Toxic Positivity and the Workplace Family: Understanding Small Business Culture Through Social Identity Theory

Companies sometimes present themselves to employees as a “workplace family” to gain buy-in and foster a sense of belonging. Workplaces that do this, however, can often have some toxic components. This theoretical paper reviews the concept of “workplace families” as a way to strategically and internally brand the company to its employees, fostering a culture that could lead to toxic positivity. This could lead to potential detrimental side effects for the employees and the company as a whole. This paper uses social identity theory as a lens to review an internal branding and toxic positivity model, potentially exploring some of the impacts it may have in small or medium-sized businesses. The idea is to steer companies away from creating a “workplace family” and to create a true environment that focuses on respect and success.