Let's Talk About Toxic Jobs

"After 2 months I realized that I had made a big mistake to accept their offer… I was living daily stress, my boss yelled at me and treated me very badly, he gave me more work than any other employee, I was always scheduled.

This affected my health, I cried every day when I got home and I thought with horror that the next day I would start all over again. Eventually, I left, although I'm sorry I didn't do anything to try to change things. "

The above story is by no means singular. There are plenty of other similar ones that have a toxic job in common. High workloads (often summing up the tasks of two more employees), incorrect treatment applied within the team, abusive behaviors of colleagues and/or managers are just some of the symptoms.

If you recognize them, it is possible to work in a work environment with toxic colleagues/managers or an inefficient HR department.

What are the symptoms of a toxic work environment?

Managers avoid managing and correcting the problems that come with employees, so they feel that nothing is changing;

There is high absenteeism, people avoid coming to the office and prefer to work from home, or bring medical certificates;

Employees leave the department, division, or company or schedule interviews in hopes of finding another job;

Gossip is the order of the day, it is taken into account in evaluating performance, promotions; destroys reputations and chances;

The company has very restrictive policies regarding lunch hours, communication, socialization, dress code, work schedule. All of this can create a hostile and work-oriented environment that is not important to generate performance;

There are major differences between employees in terms of salaries, benefits, promotions, workload, all without clear policies, justifications, and related arguments;

There is frequent discrimination based on gender, preference, race, religion, ethnicity, age - factors that have nothing to do with the employee's results;

Employees face harassment and bullying. In the literature, aggressors of this type are called "toxic personalities". Their actions have serious consequences on the attitude towards work, but also on the results and wellbeing of employees;

There are permanent conflicts between team members, which lead to team instability, non-compliance with deadlines, and declining company profits;

Employees have problems with alcohol/drugs;

Spaces, where people work, are inadequate: physical hazards, insufficient space, high noise, poor cleaning, malfunctioning elevators, inefficient security measures, theft of objects. Either these issues are tolerated by management or the measures taken are ineffective;

Teams have low motivation, their members are pessimistic, the atmosphere is tense, and conflicts often break out.

The list of symptoms can go on. Of course, if each of those affected were to take action on at least some of the things mentioned above, things would certainly change. But here comes the fear, the fear of losing the job, but also the lack of assertiveness, so the toxic behaviors become cyclical and are maintained in organizations. In addition, the most common coping strategies in these cases - minimization, denial, and postponement - are unfortunately very ineffective and harmful in the long run.

How do you answer?

Arriving in a toxic environment, an employee can have 3 types of decisions: to adapt, to leave the organization, or to try to change the environment.

If every employee were involved and avoided adopting the negative habits he finds in the office, the conditions necessary for a toxic work environment would be significantly diminished. In this process of change, you can start with a few questions to ask yourself:

"Is what I'm doing right?"

"Is that okay with me?"

"How should I draw attention to what happened to me without offending or offending?"

"What state have I been in now, since I've had such defensive responses from others?"

It is important to communicate assertively what you notice and what effects and consequences you notice in yourself.

It is also useful to:

You know your rights and obligations

Realistically evaluate the situation

Try to figure out what you can change or not (constructive feedback to a person with toxic behavior does not mean that it will change). It is equally important not to underestimate or overestimate your ability to change what is happening in the organization.

You use the organization's systems (360 feedback, company HR policies, skip-level, etc.) when they have applied and not just practices that exist only in theory.

Take care of yourself

If the situation affects your well-being or you start to develop various symptoms (you no longer sleep well, you eat excessively / you lose your appetite, you are physically ill, you have negative thoughts, depressed states) turn to specialized support. It will help you make decisions or find healthy and constructive coping mechanisms.

Set boundaries and distance yourself when necessary

Propose some rules to maintain a healthy work-life balance (eg telephone availability, home hours, homework, etc.)

Be aware of your emotions and, above all, do not spread toxic behaviors by taking unhealthy practices as such: "That's right, the boss is always right", "To integrate you have to gossip about others", "No. I could move forward if I don't stay overtime. "

It is normal to want a job where you have clearly defined goals, where colleagues and superiors are honest, cooperative, and fair, and people are appreciated for their contributions. The important thing to know is that there are always options. And if they are sometimes more difficult to find, you can always ask for the help of a specialist.