Are you in a toxic workplace?

Everyone has faced those “Sunday night scaries” at some point in their career, but what if you are in a situation where every day at work fills you with dread.  Last week we found a common theme amongst enquiries, as leaders reached out to ask us to help with the subject of toxic workplaces.

What is a Toxic Workplace Culture?

A toxic work culture is one where the workplace is plagued by fighting, drama and unhappy employees to the point that productivity and the well-being of the people in the office is affected. You may think that this sounds terrible, but it isn’t something that you experience, however our research has found that individuals “in the clique” don’t acknowledge that the situation is bad in their workplace.

This is a list of some red flags of a potentially toxic workplace culture:

1.     Poor communication – Leaders may know what is going on, but they do not share this with the rest of their team, which creates a “them and us” scenario and a fear of exclusion.

2.     Gossip, Cliques and general exclusion – If you are in the clique you may not notice this, however at your next meeting check how groups appear outside the room, you will generally notice in meeting that these groups continue to advocate for themselves and each other’s ideas.

3.     Bad Leadership – Potential micro-management and lack of employee trust is a large cause of creating a toxic workplace.

4.     You may have unmotivated co-workers – Do your colleagues volunteer to support each other with workload or does the manager have to direct workflow instead?

5.     Stifled Growth – Little to no opportunity for promotion?  Vacancies don’t get advertised instead are handed to people in the clique.

6.     Rapid turnover of Staff – Unable to change the culture from within unfortunately people vote with their feet and leave.

7.     No work-life balance (Lack of regard for Employee Wellness) – Regular calls/emails after hours or whilst on holiday.

8.     Not withholding the company values and behaviours – Leaders getting great results in their own careers but not withholding the company values or mission.

9.     Unhealthy levels of competition in and between teams – Everyone advocating for their own work and that of their own teams at the expense of a shared vision and understanding that they all work for the same company and should instead be working together.

10.  Not allocating enough resource to projects – Burnout unfortunately is the only feasible outcome in this situation.  People can work hard for short bursts only, not sustained over years and years.

At this point we realise that you may now acknowledge that some of this does occur at your workplace. 

If you are a Leaders here are some simple tips that can help eliminate a toxic work culture:

1.     Ask staff anonymously after sharing the potential red flags, if they feel that this exists in your organisation?  Be prepared to acknowledge and deal with what this survey finds, as sharing the outcome and any proposed solutions will help to create a culture of psychological safety.

2.     Create Transparency and Improve communication – Whilst we have been working from home it is even more important as a leader to update your employees on what has been going on and what will occur in the future.

3.     Involve employees in the decision-making process – This is so important in every situation; employees being included ensures that you also create solutions that will work.

4.     Eliminate carrot or stick programmes – There should be an expectation that the work on your job description needs to occur without the need for extra rewards.  Exceptional work or going that extra mile of course should still be celebrated.

5.     Regularly connect with your team to discuss workload and planning – Do you know what your team members need to protect their wellbeing?  Could you spot the signs and intervene if your team member wasn’t taking good care of themselves?  Do you share work evenly across your team?

6.     Provide flexibility and balance – Job shares, flexible hours so employees can drop their children at school etc.

7.     Bring in a third-party consultant to really get to the heart of the problem – It is no surprise that if psychological safety isn’t present in your organisation that people won’t speak up and this won’t help you solve any issues.  An independent resource coming in will provide that security and people will be more open.

8.     Implement new policies tackling the issues head on – Ensure that training and coaching occurs at every level of your organisation to correct any potential issues and reset the norms.

9.     Cultivate a safe environment where people can speak up without fear of retribution – Train managers to listen to their staff and act on any feedback they are given.

If you are an employee in this toxic environment here are some top tips:

1.     Please don’t stoop to the level of the toxic individual – all you can do is control the way you respond.  Sometimes this involves creating space between you and the source.

2.     Try to leave your work stress at work – Ensure that you draw a line at 5pm or whenever you stop work, you can’t allow this toxicity to infiltrate into your personal life.

3.     Seek out positive co-workers – ask for them support and advice of how you can handle these situations.

4.     Practice saying No and creating boundaries with friends or colleagues - run through your plan before you meet to discuss an issue with your boss or the toxic individual.

5.     Build Trust if your manager is micro-managing you – If your manager is constantly asking for updates on a project, just create a document where they can find the answers to any questions they may have. 

6.     Focus on your wellness non-negotiables – make sure you know what you need to do to show up as your best self.  Ensure that you tick these off every day to allow you to be centred and calm when operating in this environment.

7.     Speak up – If you are experiencing this, so many other people are too.  As scary as it may seem use your voice for change.

8.     Leave the Job or change departments – If you really can’t influence change from the inside, change departments or worst-case scenario leave.  Your personal happiness and health are more important.

Imagine a workplace where people have the space, trust, and autonomy to flourish, this could be your workplace! You can create this environment with deep work, planning and input from your staff.  

Be brave enough to ask the questions and be prepared for the outcome.  If you need any help in this space, as an employee or as a leader, please just reach out and ask us.