5 Toxic Work Behaviors That Will Destroy Your Organization

Join over 315,000 people and?subscribe here ?for future editions.?

: : : :

Do you work in a?toxic workplace? If you do, there comes a time when we all need to evaluate our?work environment?and the people we work with to determine if it's hurting our career path or, much worse, our health and well-being.

If you decide to hunker down and stay at your current job, safeguarding against a toxic workplace falls squarely on the shoulders of every?employee. Whatever your level or function, everyone needs to be watching out for one another by weeding out the toxic behaviors that may be taking morale down.

Let's now uncover five ways that toxic workplaces will manifest.

1. Blame

As an example, management focuses solely on what employees are doing wrong or correcting problems, but they rarely give positive feedback for what is going right.

Blaming others and?refusing responsibility, or not honoring other people's contributions or emotions is certainly a character issue. To illustrate, a decade ago I worked?with a?senior manager who had?a bad reaction to something gone south, threw?a temper tantrum, and went?on the warpath of blaming and finger-pointing. His behavior set people?off and?ruined team morale; they knew that he was part of the problem. As a result, some valuable employees threw in their resignations in response.

2. Bureaucracy

In a command-and-control hierarchy, there are too many levels of approval to get things done, and a singular focus on micromanaging employees. You'll see too many committees,?work groups, and councils that meet,?and many layers of management and steps required to make a final decision. In this environment, employees get their motivational wind knocked out of them and ultimately?suffer from the bureaucracy. It clearly communicates to them, "We don't trust you."

3. Bottom line

In organizations that value the bottom line above all else, you'll find the focus is solely placed on profits, "crushing the competition", and cost-cutting without consideration of other bottom lines. In this case, the culture may not value building relationships to work collaboratively--those attributes may be considered weaknesses.?In bottom-line, fear-driven cultures, you'll find that unhealthy internal competition is encouraged amongst employees to drive up sales numbers, which is enforced by a performance management system that focuses on individual performance rather than team performance.

4. Bullies

Businesses thrive on talented and?high-performing teams. But, quite often, you may get one?bad apple--the workplace bully--that?brings morale down.

Dealing with bullies is not the first thing most?workers or their managers?have on their minds to excel in business. But bullying damages businesses and it damages people.

Around?40% of bullying victims ?suffer adverse health conditions as a result, ranging from depression and anxiety to a number of physical illnesses (including fibromyalgia and cardiovascular issues), according to research. Two-thirds of victims lose their job or role to escape bullying. One in five Americans is a victim of bullying . So you can imagine the effect this is having not just on the individual contributors?but on businesses as well.

First, it's worth identifying some of the forms that workplace bullying can take:

1. Verbal abuse. This may include taunts, jokes, and/or gossip.
2. Threatening behavior.?It may be physical or emotional.
3. Actual physical assaults.?From punching, pushing, slapping, or inappropriate touching to invisible attacks like a foot deliberately poking out of a table to trip the victim.
4. Professional slights.?Wrongfully stealing credit for work or blaming the victim for mistakes can be part of a bully's power game.
5. Abuse of authority.?A bully in authority may make unreasonable work demands of their target, pushing them to breaking point. Or they may stand in the way of promotions and other rewards for work done well.

5. Burnout

The?pandemic?created an entirely new set of rules?for the workplace, and while the new environment created flexibility, it also eliminated?the boundaries between?work and life.

With no clear line between being at your desk and being on your couch, along with the outside personal stress and isolation from peers and co-workers in remote settings, employees are?experiencing burnout?more than ever before.

The?Talkspace Employee Stress Check Report. , which polled 1,400 full-time employees in the U.S., shows that a majority of people find work to be too stressful and are burned out by it -- even two years after Covid.?

In toxic cultures of overwork, 60-hour-plus workweeks and 24/7 availability remain a badge of honor and an expectation of the job. People's personal or family lives are sacrificed for work and there's little evidence of management's empathy?and support for employees who may be on the verge of burnout.

Steps to stop toxicity from spreading

A good starting point is to make sure that all employees are keeping a finger on the pulse of the organization to make sure people are watching out for one another and being cared for to do their best work. When these five toxic behaviors persist, here are some strategies to consider:

• Addressing blame: Conduct a culture or employee engagement survey that reflects on the work environment and management's performance or leadership. If they're the problem, HR needs to step in and play a role in assessing organizational health. To weed out toxic employees and managers, include behaviors like "respect," "teamwork," and "encouragement" in your performance planning and then measure them. When dealing with a toxic co-worker who is apt to turn a discussion into a he-said, she-said mud-sling, bring in a third party to document meetings to protect yourself from drama.
• Addressing bureaucracy: Cut down on meetings and encourage employees to begin presentations by listing problems, which gets to the root of issues and solutions?faster.?Foster?an 'intrapreneurial spirit' -- an agile system that encourages employees to think and act like individual entrepreneurs. This approach empowers them to take action, embrace risk, and make decisions.?
• Addressing a sole focus on the bottom line: The shift required to reverse a cutthroat culture obsessed with results (at the expense of people) is to value human beings and build relationships. Some new rituals can include team-building activities?and company-wide initiatives to get teams talking and working together, in and out of the office. What you'll find is that, in cultures of belonging, where people are connected and relationships and friendships are made, results happen! It directly impacts the bottom line.
• Addressing bullies: Expose the problem by promoting a healthy culture and living out shared values to squeeze out unwanted things like bullying, gossip, harassment, and insubordination. The larger the group campaigning against toxic behaviors, the better they'll be rooted out. Managers also need to consistently define what is acceptable behavior and what isn't--then communicate assertively with appropriate boundaries.
• Addressing burnout: Managers should monitor their direct reports' workloads and have frequent conversations to ensure individuals are not overloaded and having to work evenings and weekends. Listening to employees' needs through one-to-one chats, and through larger organizational surveys, will help leaders understand what employees truly need to take actions that stop burnout in its tracks.

Your turn: What toxic behavioral patterns have you seen play a role in destroying team morale? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.

=================================

Upcoming Leadership Learning Events

From Boss to Leader Course ?(Hybrid Leadership Training for Management Teams)

Imagine how awesome it would be if your employees were more engaged, motivated, and into their work. Imagine if burnout was virtually non-existent and people collaborated at a high level with their teammates and their managers to produce great work. We know that these attributes would lead to good results and help scale the business, but quite shockingly we often see the exact opposite behaviors take place in our teams.

Let's do something about it. In this?hybrid leadership training , together with your management team, we will:

• Identify the leadership skills that will result in high performance in yourself and your employees.
• Identify what it takes to inspire, motivate and engage human beings to do their best work.
• Learn how to build a thriving work community and company culture founded on positive relationships.
• Learn the leadership habits that will attract A-players to come work for your organization.
• Learn how to overcome the #1 obstacle to clear communication.
• Discover your personality strengths and blind spots and how to overcome them to help improve your relationships.??

Next Class Start Dates:?February 6 or March 6, 2023.?Learn more here ! [Seating is limited]

=================================

More Options to Accelerate Your Leadership Development

• Listen to the?Love in Action Podcast
• Contact me ?to explore group or individual coaching.
• Read my?Inc. Magazine column
• Follow me on?YouTube

=================================

About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes ?is a highly-acclaimed executive coach, international speaker,?podcast host , and?syndicated columnist ?with a worldwide following. He trains emerging leaders and managers in the skills to build great work cultures where people flourish and businesses grow.