My boss spouts self-help nonsense. Why do my colleagues believe it?

My workplace has undergone significant changes over the past few years, which is an attempt to resolve considerable problems that everyone is aware of. A high-up person at my work routinely tells us that most of these changes are a waste of time. They say that there are no systemic issues – there are only personal weaknesses. And the fact is, some of my colleagues are now starting to believe the rhetoric.

Should I listen more carefully to his thoughts, or is it fair to treat this idea with caution?

In some cases, institutionalised self-help is well-meaning and innocuous. But in this case, it appears your boss’ views deserve to be treated with disdain.Credit: John Shakespeare

I read your full email with interest and horror. It sounds to me like this powerful person in your organisation has deeply immersed themselves in an absurdly simplistic philosophy, though ideology might be a better word.

At its heart is the idea that everyone should just look after their own “backyard”. On the surface, this seems like an unobjectionable – even solid – suggestion. We all have a finite ability to work on and take responsibility for things around us, so why not draw a line around a small selection of those things – close family and specific work tasks, for example – and concentrate mostly on them?

As with most rigid worldviews, it gets shaky as soon as it moves from general principle into practical guide to life. And when it’s used – as it is by this work leader – to explain and distribute blame for problems, it crumbles instantly. When the simplicity of the theory confronts the complexity of the world, its limitations become stark – and eventually laughable.

To stick with the backyard metaphor, what happens when systems outside the control of the gardener make looking after the backyard harder – or impossible? Or when misfortune intervenes?

Don’t just treat this high-up person’s wafer-thin philosophy with caution; treat it with disdain.

What if it rains heavily for four days straight? What if it doesn’t rain for six months straight? What if the gardener gets sick or breaks their arm? What if a couple of these things happen at once? The backyard is a shambles, but whose fault is that?

The ideology also collapses at another basic level. Who is to “blame” when the requirements of two gardeners come into conflict?

Let’s say one gardener’s backyard is full of flowers, and they live next to another gardener who keeps bees in theirs. What if the first gardener is allergic to bees? Should they move to avoid the bees from next door that seek nectar from their flowers? Should the beekeeper move?

What if they both make a living out of their respective gardens – one selling flowers, the other honey? Should one change or shut down their venture to avoid or protect the other?

The idea that the only answer to these questions is “someone is demonstrating a personal weakness” is unfathomably dense. You’ve told me a little bit about your work in your longer email, and it is significantly more complex than my gardening analogy.

Almost all workplaces are. Whether you work in health or horticulture, manufacturing or media, systems within organisations – and outside them – influence the work of individuals in intricate and interconnected ways.

But I can understand why colleagues might be starting to warm to the rhetoric. The world is flush with versions and offshoots of this ideology at the moment. Depending on which stat you look at, the global self-help industry is worth somewhere between $77 billion and $154 billion a year.

It pervades every single part of our lives. It thrives on social media, including (or maybe, especially) LinkedIn. But it’s also seeped into places we might expect to be immune. Parents of primary school students will probably be familiar with their children being encouraged to “build a growth mindset”.

The self-help industry is estimated to be worth $50 billion a year worldwide.Credit: Washington Post

Now, in some cases, institutionalised self-help is well-meaning and innocuous. You won’t find someone more sceptical of commercialised versions than me, but even I’m not too stubborn to admit some may be beneficial in particular instances.

And if you broaden the definition to include things like going to the gym, playing sport, eating well, thinking about your mental health, and so on, there’s no doubt it can be beneficial.

The vast majority of capital-S, capital-H Self Help, though, is not harmless. Whether deliberately or through the blind faith of its adherents, it asks participants to accept they and they alone are masters of their own destiny – completely separate from and not responsible for society.

If you follow that notion far enough, you get to offensively stupid garbage such as the law of attraction. What often starts as purported “common sense” quickly descends into the silliest magical thinking.

And that’s what this boss is indulging in. They believe that if only Person X and Person Y wanted success more, or were more courageous, or worked harder, all the problems of the organisation would vanish in a glittery cloud.

Yes, some work problems – mostly relatively small ones – are the result of obvious, straightforward individual failings or mistake. The vast majority are tangled and systemic.

So my advice would be: don’t just treat this high-up person’s totalising, wafer-thin philosophy with caution – treat it with disdain.

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