What Are We Normalizing This Year?

Every workplace has a culture.

Some of it is intentional.

Some of it is written in handbooks, policies, mission statements, and staff expectations.

But a lot of workplace culture is created in a much quieter way.

It comes from what we repeatedly allow.

What we repeatedly ignore.

What we repeatedly excuse.

What we repeatedly praise.

And what we eventually stop questioning because everyone starts saying:

“That’s just how we do things here.”

That sentence should make us pause.

Because sometimes what becomes “normal” isn’t actually healthy.

Culture Is Built in the Small Things

We often think culture is created through big initiatives.

A retreat.

A training.

A new mission statement.

A wellness committee.

A team-building event.

Those things can help.

But culture is also being built every single day in smaller ways.

When someone skips lunch to keep working and everyone praises them for being dedicated.

When staff answer emails late at night because they feel like they have to.

When the same people stay late every day and it becomes expected.

When employees are afraid to ask for help because everyone is supposed to “handle their own.”

When exhaustion becomes a badge of honor.

When someone says something disrespectful and everyone pretends not to hear it.

When one person is allowed to behave in ways nobody else could get away with.

That is culture too.

Busy Shouldn’t Automatically Mean Successful

One thing I think we have normalized far too much is being constantly busy.

If someone is running from meeting to meeting, checking email during lunch, working late, answering messages after hours, and never slowing down, we often assume:

They must be really committed.

But maybe they’re overwhelmed.

Maybe the system is inefficient.

Maybe there are too many expectations.

Maybe they are afraid to say no.

Maybe they don’t feel like they have permission to stop.

We have to be careful not to confuse exhaustion with excellence.

Someone can be hardworking and still take a break.

Someone can be committed and still have boundaries.

Someone can care deeply about their work and still go home on time.

Those things can exist together.

“Everyone Else Does It” Isn’t a Wellness Standard

Sometimes unhealthy habits become normal because everybody participates in them.

Everyone answers texts after hours.

Everyone works through lunch.

Everyone stays late.

Everyone attends every optional event.

Everyone keeps quiet when something doesn’t feel right.

And because everyone does it, nobody wants to be the one person who says:

“I don’t think this is healthy.”

But common does not always mean healthy.

And familiar does not always mean right.

Sometimes the strongest thing a team can do is stop and ask:

Why are we doing this?

What Do We Want to Become Normal?

This is where I think the beginning of the school year gives us a real opportunity.

Instead of only asking:

What are our goals this year?

Maybe we also ask:

What do we want people to experience here?

Do we want it to be normal for staff to ask for help?

Do we want it to be normal for someone to take their lunch?

Do we want it to be normal for people to disagree respectfully?

Do we want it to be normal for leaders to admit when they don’t know something?

Do we want it to be normal for staff to say, “I need a minute”?

Do we want it to be normal for someone to leave work on time without feeling guilty?

Do we want it to be normal for people to bring ideas forward without worrying about how they’ll be received?

Do we want it to be normal to check in on one another before someone is struggling?

Those are culture decisions too.

Pay Attention to What We Reward

One of the fastest ways to understand a workplace culture is to look at what gets rewarded.

Who gets praised?

What behaviors are celebrated?

What do people believe they have to do to be seen as valuable?

If the person who sacrifices the most is always viewed as the most committed, other people learn something.

If the employee who never says no is labeled the “team player,” people learn something.

If the person who speaks up is labeled difficult, people learn something.

If leaders say wellness matters but reward overworking, people learn something.

Employees pay attention to what organizations actually reinforce.

Not just what they say.

Notice What People Have Stopped Questioning

Sometimes unhealthy practices become so familiar that nobody even sees them anymore.

The meeting that always runs over.

The email that could have waited until morning.

The pressure to attend something “optional.”

The coworker who regularly speaks disrespectfully.

The leader who only listens to certain people.

The constant urgency.

The expectation that everybody should be available all the time.

The phrase:

“That’s just how they are.”

When we reach that point, we’ve stopped addressing the behavior and started adjusting everyone else around it.

That is something worth noticing.

We Can Create a Different Normal

Changing culture doesn’t always begin with a major announcement.

Sometimes it starts with one small decision.

We’re going to end meetings on time.

We’re going to stop sending non-urgent messages after hours.

We’re going to respect lunch breaks.

We’re going to make “optional” actually mean optional.

We’re going to ask staff what is working and what is not.

We’re going to address disrespect instead of teaching everyone else how to tolerate it.

We’re going to celebrate boundaries, not just sacrifice.

Those little decisions communicate something.

This is who we are becoming.

Make Wellness Part of the Normal

At SILWELL-C, I don’t believe wellness should be something we occasionally add to the calendar.

Wellness should be reflected in the way people are treated.

The way meetings are run.

The way leaders communicate.

The way staff voice is received.

The way mistakes are handled.

The way time is respected.

The way boundaries are honored.

The way people feel when they walk into the workplace.

That is how wellness becomes culture.

Not because we said it.

Because people experience it.

So as this new school year begins, maybe one of the most important questions we can ask isn’t:

“What new thing are we going to do?”

Maybe it is:

“What do we want to become normal here?”

And just as important:

“What are we no longer willing to normalize?”

Reflection

Take a look at your workplace, team, or organization.

What is one behavior or practice that has become “normal” that you think needs to change, and what would a healthier normal look like instead?