Toxic work culture- Is your workplace toxic?

By Rupanshi luthra

If you look at teams that are happy, determined, and doing their best work, it means that they are working in a healthy and supportive environment.

But the opposite is also true and a toxic work culture can not only cause serious issues for your team -but  serious issues for your health and your business.

Huge workloads, unrealistic expectations and a difficult environment may seem like a personal hell that is designed to sabotage your mental space, and sometimes, lead to a physical breakdown.

Toxic workplace cultures are bad not only for employees, but also for their family members and friends. Due to toxic culture,we can also see the change in one's behavior as because of this bad culture many people are unable to enjoy their life and give time to their family and friends and live their life in anxiety and depression.

Thus, a toxic work environment results in increased stress in your day to day work life. We all have our bad days at work. Managers pressurizing to work on a specific projects, the communication gap between employees, poor management, gossiping and bullying new employees etc are the common signs of toxic work culture which we can see in every company. Employees are expected to bring value to an organization, but what toxic employees bring is just annoyance and problems that quickly affect the success of the project and the organization.

Toxic work culture thus destroy self-esteem, motivation, goodwill, relationships, and sometimes even lives.

Different toxic members

• The gossiper

The employees become toxic when they focus on collecting funny stories and gossip rather than working. In addition, excessive gossip and rumors can create drama among employees.

• The one who always say yes

If an employee always agrees at the end of every discussion and meeting, and never asks questions, this may be an indicator that they are not willing to learn.These people make the least effort to do precisely what is expected of them and nothing more. They will wait for detailed instructions without any initiative.

•The narcissist

A narcissistic employee is usually an excellent interpreter but does not seem to recognize the value of a strong team.

•The grumpy

In every company, there are employees who are always complaining about everything – whether there is a real reason or not: from a broken coffee machine to a low-speed Internet connection; these people don’t seem to be satisfied with anything and, as a result, create negativity in the team.

•The “I-know-it-all”

In our lives, we have all come across a person who believes they know everything, both personally and professionally.

These people usually have an answer for everything and will not accept or listen to other's point of view.

Employees who show this kind of behavior are toxic because they don’t want to receive feedback.This person prefers to work independently and may even go so far as to underestimate the work of colleagues.

Various signs of toxic work culture

•Employees are in constant conflict

 Employees of a team has occasional conflicts and disagreements and all these conflicts can make it harder for a team to collaborate. And it's not just the lack of  collaboration that can cause issues. When there is a constant conflict within teams, team members are unable to work with each other.

Also, employees in toxic cultures don’t want to talk to each other. They don’t see a value in building relationships, meeting to discuss how to achieve goals, or ensuring that expectations are clearly set. Instead, they rely on email or other communication methods that avoid personal interaction. But when employees interact with each other, they are gossiping about each other in the kitchen, in corridors, or off-site. Off-site conversations often happen when people are saying things about others that they would never tell them directly. Spreading gossip and keeping secrets will undoubtedly increase conflict between employees and negatively impact morale and productivity. Let's take an example

You get off on the wrong foot with a new coworker. They ask you for help responding to a customer inquiry, but you refuse to lend a hand because you are working on a tight deadline and don't want to waste time. There has been tension between you two ever since, and now you need their help on a project, but they're not being very responsive.

• Unrealistic expectations

When company leaders have unrealistic expectations of their employees, it’s been proven that productivity, performance and morale suffer.

This can cause employees to overwork and end up feeling exhausted and defeated when they still can’t measure up to their supervisor’s unrealistic expectations, which we already know causes health problems.

• Public humiliation and criticism 

A toxic company tolerates public humiliation and criticism, instead of promoting guidance and support.Employees should feel safe and confident when sharing ideas, opinions, feedback and concerns.

• No freedom

Micromanaging is one of the tell-tale signs of a toxic company culture.It completely destroys motivation and creativity and is guaranteed to drive good employees out the door.Companies need employees who will do more than what they’re told, who will think for themselves and try new approaches, and all of that is ruined by micromanaging.

• No trust

Poor company culture promotes unethical behavior both inside and out of the workplace.

A lack of trust in society builds a culture of division and fear. A decade ago, former US President, Barack Obama, said “The biggest deficit we have in our society and world right now is an empathy deficit. We are in great need of people being able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes.”

• An absence of core values 

Perhaps the most concerning sign of a bad company culture is a lack of Company core values.These are the driving force of an organization — not having core values means your culture is likely to progress without any sense of direction. Unwanted subcultures will form and undermine your business’ success.

Ultimately, having a toxic employee on the team is more expensive in the long term than having a not fully trained employee. Toxic behavior affects the whole team and prevents them from working efficiently. Negative workplace culture creates lonely, burned out and depressed people. We have to ask the question, is this the kind of society we want to live in? To change the world around us we have to promote happiness and well-being at work.

Ways to improve toxic work environment

People are not always aware of their behavior. In general, once a toxic employee has been identified, the first solution is always to have a personal discussion with them and try to understand the reasons for this negative behavior and act accordingly. Let's discuss about four strategies for addressing and improving a toxic workplace for increasing productivity and making employees feel more positive and engaged.

1. Emphasize respect and professional interactions

It includes valuing professional and polite interactions, setting a standard for all staff members, Showing compassion and working with staff to identify and rectify problems, instead of only emphasizing issues and problems.

2. Offer support and encouragement for staff

By focusing on the positive actions of staff, your managers can offer reminders that the time and effort employees invest each day is valued. 

3. Build a meritocracy

As long as employees behave in a respectful and professional manner, the key factor in everything from assessing their performance to offering promotions should be their ability to fulfill their responsibilities and successfully complete tasks on time.

4. Encourage feedback

Employees who feel they can't share reasonable opinions can quickly grow disengaged or feel as if they're unheard. Work with your human resources department to file this feedback and make sure all input from staff is acknowledged and addressed appropriately.

So, it is important for team members to enjoy coming into work. We work hard to keep our environment fun and positive, and we do that by creating a space where people can feel comfortable. We recognize our mistakes and take accountability, and we always have an open-door policy so that people know they will be heard and feel valued. Creating this sort of working environment has allowed us to build a team-centric approach – we always consider the perspectives of those around us, and not just our own."