7 Signs Of A Toxic Work Environment
A healthy professional environment produces satisfaction, well-being and good relationships among co-workers. However, these circumstances are not always present. At times, we may feel frustrated, tired and unmotivated. It may even be that we feel like resigning, whether because of a colleague, a boss, or even the atmosphere of the place . A toxic work environment can have very negative consequences for us.
If we take into account that any company or organization is a hotbed of emotions, it would not be strange to think that conflicts and differences exist. The problem is not that they exist, but how they are managed and how far they can go. Thus, a toxic work environment is identified by degrading relationships, aggressive and very competitive attitudes, and even by bad-tempered and manipulative behavior.
Learning to identify whether there is toxicity in your work environment will go a long way in protecting you and preventing you from immersing yourself in it. Next, we’ll explain some of the most common features of this type of environment.
Characteristics of a toxic work environment
1. Absenteeism
It’s normal for people to get sick, have medical appointments, or need to attend some occasional activity that forces them to take time off work. However, when this behavior becomes repetitive, it can be a warning sign.
Being absent at least three times a month or more, or constantly asking for permission to be absent – whether to attend personal activities, medical appointments or due to illness – is a typical form of absenteeism. If there are no justified reasons, it can be a good indication that there is a toxic work environment.
Another form of absenteeism is mental absence. That is, when you are at work, most of the time, you do activities that are not related to your professional tasks.
This type of behavior can be corrected if the leader takes it upon himself to increase employee motivation. Being able to do this is essential to prevent discouragement from spreading among everyone.
2. Mistreatment by superiors
Another sign of a toxic work environment is when there is no respect in the way superiors address the rest of the employees. It can also occur when they indiscriminately use cynicism and sarcasm to address employees.
This is also reflected in the presence of derogatory comments, non-constructive criticism and peer comparisons. Rather than encouraging teamwork, these behaviors encourage excessive competition and malaise.
3. Lack of communication
Communication problems at work usually occur when communication is not direct, when it is incomplete, or when its content is not true. This generates situations of uncertainty, double meaning and confusion that create mental traps for the people involved and, definitely, errors or failures in the professional activity.
In many cases, bosses are not clear or specific about how they want certain tasks to be done, expecting their subordinates to “read their minds” or guess the details. Thus, if this situation continues for some time, frustration, insecurity and demotivation will certainly appear.
4. Little employee protection
This situation occurs when, in the company, the greatest concern is with its own interests (customers, cost reduction, etc.). than with the interests of workers. Normally, there is no possibility of professional advancement. There is also no training relevant to the position or career plans.
In this context, people can spend ten years performing the same tasks, without the possibility of being promoted or even considered. Internal policies are unknown to employees and change without notice. In general, all of these behaviors create great nuisance among employees and create a toxic work environment.
5. Dictatorial leadership
In this case, the leader makes all the decisions without considering what his team thinks. He does not listen, nor does he want to know the opinion of others, creating a fear among employees of expressing his disagreement with the situation.
Dictatorial leaders are often suspicious people, as they consider that only they can do the job correctly and that no one knows as much as they do. Often, this distrust is due to insecurities, especially when one of the employees stands out and, in some way, in the leader’s view, can start to be considered a threat.
This type of toxic work environment has the aggravation of the fact that employees cannot rely on the figure of the leader as someone who can help them solve a problem.
6. Function problems
The role a person plays in your position, while it can be extremely complex, must be very well defined. Otherwise, the person may not know very well what their role is in the company.
When this happens, the person may perform tasks that do not compete with them or may have to deal with excessive, inconsistent or incompatible demands and demands to do the job.
7. Moral harassment
Moral harassment is often one of the most common situations in a toxic work environment. It occurs when one or several colleagues make it difficult for the other to work, posing professional and personal obstacles. In addition, a bad relationship between co-workers can be a major source of stress.
As we can see, all of these problems can affect employees both physically and psychologically, impacting on their general sense of well-being. Therefore, it is necessary to combat them in order to manage or avoid a toxic work environment.
