxic negative

environment. And there's still a lot of toxicity there, and it is not safe to be your full self there, just flat out. If you lay it all out, people will potentially see, like I said, as a target or not a team player or whatever. It's just it's not going to be safe for you and your employment. So you had to pick and choose. Do you want to be right or do you want to be

happy in that environment? So what do you all think? Do you have pro tips on that? Yeah. I think I've been in that environment too, right? Where I even remember a boss saying to me after a pretty large layoff, well, think of it as job security to me. And I know we have a lot of listeners that are actually in HR professionals, but we also have a lot of listeners that are not.

So I will say from an HR standpoint, layoffs suck for us in the sense because we don't like it. We enjoy doing them. It's not fun for HR. But having a boss then tell you job security, it felt like a slap in the face, honestly, because I already felt guilt for having a job and having to roll these layoffs off and doing all the background work for it. And then you're telling me, well, I still have my job, so I should be thankful.

Well, yes, but it's just such a sick way. It's so sick and twisted to think of it. I think you have to know when to get out of any job for that. So you got to workshop that shit, right? You got to figure out this is not the place for me because I can't be myself. And that's, that's one thing I think I have. I have in my career gotten out of jobs quickly because I know that I can't be 100% my authentic self, that I'm not going to be able to do my job and

do my job well. To pedo that shit. I mean, the one thing I'd add again, and I have a, you know, sometimes talk about these prompts that you can use is like literally a chat GPT prompt, because people may hear that and think, oh, shit, I've said that to people. Like, it's at least it's job security and it's well intentioned. And intention is all in great, but part of leadership and not just leadership as a manager, but leadership as an employee, as you go through, especially in the workplace in life as well,

but is thinking more about impact and really taking, not just thinking about yourself, well, this is what I meant, really thinking about how your communications might land to somebody else. And so whether it's, I'm in a layoff, my employees are in HR and they have to help the layoff, what can I say without having toxic positivity? And I guarantee you, you'll get some good talking points,

again, to put in your own voice, but may also point out things like that, that can say, well, intentioned, you may say something like that, but don't because the exact reason that Jamie's saying. And so just knowing a lot of your communication of work and thinking about others, even when you're an employee and you see things, you see something else of toxic positivity, you have to be mindful of making sure that you're not the person that becomes the negative person

in the office. Like there's a real fine balance between bringing reality, which is really where you want to thread that needle, and thinking about how do I think others in the office perceive me? And that's really, it's actually a lot harder to do than it sounds, but really to stop and think as you're coming into the office every day or you're remote, whatever that looks like, are your interactions with your colleagues always like, great, here we go? And sometimes you'll go through periods where that's true, but if that's it consistently every day, or you're just like, this is ridiculous,

you're having an impact on other people, but you're also having an impact on yourself. And so as you're going through those things, thinking about, okay, how can I be more realistic than this Cheerio CEO without being like the Debbie Downer or Danny Downer in the office, and really reflecting on that and finding that balance because you don't want to be the person

that's the complete opposite either. Love that. Whether it's a family member, friend or furry companion joining your summer road trip, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with Volvo's legendary safety. During Volvo Discover Days, enjoy limited time savings as you make plans to cruise through Muscogee or down Toronto's bustling streets.

From now until June 30th, lease a 2025 Volvo XC60 from 1.74% and save up to $4,000. Conditions apply. Visit your GTA Volvo retailer or go to volvocars.ca for full details. To that point, questions and comments. I know Ashley, you had a question that you were saving. You wrote it on your hand, right?

Well, I rubbed it off because I, but no, intentionally because I thought about it and I think I need to adjust it a little bit. Because my initial thought was smash or pass like Geppetto, Lost Boys, Pinocchio. But you can't play that's not the right phrasing because Pinocchio is like a wooden boy. A boy. It's not the right like, that's not the right that's not the right phrasing. But I just and so I was trying to think it's not the right it's not appropriate. I wouldn't say that. No, no, nope. And so who do trying to think it's not the right, it's not appropriate. I wouldn't say that.

