MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Workplace Toxicity Is Not Just a Mental Health Issue

The dramatic reckoning between health and social safety nets that has erupted over the past few years has by now taken a severe toll on almost everyone in the workplace. Many tired employees have identified their jobs as a draining force and are questioning the proportion of their lives that work consumes. Some employees have exited their roles under the banner of the Great Resignation, while others are reassessing how they want to live. The common thread: Workers are making meaningful shifts to prioritize their physical health and mental well-being.

And it’s a gravely needed shift, especially for women. Women leaders are demanding more from their work and are switching jobs at the highest rate on record. Data continues to show that women are among the most affected groups coping with the pandemic-era challenges of managing the needs of their families. Within this group, women of color have suffered even more acutely, in many cases serving on the front lines of the pandemic in public-facing roles and bearing the brunt of new pressures from ever-transforming workplace cultures and increased workloads.

About the Author

Deepa Purushothaman is the author of The First, The Few, The Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America (HarperCollins, 2022). She is also the cofounder of nFormation, which provides a brave, safe new space for professional women of color; and an executive fellow at Harvard Business School. Valerie Rein, Ph.D., is the author of Patriarchy Stress Disorder: The Invisible Inner Barrier to Women’s Happiness and Fulfillment (Lioncrest, 2019). She specializes in helping women uncover and heal the intergenerational trauma of oppression.

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