toughen up

Toughness in the workplace consists of in-fighting and bullying.
Companies encourage this behavior

1. by not discouraging it
2. by providing productivity incentives
3. as a way of controlling their employees
4. as a way of managing their customers expectations

Some people pride themselves at being tough.

Toughness isn't only about people by the way - being able to tolerate difficult situations is a skill, whether it's a property of your location, situation or the rules of the arena you're in.

Some crossword puzzles are tough.

It seems that, all things being equal, those who can dish it out as well as they can take it will succeed.

This takes a strange turn when this fashion becomes popular.

These fashion followers not only expect to be on both ends of this abuse cycle, they promote this fashion by their success, which they attribute to being tough.

Here's the rub. Any society, for example the society you find yourself in right now, depends on money moving around.

If that society finds itself populated predominantly by "tough" people, then they want to pay less and get more.

Less money moves around, meaning there's less money to make, and life becomes more difficult for everyone.

A tough society is a poor society.

Look at countries without even a working democracy - third world countries.

People can live without money, being able to possess only as much as they can carry or watch over.

Others form gangs and look for ways to exploit and dominate others.

How tough is that?

A society is a show. A performance we put on for each other.

A tough society is a poor show.

The fashion of toughness is just comical.

We depend on each other indirectly as customers for our business as they in turn depend indirectly on us.

All a society needs to be really successful is lots of people.

The next time someone tells you to "toughen up", point them here!

It has a lot in common with a mullet.