Permission to Care: Reclaiming Compassion in the Age of Boundaries

Over the past few years, the workplace has reoriented itself around boundaries, well-being, and psychological safety. In many ways, this is progress. But in that shift, something vital is quietly eroding:

The permission to care.

Care has become something we whisper, tiptoe around, or push into policy—rather than something we live and model.

The Disappearing Presence of Care

Across industries, I’m seeing patterns emerge:

• Managers afraid to check in personally for fear of “crossing a line”

• Coworkers hesitant to comfort each other during loss or challenge

• Teams that are technically well—meeting goals, respecting calendars—but emotionally… disconnected

The result? A kind of professionalized detachment that keeps everyone “safe,” but leaves no one truly seen.

And in parallel, we’re watching DEI programs fade—not because they failed, but because many companies no longer feel confident leading with care or discomfort.

DEI Was Always About Compassion

When we remove DEI from a company’s ecosystem, we’re not just removing a budget line. We’re removing:

• Psychological anchors of belonging

• Space for honest, identity-rooted conversations

• Commitment to repairing historical and current inequities

And when those structures disappear, what’s left often feels neutral on the surface—but isolating underneath.

This is especially painful for employees who were promised that inclusion was here to stay.

Reframing Care at Work

To bring care back, we need to stop treating it like a liability.

We need to reframe it as:

• A strategy for retention and engagement

• A driver of innovation and trust

• A mirror of company values, not a side project

Remember:

Workplaces don’t need to become therapy rooms. But they can be places where people feel less alone.

What Leaders Can Do Right Now

• Keep your 1:1s. Make space for life updates.

• Ask what care looks like for each person—not everyone needs the same.

• Normalize feedback that is honest and kind.

• Keep equity and belonging work alive—even if budgets shrink. Even if the headlines shift.

Final Thought

Boundaries are necessary. But without care, they become walls.

If we want workplaces that are sustainable, inclusive, and human—we have to give ourselves permission to care again.

👇 Join the conversation below or subscribe to The Happiness Shift newsletter to explore what belonging looks like now.