The Virus in the Workplace: Symbolic, Mimetic, or Emotional Contagion

An organizational virus can be a false but seductive idea, a shared fear running from office to office, a toxic culture that infiltrates through words, a harmful habit that has become the norm.

It enters through language, propagates through imitation, and acts by deactivating discernment.

The virus does not need to be powerful. It only needs to propagate faster than the system can react.