What are “aurae”? What is workplace aurae?
Aurae is plural for aura. An aura is a distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, place or thing (dictionary.com). Simply, the aura is the “vibe” that someone gets when in the vicinity of someone else.
Do you know someone who has that contagious laugh, someone that can always put you in a good mood ? Or maybe you know someone who does the opposite, has the ability to turn everyone around them sour and bitter without even making eye contact?
Aurae can be positive or negative, and they can be influenced by other aurae very easily.
All workplaces have aurae too. This is influenced by the employees as well as the physical work environment. Once a single person becomes disgruntled, negativity can quickly spread across a company to every level, creating an aurae that is so noxious that a company’s OHS manual should include Hazmat suits. Continue reading Should your workplace have a bio-hazard symbol on the front door ? Coping with toxic workplace aurae.