3 simple ways communication could be contributing to a toxic workplace

When we imagine toxic workplaces, we often think of the extremes. A business owner who views their employees as a means to an end, working them to the bone to make their own dreams a reality. Managers who have a chip on their shoulder, treating their teams as inferior. Bitchy cliques that love to gossip and cause drama amongst their colleagues.

But in reality, toxic work environments are much more subtle. And they’re actually more common than you probably think. In fact, one study found that toxic workplaces made up 11.3% of organisations .

They aren’t often caused by outright toxic people. Sometimes, everyone has the best of intentions. You all want the best for the business. But you can still end up with an unproductive environment that’s full of inefficiencies, mistakes, low morale, conflict, and high turnover. How? Well, all roads lead back to communication.

Communication and toxicity

Communication is the foundation of any great business. How your staff interact, collaborate, and treat one another all matters. Your team’s ability to work together harmoniously and productively has a direct influence on the success you can achieve.

The second your communication starts to slip, all aspects of your company can suffer. If people can’t share information seamlessly, teams can’t collaborate effectively. At least not to their highest level. If staff are unhappy or uncomfortable in the office, how can you ever expect them to do their best work?

In isolation, the way Sally in HR and Phil in recruitment interact may not seem that big a deal. Neither might one manager who’s notorious for their curt emails and texts. But poor communication doesn’t destroy your business overnight. It festers and compounds over time. Instances may start off difficult to spot, but will quickly infiltrate all levels of your organisation. And once staff start feeling undervalued, or managers feel frustrated that their authority isn’t being respected, it can be difficult to shake.

The trick is to capture moments of poor communication as quickly as possible. To embrace opportunities to bring your staff onto the same page. Here are three specific examples of how poor communication could be impacting your work environment and culture.

Clashing personality and communication styles

We’re all unique individuals. And every one of us will have different expectations and needs from communication and our interpersonal relationships. At The Four Pillars, we love using the colour system to demonstrate this. The colours can be broken down as follows:

?? If someone is a blue, they tend to be incredibly sociable and chatty. They’ll always have a lot to say and will lean towards informality in their communication as a way to connect and find common ground.?

?? If someone is a red, they move at a fast-pace and prefer squeezing every second out of their day. They’ll want communication that is short, sweet, and to the point so they can get to the next task.

?? If someone is a green, they’ll be detail-oriented and by the book. They’ll want to have all of the information and data - no matter how time-consuming - before taking any action.

?? If someone is a yellow, they will be heavily people-focused. They care deeply about others and are constantly looking for ways to make their lives easier.?

Across your business, you will have a combination of all these communication styles. And for communication to thrive, everyone needs to be more considerate of the people standing in front of them. It’s about learning to read the room - literally or figuratively. And this starts from the top down.

Take some time to educate your leadership teams and managers about the different communication styles. Whether that’s over email, WhatsApp, Zoom, or in person. This way, you’ll create a more open, empathic culture. One where staff recognise and appreciate the different personalities and communication styles at play. Staff will begin to take cues from the people they interact with, turning up or down certain traits to better meet them where they’re at.

By working to minimise communication and personality clashes, every aspect of your business will get stronger. Collaboration becomes easier, decisions faster, and there will be a greater sense of fulfilment as people start feeling more heard and understood.

Not saying what you mean

We all know how frustrating it is when people aren’t clear. When they expect you to read between the lines of what they’re actually saying to uncover what they mean.

If you’re not being crystal clear, you’re leaving too much room for confusion and miscommunication. And this is how we make mistakes, get frustrated, and tensions hit a boiling point. If staff don’t understand one another, your workforce is going to be more prone to conflict, low efficiency, unhappy staff, and broken collaboration.

Learning to say what you mean can look like a few different things. It’s avoiding doing too much in one email or message. Stick to one topic at a time, rather than vaguely covering ten in one. It’s putting yourself in your readers’ shoes. What do they need to do what I’m asking of them? What extra information can I share to make their life easier? It’s double-checking everything you send, making sure you’re respecting your reader’s time and communicating with clarity. If you received this piece of correspondence, would you understand it?

These are all tips you can expand out to your entire workforce. And in the process, build the foundation for more respectful communication across the board.

Ego-driven communication

We’re all guilty of letting our egos run the show from time to time. But when our egos interfere with our professional communication, that’s when we end up risking our productivity and culture.

Egos are often the cause of issues in poor management and employee relationships. For example, managers thinking it’s their way or the highway. They might shut down their employees’ ideas or suggestions because ‘they’re the boss’. Even if they’re not intentionally doing so. As a result, staff feel unseen, unheard, and undervalued. They might think there’s no point contributing as they won’t be listened to. They disconnect, become demoralised and disengaged, and end up bringing their worst selves to work. Or they might leave the business altogether.

And this happens in other scenarios too. Colleagues at the same level can clash if one person lets their ego run riot. Or if staff aren’t practising active listening with one another. It’s important for staff at all levels of your business to share the same understanding of goals and values. To be pulling in the same direction with an ‘us versus the world’ mentality, rather than a ‘me versus you’ one.

We’re all communicating all day, every day. So it’s easy to take this critical skill for granted. But there isn’t a single company out there who doesn’t have room for improvement when it comes to their internal communication.

At The Four Pillars , we’re experts in everything communication. If your team’s struggling to connect, or you’re noticing areas of toxicity or unproductivity, get in touch. Our coaching services will get you on the same page in no time. To find out more, contact us on 0161 413 8418.