4 red flags of the toxic workplace

The working environment plays many important roles in output quality. The atmosphere of a workspace also influences an employee's mindset and growth. Employees working in a positive work environment may feel more motivated to produce high-quality work consistently.?

A healthy workplace environment is ideal when it comes to keeping a positive outcome in a stressful atmosphere. The most important thing that influences employee motivation and happiness, and how productive and efficient they can be, all goes down to their working environment.

On the other hand, a toxic work environment is like having all these challenges on repeat, without a break. It's red flag on top of the red flag. It's a passage-aggressive boss or inappropriate comments from your coworkers about the person you replaced. It is reduced (or non-existent) boundaries.

What is a toxic working environment??

By definition, a toxic work environment is one where employees find it difficult to work or progress in their careers due to the negative atmosphere created by coworkers, supervisors, or the company culture itself. The most common denominator of the toxic workplace is the place where employees do not feel safe, supported, or heard.?

There are many different forms of toxicity in the workplace, but the commons are poorly paid, do not recognize or reward exceptional performance or prioritize customers over employees.

Toxic workplace checklist (4 red flags of a toxic work environment)

The following are your best (or worst) indicators for a toxic culture. If your workplace has one of these, it might be toxic, but it also might be fixable. If your workplace has several or even all these markers, it is time for you to think about finding a healthier place to work.

1. Poor Communication

Insufficient, confusing, or scattered communication is the culprit of so many problems in the workplace. Communication skills are the most important skills needed in any successful organization. Communication is the root cause of bad organizations that run poorly. Bad communication often leads to confusion and a lack of purpose for employees. From here, problems arise and compound often lead to all the other items on our list:?

• Overall lack of communication is a core issue
• Lack of clarity around projects
• Passive-aggressive communication
• Constant “off-hours” communication

Key takeaway: If your company has bad communication methods, hold on tight. You are in a toxic environment that will only get worse over time.

2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? Bad Leadership

There are different types of toxic bosses. You might have a micromanaging boss who constantly corrects you, underestimates your decisions, and opinions, and ultimately disallows you from doing your job. You might have the “Blame Game” boss, who is quick to pass mistakes on to anyone but themselves. You might be lucky enough to have the “No Respect” boss, who emails at all hours, forgets how to spell your name, and likely doesn’t even know what you do.

The takeaway: Bad leadership is a sign of a toxic workplace if you have no recourse. Leadership conduct is extremely important. It sets the tone for how others behave at work. You can try communicating these issues if there is an HR department or if your bad boss has a decent boss.

3.? ? ? ? ? ? ? Unmotivated Coworker

When you find yourself in a workplace full of unmotivated workers. You might have two reactions to unmotivated coworkers. Just like your colleagues can motivate you to work harder, be better, and incubate innovative ideas, they can wear you down. Unmotivated employees are usually a result of a much larger organizational problem.

The takeaway: Unfortunately, unless you are in a leadership position, this problem is indicative of much larger problems and it is unlikely that you are going to learn or grow in this environment.

4.? ? ? ? ? ? ? No Work-Life Balance

You should be able to toggle your Slack notifications to OFF. You should be able to leave an email unread after dinner on a Tuesday. You should be able to make your dentist appointment without feeling guilty. Work-life balance is essential to survival. No human should be expected to be always on the clock. If your job requires that you be always on-call, it is toxic.

The takeaway: An effective way to avoid these types of toxic workplaces is by setting healthy work boundaries. If your boundaries cannot be met, or at least compromised, it is probably not for you.

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