From the Editor's Desk

Has Cynicism Infected Your Organization?

Jason* began executive coaching with me just as his organization was coming out of a year-end crunch time, which had been exacerbated by the sudden departure of his team lead. Things had gotten “shockingly ugly” at work, he told me, with flaring tempers, power struggles, and meetings that devolved into name-calling and public character assassinations. Upper management didn’t intervene, choosing to put off “personnel issues” until after everyone hit their year-end goals. In addition to his increased workload, Jason had taken it upon himself to try to act as a peacekeeper between his stressed-out colleagues, only to find himself caught in the crossfire. Feeling hurt, angry, and unsupported, he began to distance himself from his coworkers and increasingly found himself dreading work. By the time he reached out to me for coaching, he was demoralized, disengaged, and burned out.

Jason’s story highlights one of the primary but least-understood aspects of burnout: workplace cynicism. Recently, I’ve witnessed an uptick in workers who are suffering from this disillusionment and a loss of trust in their organizations. Leaders need to be aware of the causes and effects of workplace cynicism and take steps to create anti-cynical cultures.

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