What Is A Toxic Workplace Culture?
When Identifying toxic workplace culture it’s important to understand this is NOT the same as workplace conflict.
Due to the covert nature of toxic workplace culture, it can be easy to dismiss as ‘intangible’ or blame the individual rather than realise it’s a complex systemic issue.
HERE ARE THREE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONFLICT AT WORK AND TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE
Repetition
Intention
Time
Conflict at work is a once-off, seasonal and work-related issue with no malicious intent.
Toxic workplace culture, is a repeated, ongoing, prolonged action that extends beyond the workplace boundaries and intentionally harms an individuals wellbeing.
Some conflict is healthy. For example, a lively debate, a heated discussion and disagreements.
Toxic workplace culture is never healthy.
Toxic workplace culture extends beyond the individual and spreads into a collective acceptable behaviour.
This becomes detrimental to its employee’s well-being. Even those not directly experiencing the toxic workplace behaviours will be impacted by this negativity.
Much like a virus, toxic workplace culture can spread; unless it is identified and preventative actions are taken.
Due to the transient and intangible nature of workplace culture, it can be hard to identify the health of your workplace culture.
What are the signs of a toxic workplace?
Ask yourself this:
Have you been made to feel inferior, worthless, excluded, replaceable, or incompetent?
Have you been asked (explicitly or implicitly) to behave in a way that compromises your morals, ethics and beliefs?
Have you witnessed hypocrisy, favouritism, morally dubious behaviours?
Have you tried to address our concerns only for the situation to be made worse, ignored, laughed at, gaslit, or receive backlash for speaking out and protecting to your boundaries?
Has your productivity, career aspirations or personal aspirations declined due to the workplace culture? Has your mental and physical well-being taken a hit due to workplace pressures?
Do certain industries attract toxic workplace culture?
Toxic workplace culture doesn’t discriminate, although discrimination is part of toxic workplace culture.
Let me explain.
All industries are prone to toxic workplace culture. Rather than identifying specific industries, it’s worth noting conditions that are likely to promote and spread toxic workplace culture.
It is possible for your experiences of workplace culture to shift from positive to conflicting to toxic to lethal and back again. In this way, workplace culture is always evolving or devolving depending on how it is nurtured.
HOW TO IDENTIFY TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE?
Assess the following conditions of your workplace:
CHANGES
Whether it’s management changes, mergers and acquisition, an introduction of new technology, changes can create uncertainty which may prompt people to cling to familiar comforts and power structures.
GROWING PAINS
Rapid expansion can result in hiring quickly, high pressure to keep up with demands and long hours, all these factors are a risk mental and physical wellbeing.
LACK OF TRAINING
Poor management and lack of leadership training can create a ripple effect of poor performance and unjust behaviour.
LACK OF ROLE CLARITY
Without a clear job description, there is confusion around individual responsibility which can create tension and conflicting workplace expectations.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
If no one is held publicly accountable for their mistakes or if exceptions are made, this sends a confusing message about workplace ethics which enable toxic behaviors to persist.
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
Similarly, if everything is happening behind closed doors this can make already covert toxic workplace behaviours difficult to identify and therefore resolve.
PERVERSE INCENTIVES
The way a company rewards certain behaviors directly feeds into how employees are expected to conduct themselves. For instance, if the company celebrates individual success over win/ win team-oriented solution, this sends a conflicting message to the employee’s success.
NO PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
You feel as though there is no one you can trust and that you must continue to maintain a professional demeanor in fear of reprimand and career consequences that may follow if you speak up or stand out. This is a fear-based environment that thrives off power and control at the expense to your well being.
NO ‘HUMAN-TOUCH’ APPROACH
If they do not respect your boundaries, or listen to your requests and nurture your needs this is a tell tale sign that they are not valuing you as an employer. A healthy workplace would take the time to understand the issues at hand and come up with ways to resolve them in a way that helps everyone involved.
THE NUMBER ONE WAY TO KNOW IF YOU’RE IN A TOXIC WORKPLACE IS…
THE MOOD
There’s a thick tension in the air, everyone appears to be hiding their true intentions, you’re exhausted, run-down, have a heavyweight in your chest and on your shoulders every time you leave work.
You dread stepping into work again, never knowing when the next bomb will drop for what the next attack will be.
If you are experiencing this you MUST take action before it damages your health.
The way you are feeling is not ok, and it is a clear sign that your workplace needs to change.
If you’ve made it to the bottom of this list and have found more than half of these to be relatable, chances are you are experiencing toxic workplace culture.
Still wondering if you’re stuck in a toxic workplace culture take this quiz and find out HERE
All Illustrations By Isabell Castillo