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The Cancel Culture at Work
- Szilvia Olah
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
Different Opinion? You Are Cancelled!
This is why I dislike the cancel culture. Imagine you're hungry, and all you have is a half-rotten banana. You can either cut off the bad part and eat the rest or throw the whole thing away. Cancel culture chooses the latter—wasting something that still has value. Cancel culture is really just intolerance in the name of tolerance.
Everyone has said or done something you disagree with. Are you going to cancel everyone? Even your family and friends? Will you throw the baby out with the bathwater, dismissing all the good someone has done or said just because you now disagree with one thing? Does a person’s entire life’s work become meaningless because of a few mistakes or disagreement?
We need people around us who challenge our views. Debate, discussion, and disagreement sharpen our thinking. Without opposing perspectives, our judgment becomes clouded. Every idea should be tested, questioned, and scrutinized—otherwise, it remains weak and unexamined. Cancel culture stifles this process, keeping us in an intellectual bubble. The best way to grow—both as individuals and as a society—is to engage with different viewpoints, even when they make us uncomfortable. Surrounding yourself only with like-minded people keeps you ignorant. Disagreement isn’t something to fear; it’s something to embrace.
Once we think we know something, it freezes our perspective while everything around us continues to change. I have changed my mind about many things in life and even contradicted myself in my second book because I received new information—and that is a healthy approach and mindset. I actually enjoy and actively seek out information that challenges my current understanding of various topics.
It bothers me that people struggle to separate things. Yes, even those you can’t stand are capable of doing good or saying something worth appreciating. I’ve defended people when they were right—even if I went out of my way to avoid them at the office.
Unfortunately, these days, you can be canceled no matter what you do. If you join a debate and dare to have an opinion that goes against societal expectations or political agendas, you’re canceled. If you stay out of debates or don’t align with the “required” causes—like wellbeing—you’re canceled for not taking a side. But since when did personal opinions or intellectual exchange become about picking teams? The worst part is, they’ll drag you into their nonsense whether you want to be involved or not.
It’s no different in corporations—maybe even worse. The moment you disagree or have a different opinion, you risk becoming an outcast. You’re left off conference panels because your views don’t align with the organizer’s. You’re labeled “difficult” simply for thinking differently. Your job security wavers if your perspective doesn’t match your manager’s. And when the next round of redundancies comes, you’re first on the list—not because of poor performance, but because your way of thinking makes you “culturally unfit.”
If you want a great read on how a lack of scrutiny impacts organizations, check out this book I just finished. Buckle up because we are all in that book:-) If you are in HR or a business leader you must read this book.
Here are some questions that may help to reevaluate your reactions to others when the points of view are not the same. Normally I ask these questions when people try to drag me into their nonsense.
Should you only follow, be or work with people whom you agree with?
Is it a prerequisite to agree with someone to hear what they have to say?
If you disagree with someone, does that mean that you are right and the other person is wrong?
Are you always right? Are you the source of truth and the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong?
Should you personally attack people when they disagree or have a different take on topics to prove that they are wrong?
Are your feelings and emotions about certain topics and agendas reality and facts?
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions check yourself. You are at serious risk.
When you cancel people you disagree with, you’re essentially saying, “I only want to hear from those who think like me.” But what does that say about you? But more importantly, how much does it cost organizations when things go unchallenged? Companies love to say:
We want people to speak up - but when they do we cancel them.
We want people to think outside the box - but we put them in frameworks.
We want them to be critical thinkers - but when they start asking questions we remove them.
We want people to be creative - but we tell them how and what to think.
We want people to be authentic - but the moment the real you comes out you end up in HR.
We want people to be genuine - but we give them scripts what to say.
The cancel culture is real and it costs billions yet, nobody is talking about it. When people like to go unchallenged two quotes come to mind:
"How arrogant are you to think that you can go through life without being challenged?" Ricky Gervais
And this saying (source unknown)
"Truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged."
Smart people welcome being challenged because they understand that’s where real growth happens. But you know what? Forget growth for a second—you don’t even have to agree or disagree with anyone. All it takes is curiosity. Just a willingness to see how someone else views the world. That’s it. No need to form an opinion, react, argue, or prove a point—just listen.
Have you ever tried that? Just listening? Watch this short video—I’ll tell you how long it took me to learn this skill.
Podcast
HR, You are not the mother of the workforce!
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