No, no, nope. And so who do you, what's a boring way to say that? I'm going to chat GPT when I need it. Fuck Mary Kilt. No. Friends or not friends? Friends or not friends. I mean, Lost Boys to me, it's like that time I was in Miami that I mentioned previously,

and it was all the private equity guys at the bar. Like, the Lost Boys are like drinking, smoking it up in that, you know, kind of... I don't know, I just was thinking fondly of Geppetto. I think that's just the point. I was trying to get... Oh, okay. You had Geppetto on the brain. I mean, poor Beat... But like, think about that. Poor Beat down Geppetto, living in his workshop since the 1500s, sitting there just trying to make a friend, about that poor beat down to Pettah living in his workshop since the 1500s. Sitting there

just trying to make a friend and then all of a sudden, of course, bad things have to happen. Poor guy. I'm a little wooden boy. Yeah. I don't know how to end that. Yeah. I'll go into my comment. That was a lot to unpack. Okay. It's going to keep me up tonight, but that's okay. I may text you later and have with some questions. That's okay. Jamie, what do you got? Moving on, if anyone tells you to look at the bright side while your life is on fire,

either hand them a hose or a match. Oh man. Yeah. Just the phrase at least, at least should just be, that's the ultimate corporate cringe speak that we should just strike that. Anytime you're starting something with at least stop and go awkwardly walk away, but until you can think of something else to say. It's like, shut the fuck up.

Shut the fuck up. Man, Jamie, like you mentioning that just flooded a whole bunch of memories for me of people doing just that and me responding just real. And that did not work well. I remember one time it was like, no, fuck you. Things aren't good. Respectfully, of course. Respectfully, of course, as always.

Fuck you, disrespectfully. Yeah, I know. Damn. It's the worst day of my life. And you're like,. Respectfully, of course, as always. Fuck you, disrespectfully. Yeah, I know. Damn. Like, it's the worst day of my life. And you're like, oh, but at least...

Oh, look at the bright side. Maybe later I will look at the bright side. Do you want to hear some good news? Let me tell you about myself. That's another one. Oh, my God. Oh, jeez. People, right?

Oh, they're the worst. It's like, read the fucking room. Oh, jeez. People, right? Oh, they're the worst. It's like, read the fucking room. Oh, fucking people. Well, I have so many questions and so many comments. I'm actually flooded with a tongue, but I'll just do a quick comment in the form of a quick corporate story time just to nail one of the points

Ashley just said about not wanting to come across as the negative person in a room. I was at a workshop. Well, we didn't call it that. For us, that was an offsite. But we were literally doing strategic planning on how to make things better for the business. So we were planning out the entire year.

And a few colleagues and I, we start talking about the things that aren't working well, right, as areas of focus. And you kind of not necessarily start joking about it, but you're just kind of like, you kind of keep it light, like, okay, it's not so bad. But we are talking about some of these things because we all are trying to decide, again, key imperatives for the next year. Out of nowhere, our leader just starts screaming at us. I was shaking. I was about to run out of the room.

I felt so unsafe. She was so, I mean, just literally freaking out on us shaking herself, just so angry, so mad. How dare you all? I mean, it was just out of nowhere for me, right? Because again, I'm very much a realist. I just want to let's lay it all out. And that really struck a nerve. So to Ashley's point about perception in the office, we weren't even being negative about it. We were being more like, oh, okay, then we got this thing. Oh, okay.

It was kind of a laundry list because, yeah, it was a laundry list. Place was fucked up. So let's just call Spade Spade so we can play the fucking cards already, you know? But yeah, really got reamed there. So just an example on, you know, reading the room and somehow, you know, even when you are being delicate, but maybe you're listing too many things out all at once, you know, it can really strike a nerve in people that, you know, take things, you know, personally. You don't know what people are taking personally, you know.

But damn, that one haunts me. Instantly they lost my trust. They lost everything from me in just that one second. So it was wild. So be careful out there laying thingsing things out, you know. It can be dangerous being too honest, especially in fake ass places. So that was fun. The drama.

Oh my God. Yay. Everything's great. We're just so happy to be here. Good vibes only. Just wish on a star. Just wish on a star. Just wish on a star. That's all you need.

Oh yes. When you're wishing on a star, bitches. Bye besties. Eh, yellow is so expected. Ooh, pink is fun. But is it too whimsical? Priya oversees procurement for 900 bank branches. The experts at Grand & Toy provided supply solutions that get each branch all the tech, furniture and office supplies they need with seamless coordination. What about green? Green says we're serious, but not stuffy.

With the big things taken care of, smart takes on the economy. She joined us on a recent episode of the Her Money Podcast to remind us that if we end up going into a recession or if we're already in one right now, and yeah, that might be possible, that yeah, your investments might dip, but they always bounce back. So if you need clarity rather than chaos around today's headlines, tune into Her Money.

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