🐘 The Elephant in Your Organization This Week Might Be…

The Self Care Network
4 days ago
3 min read

An Employee Who Needs Reassurance (But Won’t Say It)

Ah, the workplace. That magical jungle of Slack pings, spreadsheets, awkward microwave eye contact… and unspoken emotional needs.

This week’s organizational “elephant” isn’t stomping around breaking desks or eating all the birthday cake. Nope. It’s much sneakier. It’s the silent symphony of someone who just wants to know:

“Am I doing okay?”“Do they see me?”“Does this report make sense or is it just Excel cosplay?”

Yup, somewhere in your organization is an employee craving reassurance—but they’re not about to say it out loud. Why? Because vulnerability in the workplace is still wrapped in three layers of "I'm fine!" and a PowerPoint deck.

The Unspoken Reassurance Request Might Sound Like:

“Just checking if you saw my last email...”
“No rush, just wanted to make sure you got it…”
“LOL just wondering if we’re still good for that 1:1 😅”

Translation?👉 “Please tell me I’m doing okay before I spiral into existential spreadsheet dread.”

So… What Can You Do?

Fear not, dear leader/colleague/Elephant-informed team whisperer. Here's your friendly toolkit to make reassurance part of your workplace ecosystem (without turning your Monday meetings into a group hug):

1. Give Feedback Like Snacks: Small, Frequent, and Easy to Digest

You don’t have to write them a novel. Just sprinkle in phrases like:

“Hey, great job on that slide deck—very clear and on point.”
“Loved your insight in that meeting—really moved the convo forward.”
“Thanks for always keeping the team organized. Seriously clutch.”

A little “I see you” goes a loooong way.

2. Normalize Asking for What We Need

Create space in team meetings for people to say things like:

“This week, I need support with…”“I’m feeling a bit unsure about…”“It would help me to get feedback on…”

It may feel a bit awkward at first (cue crickets), but with consistency, it becomes cultural magic.

3. Check In Before They Check Out

Some people will never raise their hand and say, “I’m struggling.”So if someone’s gone unusually quiet, is triple-checking things, or doing the ol’ “just looping back one more time…” — that’s your cue to say:

“Hey, just wanted to check in. How are you feeling about everything?”

Simple. Direct. Lifesaving (for both morale and productivity).

This week, the elephant might not be a loud problem. It might be quiet anxiety. A small fear. An invisible need for reassurance.

So… spot it. Name it. Dismantle it with a little humanity and humor.

Because let’s face it: we all just want to know we’re not about to be gently escorted out of the Zoom room for not using enough semicolons in our code/comments/emails.

Bonus Insight from Your Friendly Elephant Whisper:

This is classic undefined Emotional Solar Plexus behavior—folks with this center open often pick up on others’ emotional states but are unsure how to express their own. Reassurance isn’t needy—it’s energetic hygiene, baby. Let’s normalize it.

💜 Ready to Talk to Your Elephant?

If you’ve got a Purple Elephant in the room—those sneaky, unspoken dynamics that quietly derail morale, clarity, and collaboration—it’s time to stop guessing and start strategizing.

Book a Purple Elephant Strategy Session and let’s: