Hi @MDT 

It was my pleasure - It’s so lovely to hear from you 

In my experience our ability to identify some of the issues that create an unhealthy and toxic environment can be incredibly challenging, especially when some of these issues have become an inherent part of the organisational culture and they’re often dismissed and regarded as ‘normal.’

With this in mind, I think that you did an amazing job of being able to identify what was happening in your organisation and I’m so pleased that you were able to find employment elsewhere 

In my experience, making the decision to resign from a position has always been something that I’ve wrestled with and as such, I would spend hours agonising over if I was making the ‘right’ decision. I also wrestled with the idea that maybe I was ‘overreacting’ and that perhaps some of the issues that had prompted my resignation weren’t ‘that bad’ after all.

However, the changes that I began to notice in my health and wellbeing confirmed a very different reality, as did some of my colleagues who (similar to the example that you shared about your friend) volunteered that they were experiencing identical and / or similar issues to my own and as such, they had also made the decision to resign.

Although I was upset to hear about their experiences, their responses and actions confirmed that I wasn’t alone in my thoughts or the way in which the organisational culture was impacting my health and wellbeing and I knew that I had made the only decision that I could - which was to resign 

I loved your phrase ‘it’s an experience in the end I suppose isn’t it’ and it really resonated with me.

For example, throughout my career I’ve always had a designated workspace that I’ve personalised in a way that has felt meaningful for me. Although I’ve always valued the opportunity to be able to create a comfortable space I never connected with what this meant for me beyond the obvious aesthetic qualities.

However, some years ago I accepted a position in an environment where each allied health discipline was allocated a central office. As such, the individual office spaces that I valued, were replaced with a long wooden bench which served as a communal desk and each member of staff was allocated a small section on the bench which changed on a daily basis!

Suddenly, I was able to connect with the fact that a designated workspace represented so much more to me than just a functional space. The more I reflected on what was happening for me, I realised that it fostered a sense of stability and it provided a safe space for me to be able to retreat from the chaos around me and take stock of what was happening during my day. As such, I had completely underestimated the correlation between this and my health and wellbeing.

Therefore, it wasn’t until I had experienced a different type of experience, that I began to understand another part of myself and in short, this experience provided me with a ‘road map’ that I could use to inform and guide my needs in relation to future employment 

As I read towards the end of your post, I noticed that you shared ‘silly thing really’ and as such, I just ever so gently wondered what this meant for you?

Take care of yourself,

ShiningStar