Is Your Work Environment Toxic?

Although I’ve been blessed with loving parents and a loving family, I have a friend who has a relationship with his parents and siblings that could be termed toxic. In fact, I would describe his parents and siblings as mean and abusive. If they were his employees rather than his family members, the easy solution would be to fire them and remove their negative energy from his life. That’s, emotionally, much more difficult, since they’re blood relatives with a lot of history.

Working relationships and corporate cultures can also be toxic. In one study, 94 percent of the participants stated they worked with an individual who created a toxic work environment. One employee I recently interviewed said that working at his corporation was almost like a religious experience. When I asked him to elaborate, he said, “With this new boss, it feels like I’m working in hell.”

Who can make a work environment toxic? Although it really could be anyone, we tend to find the majority of examples revolve around senior management, bosses, peers, co-workers and even customers.

What are the behaviors that are demonstrated in organizations that lead to toxic work environments? I’m hoping you’ll connect with us and share your favorite toxic work environment examples. In the meantime, here’s just a sample of what we’ve seen:

• Moody and unpredictable responses
• CYA focus mixed with finger pointing
• Talking about others behind their back
• Dishonest communication – saying one thing to one person and something different to another
• Bullying or abusive behaviors like yelling or swearing
• Unreasonable or excessive demands…and then threatening people if the demands are not met
• Vague, unclear expectations
• Team members are not held accountable to equal standards, either in their results or in the way they treat others
• Feedback is not appreciated, accepted or acted upon
• When feedback is provided, it is almost always negative

Now, going back to my opening example with relatives, if you were the person in charge and could just fire the person exhibiting these behaviors, you would! When toxic people are not held accountable for their behaviors and the impact they have on others, the organization almost always experiences greater turnover. But, what is most important to address and acknowledge is who in the organization is leaving. It’s almost never the toxic person who leaves, but the best performers who have the greatest number of viable alternatives. They truly believe that working with a jerk is not worth the impact it has on their personal and professional life, and they’re confident they have the skills and relationships to find something better. Therefore, this is who you have left: the people who poison the environment and the people who put up with it because they don’t see themselves as having a better option.

Right now, I know some employees are reading this and thinking, “Yes. He’s describing my boss.” A distinction needs to be made. Just because an employee is unhappy with their boss or job doesn’t mean that the environment is toxic. For example, we recently interviewed an employee who described her work environment as toxic. When we asked for details, it became apparent that she had a new boss and, for the first time, was being held accountable for her performance and results. Their new boss had even changed the employee’s work hours to ensure there was more oversight of the employee’s work and greater opportunity to coach her. This is not a toxic environment, but an example of great leadership and doing the right thing.

Here’s some advice for turning a toxic work environment into a great place where employees are connected to their jobs at both the head and the heart:

1. Deal with the real problem: Only on very limited occasions have I worked on projects where the Board or CEO are responsible for creating the toxic environment. Almost always, it’s other leaders or team members in the organization. The toxic individual’s boss needs to tell the toxic carrier that if they don’t change, they won’t be able to continue working at the organization. If the person is terminated because they didn’t change, the entire organization will be more motivated to follow the leader who had the guts to do the right thing.
2. Hire an Executive Coach: When someone has been allowed to negatively impact an entire workgroup or culture, it’s difficult for them to change their communication and leadership style. Most often, they’re going to need help in developing the strategies and actions to make the turnaround.
3. Set a specific time frame for the change: Sometimes people tell me it’s going to take time to change the culture. They’re right, but what they do not specify is the amount of time. Sometimes people can successfully implement immediately, other times they may put it off so long that it never happens. My favorite examples of success happen when a new CEO or leader comes on board and says to the person who is responsible for the toxic environment, “If you don’t immediately change the way you treat people, you won’t work for me, or this organization anymore.” Sometimes the toxic individual quickly changes and exhibits new behaviors; sometimes they leave, claiming that they can’t work in the new environment; and sometimes they get fired. When you’re clear on the time frame and stick to it, the change will be successful.
4. Tell the truth: Most people who create toxic environments are high performers or perform a function that is vitally needed in the organization. If they were unneeded low performers, it would be easy to fire them. Because they are either high performers or are highly valued for their knowledge, people are hesitant to tell them the truth, fearful of upsetting them, or fear that they might even quit if they heard the truth. However, very seldom have I seen a toxic person quit. The toxic contributor needs to hear the truth and know that changing their demeanor and approach is now a condition of employment.
5. Conduct an Employee Opinion Survey: If you’re unsure about the toxic contributors’ locations, an Employee Opinion Survey that breaks out the data by leader or department will give you a strong indicator of employee satisfaction levels in different areas within the organization. Ensuring a wide range of questions and employee anonymity will help you gain valuable insights about your organization’s culture – department by department.
6. Utilize a 360 Leadership Development Assessment: Many times, toxic environments are exposed after an organization has conducted an Employee Engagement Survey. Although Employee Opinion or Engagement surveys provide feedback by leader, department or branch, they’re not usually a big enough motivator to get a leader to change their toxic ways. A Leadership Development Assessment (360) has a much stronger chance for success in providing specific feedback that will motivate the leader to create an action plan and change.

Even if you didn’t create the toxic environment, you can still supply the antidote.