We all expect some awkward office politics in the workplace, but what happens when the usual frictions and irritations turn into a Toxic Work Culture? Here are a few things that might indicate you are working in a toxic environment.
Six signs your workplace is toxic
1. Hierarchy
In a toxic environment you might see a lot of emphasis on job titles, status, ‘micro’ management and employee levels, as power becomes the most important currency, above communication and even efficiency. The team has become subservient to the individual.
2. Fear
If you are fearful at work you are almost certainly in a toxic environment. If you are afraid to speak up, to say what needs to be said; if you are afraid of being undermined or ridiculed or fired at any moment then the chances are you are in a toxic workplace. Often, an organisation or department can become toxic over time without anyone actually realising it. The toxicity can creep in over time like an unsettling energy, infecting the entire organisational structure from the top down.
3. Proliferation of rules
Rules are meant to be broken. Or, if not broken, then flexed according to the circumstances, and the value judgements of experienced and self-determined employees. If there is a proliferation of hard and fast rules that means that employees are in constant fear of breaking them, or cannot do their jobs to the best of their ability, then the rules are draconian and unsettling and could well be a sign of a toxic workplace.
4. Poor management
If management is like a separate universe, with a top-down approach of encircling the employees like vultures, waiting to pounce on any infraction or error, while never rewarding or encouraging, then the atmosphere is bound to be toxic. If the communication is all one way – downwards – then the lack of collaboration can be devastating to the business and the employee.
5. Inequality and favouritism
If there are signs that certain employees are treated better than others, then the dark energy of the toxic work culture will encase the organisation, with resentments and bitterness and a general sense that the right of equality and fairness in the workplace is being undermined. If an employee cannot succeed through personal merit, then despondency will soon set in.
6. Lack of communication
If there is a lack of understanding about what is expected of you, or a policy of secrets, and if the corridors and canteens are places of whispered gossip about what management are thinking, or about to do, then there is clearly a communication problem. Clear, open and honest communication keeps people in the loop, and alleviates the stress of not knowing. A policy of keeping people in the dark, or allowing fears and doubts about the workplace to grow through a lack of transparency is a sign of an evolving toxic workplace.
What you can do about it?
If you are working in a toxic environment, and you think it is making you ill, or has the potential to do so, then you might consider moving to a better environment rather than single-handedly taking on a dysfunctional culture that may have become ingrained.
It is always possible to look for alternative employment in a stealthy way, and putting the feelers out without causing ripples. Alternatively, it may be possible to start a new conversation about the workplace culture with your colleagues, or a trusted management representative to try and root out the problem. Or action the two strategies in parallel and keep your options open.
