“There is always pain
in the room.” – Peter J. Frost
Life can be messy and imperfect. When dealing with a deep,
often painful, personal issue, I tend to look around my office* for some sort
of connection, empathy, compassion even. I tend to think to myself – am I the
only one who is struggling? Why doesn’t anybody talk about their struggles? Then,
this leads to a bigger question: where exactly does vulnerability fit in a modern
workplace?
While a student, it was easy to take the appropriate time for
self-care, easy to be self-compassionate, so to speak. Now fully-immersed in
the corporate world of making money and office-working, my environment and
social status has changed – but I’m still me with challenges and emotions.
The boundaries of professional and personal personas continue
to cause me to question, suffer and feel torn in my ability to be a human being
holistically and always – and express myself like one. Is it really possible to switch off raw emotions and psychological
triggers just because you’ve walked into a different building, are wearing a
suit and find yourself typing away at a desk?
Vulnerability is an asset, not a liability. It’s very clear
that we subscribe to and propagate workplace cultures where we have to be
‘tough’ and stoical and not let our flaws, imperfections and challenges – be
that work-related and personal – be exposed for fear of being judged
professionally and emotionally incapable or toxic. I can’t help but sadly associate
this with deep-rooted culture of work constructed by a once male-only and then heavily
male-dominated arena. I think modern-day workers are now feeling and struggling
from the effects of this outdated and ill-fitting culture.
Synonymous with vulnerability can be courage and
authenticity. And in the words of Dr. Brené Brown, who I’ve started to look up
to as an advocate of courage, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation,
creativity and change.” That said, reframing organisational culture to embrace vulnerability
must therefore be a must for a corporate culture to thrive, mustn’t it?
Perhaps we can
counter the fears of being taken over by robots but avoiding being robots
ourselves.
If you're interested in Brene Brown's work around vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame, definitely give this a watch:
*This is not
company-specific
