The focus on maintaining a positive work environment is used as a way to silence staff members who have concerns over work-load or stress. Staff members are given impossible work deadlines and loads, then made to feel they are underperforming if they cannot reach these impossible deadlines. No staff members can reach these targets working the contracted hours, instead they all work over-time - however this is often done in secret to appear as if the deadline were actually feasible. Staff members who are honest about work loads and stress are then informed they are not productive enough, or are not maintaining a positive attitude, whereas they are really just being honest. This can leave staff feeling they are not good enough, when in reality the expectations are a farce. Numerous staff members have left due to burn out for the above reasons. Many who remain feel the same, yet are afraid to break the toxic culture of positive silence. To maintain this environment, they hire perfectionists who struggle to admit when they are struggling, thus hide that, suffer in silence, and subsequently maintain this toxic environment. Due to all the above reasons, work life balance is largely unattainable. Interns are performing the same role as Medical Writers/Analysts, yet are paid around 10,000 less per year. Exceedingly white and middle class.
