5 Signs of a Toxic Workplace and What to Do If You Work There

Workplace culture has a significant influence on how you complete tasks and feels daily, both on and off the workplace. Three out of ten people say their work environment makes them unpleasant at home.

A hostile workplace can have quantifiable consequences on productivity. According to Harvard Business School research, over half of employees who witnessed workplace incivility decreased their effort and consciously chose to spend less time at work. Maybe it’s even worse? 38% of people lowered the quality of their work on purpose.

“Unfavourable working environments are terrible for employee morale and mental health, but they’re nevertheless rather frequent. Nearly 55% of workers believe they work in unfavourable or potentially dangerous circumstances.” says a company employee James who is also an Online Essay Help Expert and online essay writing service.

How do you determine whether you’re working in a poisonous environment? What can you do about it, and more importantly, what can you do about it? Let’s get to the bottom of what you need to know.

5 signs that you’re working in a hazardous environment

Is your workplace truly hazardous? This is one of those times when it’s best to go with your instincts. The fact that you’re concerned about the health of your company’s culture indicates that there’s still work to be done.

If your intuition isn’t enough to persuade you, here are five more clear indicators that your workplace isn’t quite up to par.

1. There is little to no passion for the project.

Is everyone’s face looking like they just found out they need a root canal as you look around at your co-workers?

All that negativity is a by-product of the culture, but it also feeds the general dismal atmosphere in the company. Worse, it obstructs everyone’s capacity to do tasks. When working with people who have bad attitudes, 93 % of workers believe they are less productive.

2. There is a widespread dread of failing.

Nobody likes to make a mistake at work. Making a mistake on the job is the most common workplace worry, according to 28% of individuals. However, there is a significant difference between wanting to escape a momentary face-palm moment and being immobilized by a hostile environment that punishes perceived failures.

Another sign of a hazardous workplace is a complete absence of psychological safety (which evaluates how comfortable employees take chances and make errors).

The whole team suffers when people are hesitant to go outside of their comfort zones. In fact, according to Google’s Project Aristotle, psychological safety has the highest impact on team effectiveness, surpassing reliability, structure, meaning, and impact.

The biggest impact on team effectiveness is a high level of psychological safety.

3. There is a continual state of malfunction and perplexity.

Nobody knows what their duties and responsibilities are. Crossed wires are a typical occurrence, and individuals are frequently left in the dark. Members of the team have trouble determining which direction is up.

Toxic workplaces are fertile grounds for confusion and dysfunction because of the lack of trust, inadequate communication, and power conflicts typically accompany these unfavourable situations. These difficulties make it even more difficult for team members to collaborate, causing projects, meetings, and relationships to fall apart.

4. There’s never-ending drama and gossip.

It’s common to hear a little office gossip. With 96 % of respondents admitting to participating in office gossip in some manner, most people are guilty of paying attention to the rumour mill in some way.

Toxic environments emerge when gossip is pushed to its logical conclusion. You’ve reached a whole new level of drama if your regular day at work feels like you’re on a reality TV program. Nobody speaks openly; instead, whispers, side-eye looks, and passive hostile remarks are used.

This maliciousness may appear to be innocuous, but it has a cost. Psychological exhaustion, despair, anxiety, and aggressiveness are all linked to workplace bullying.

5. Employee turnover is high.

There’s a constant influx of new personnel, and it appears that you can’t keep anyone on for the long term. You never know what kind of vacant desks or fresh faces you’ll see in the office the next day.

If employees are fleeing in droves, it’s a good indication that the company’s culture is driving them away. One in every five employees who left their work in the previous five years mentioned culture as a factor in their decision. Organizations that intentionally cultivate a positive culture have a 14 % turnover rate, but those that disregard their culture have a 48 % turnover rate.

Employees quit their employment for a variety of reasons. However, if you notice a mass departure, it’s a sign that something is wrong at work.

What to Do If Your Workplace Is Toxic

You identified your workplace in one (or more) of the characteristics listed above. So, what’s next?

Is it time to cut your losses and give your two-week notice? Maybe. But, before you pack your belongings and hit the road, try some of the methods listed below to see if you can make things better at work.

1. Identify your allies

You will almost certainly not get along with everyone you work with if you operate in a toxic workplace. Building a support system of pleasant and like-minded co-workers, on the other hand, may help you lift your spirits and feel less alone.

This is the group with whom you may connect and commiserate, which is crucial when stress disclosure is proven to be a coping technique. Furthermore, strong social interactions help to retain and motivate employees.

2. Concentrate on what you have control over.

When you’re stuck in a work environment that’s undermining your happiness, the typical advice of “keep optimistic” is cliché and even condescending. When something at work annoys you, instead of putting on a phoney smile and keeping your chin up, ask yourself this question: Do I have any influence over this?

You probably have minimal control over how other people behave and interact if you aren’t in a leadership position. However, you have power over how you react to it.

Keep your attention on the decisions and reactions over which you have control and you’ll avoid wasting energy and aggravation on things that aren’t worth your time.

3. Keep track of everything.

Here’s a sad but real statistic: one out of every four employees says they don’t trust their boss. In a hostile workplace, this is unquestionably true. You’re always looking over your shoulder in that terrible atmosphere, waiting for the next person to throw you under the bus.

Constantly worrying about who could stab you in the back are tiresome, and, unfortunately, you feel the need to defend yourself in this way. However, keeping precise records of your work and interactions will provide you with some relief.

Was a decision reached during a face-to-face meeting? Get it down on paper. Keep meticulous records of everything you do. If your employer gives you an unduly poor performance review or a co-worker misrepresents an encounter, you’ll have proof of what happened.

4. Work up the confidence to give honest comments.

It’s easy to bite your tongue when dealing with a toxic workplace because you don’t want to add fuel to the fire. However, speak out when you’re given a chance to provide input, whether it’s through employee surveys, one-on-one meetings with your boss, annual performance evaluations, or other methods.

It’s conceivable that the leadership team isn’t aware of the depth of the negativity that’s sweeping the office. You should take advantage of the opportunity to educate them on how things may be better.

Can we promise that you’ll see a significant difference? Certainly not. However, you have a greater chance if you speak up than if you remain silent. After all, one out of every three businesses may not act on employee input regularly – but two out of every three businesses will presumably move to improve things.

Conclusion

The suggestions above might assist you in avoiding becoming overly burdened by poisonous workplace culture. It’s crucial to remember, though, that there’s only so much you can accomplish based on your degree of seniority. You’re not going to be able to fix everything on your own. Still, you feel that you are not coming out of such a toxic workplace once you can take the help of online essay help and online essay writing service provider.

If you’ve tried everything to improve your position and nothing seems to be working, it’s time to change teams and environments. That choice might be intimidating or even guilt-inducing. But keep in mind that life is too short to spend every day dreading work, especially when job stress negatively impacts your personal life and mental health.