Work culture !

Work culture! The other day, while chatting with my friend, the topic of the office came up. We immediately digressed and began reminiscing about the days when we enjoyed working remotely. Those days felt both fun and extended; conversely, there were days when just going to the office filled us with dread. Regardless of what we say, work culture undoubtedly impacts our mental and physical health. I understand that the world isn't a perfect dreamland, and difficulties are inevitable. We all must put in the effort to fulfill our responsibilities and ensure we're not criticized.

It has been a little over 7 years working in the corporate world. What I've realized is that the culture, people, and colleagues make the difference. This article encapsulates the top seven; please feel free to add your points too: What is a toxic workplace? A workplace where people create unwanted stress and encourage unethical behavior, leading to employee burnout and, at times, resignation.

Seven signs of a workplace which is not conducive:

1. No One Trusts Anyone: It's challenging to rely on someone when there's a fear they might lie for personal gain or create unnecessary hype, leading to a blame game culture. You tend to receive gossip from different sources. There is always a mistrust which is maintained at workplace. Multiple threads of e-mail tend to run on similar issues. No one makes an attempt to understand the other's point of view.

2. Gaslighting: It is a form of manipulation technique that ensure people are questioning their own perceptions. This can involve mockery, intentional exclusion, and spreading rumors. Gaslighting leads to self doubt and people tend to lose their morale and at times they question their own ability and skill.

3. Glorifying Long Working Hours: While hard work and dedication are valuable, working overtime isn't a sign of efficiency. Negative comments about those who leave on time are harmful, and excessively long hours often indicate poor time management, not dedication. It is important to strike a work life harmony.

4. Making Fun of Work: It's easy to criticize someone's work without understanding it. Examples include thinking certain teams don't add value, such as stereotypes suggesting HR has minimal workload. It's disrespectful and dismissive to assume anyone's lack of work.

5. Closed Groups: Friendships at work are great, but they shouldn't lead to favoritism. When personal interests override team goals and closed groups plot against outsiders, it creates a toxic environment.

6. Work boundary is a myth: Colleagues tend to overstep and assume their position in life as a friend. They tend to make work-related decisions without your consent. They try to be nice to you, and behind your back, they speak negatively about it. Yes, that is a human tendency, but as educated individuals, we should rationalize it rather than sticking to norms.

7. Leaders are involved – Now, this is one of the worst possible situations where leaders are highly biased and tend to make decisions based on the inputs shared by their favorite employee. These decisions are always based on feelings and not data.

At the end, I do not want to make it all sad. On the flip side, there is one benefit of a toxic workplace – it will teach us how we are not supposed to be. While I understand where humans are involved there are chances of conflict and other human related issues. As a leader one must have the conscience to distinguish between what is correct and what is incorrect? Leader's responsibility is to take ownership and drive towards harmony of the team through constructive feedback mechanism.