Once, I had a HR Manager called Peter who told me that work places are like fish tanks.
Let me explain. Peter asked me to imagine a dirty fish tank -- not bad enough to kill the fish -- but nonetheless full of fish waste, rotting food and algae. He asked me to picture the fish: sluggish and unhealthy. They certainly weren't performing at their best.
Now, Peter said, think about what would happen if you introduced a new, healthy fish to this toxic fish tank. At the start, the fish might zoom around the tank, familiarising itself with its surroundings and the other fish. But it wouldn't take long for this new fish to ingest the waste, rot and toxicity. The fish gets really sick!
But the new fish doesn't die.
It gets used to eating waste. In fact, the fish is so accustomed to its environment that it doesn't even remember what it was like to be healthy and full of life. It is now like the other fish that came before it, weighed down by the environment and sluggishly moving around the tank.
Peter's parable has stayed with me throughout the years. I believe that one person can, depending on the size and culture of a workplace, have an impact on the environment in which they work. For me, however, it's also about being mindful of the impact that a workplace's culture can have on an individual and how much waste you are actually prepared to eat before it makes you sluggishly unhealthy.