In work and life there are folks around you who tend to be drains on your time and energy. To frame them in a seasonal context, we'll refer to them as one of the following:
- Workplace Vampires
- Workplace Warewolves
- Workplace Zombies
What's a Workplace Vampire?
These types of coworkers or supervisors drain the energy or time of their colleagues and teammates till they've drained others of the skills and resources that make them productive. They thrive on dark thoughts and shun practical truths that would normally shed light on what they're doing. They lack productivity and trip others up just enough to have companions at their performance level, confidence level, etc.
Common Vampire Trait #1: Gaslighting
- They tend to target and befriend individuals they perceive as being weaker.
- They gradually feed the person negative ideas or complaints about a project or workplace, usually encouraging the other person to do the same.
- They spread gossip and hyperbolic anecdotes that emphasize the seriousness of other people's mistakes, often pitting employees against one another.
- They undermine the established protocols and authority.
- They waste the time of colleagues, supervisors and even clients with circular discussions that confuse and undermine the opinions of others.
- Their critiques are often subtle enough that they remain under the radar and are hard to identify and cope with.
- The mark of toxicity with this individual is in the subtle tension and behind-the-scenes comments building around everyone in the group/team to which this person belongs.
Common Vampire Trait #2: Hypocritical Conduct
- While this sort of toxic individual thrives on reducing the productivity and confidence of others, he/she may maintain productivity levels so it's difficult to notice their negative impact on those around them.
- They may seem completely surprised by the negative comments and feedbacks even though they started circulating it.
- They may even be recognized as hard working, productive members of the team/company!
Solution: Use Basic Ethical Principles to Overcome the Workplace Vampire
- R-e-s-p-e-c-t: Maintain a genuine sense of value an appreciation for your workplace culture and environment.
- Transparency: Address negativity about an individual or project in an open, direct and courteous manner, maintaining transparency in your dealings with all members of your team regardless of your position in the company.
- Accountability: Encourage all team members to maintain standards of honesty and accountability. We're all human and it's ok to make mistakes, but it's also best to air out those mistakes so the team can work on a strategy to avoid such errors in the future.
In upholding these simple values one builds a community of loyalty and trust among one's team and colleagues rather than allowing the workplace vampire to weaken the company from the inside out.
What's a Workplace Werewolf?
Individuals who sway from a normative state of cordiality and productivity to a sudden rampage over something that was reported or even casually overheard. Because of the rapid switch from sweet to scary their behavior is often dismissed as being stress-related or even justified at some levels. While this may actually be the case, it's important to address heightened levels of anxiety or depression that lead to this toxic behavior in the workplace.
Common Werewolf Trait: Abrupt Shifts in Normative Conduct
- They may be perfectly productive and cordial towards everyone and every task for days, weeks or months on end and suddenly become distant, cranky or aggressive towards the very same individuals with whom they seemed to be working so well.
- They may choose to vent aggressively to a trusted colleague or supervisor.
- They may choose to retaliate against feedback on their work or actions by acting either petulant or aggressive.
- Ultimately, their unpredictable behavior makes other members of the team/company uncomfortable, which makes it difficult to keep such individuals employed.
Solution: Use Basic Ethical Principles to Overcome the Workplace Werewolf
- R-e-s-p-e-c-t: Be sure to meet with the person privately -- don't call him/her out in public. Review the issue clearly, noting that you respect their time and opinions and expect the same from them.
- Deescalation: While managers may not be able to spot this type of person easily at the time of hire, they should address the issue as soon as it is spotted -- don't allow it to escalate.
- Issue Recognition: If the person's reaction is based on a legitimate professional issue, work with him/her to address and correct it, which will make the workplace a better place for all members of the team/company. Work with the individual. Let them know that the company genuinely cares about their well-being and feedback.
- Professional Bandwidth: While it's true that a person may simply be having one bad day and need to vent to a trusted colleague/supervisor, it could easily be part of a more substantial issue (e.g., bipolar disorder, depression, etc.). Remember that as the manager you cannot assume the responsibilities of a therapist or counselor. You have to be honest and upfront in recognizing when an issue goes beyond the bandwidth of your professional capacities and has to be relinquished to a therapist or other medical professional.
In upholding these simple values one builds a community of loyalty and trust among one's team and colleagues rather than allowing the workplace werewolf to shift the mood of the entire team, which decreases productivity and drains company morale.
What's a Workplace Zombie?
These individuals may have been productive at some point in time but lose their motivation for whatever reason and become an enormous drain on the company, circulating aimlessly and looking to get others to do the same.?The apocalyptic degree of unhappiness and disengagement that can be caused by this type of individual directly impacts employee health and well-being as well as the future of the company itself.
Common Zombie Trait #1: Has Perfect Potential for the Job
- These individuals are amazing on paper and appear to be perfect for the available job, but once hired (or perhaps shortly thereafter) these types of employees are quickly seen as a nightmare wot work with.
- They don't add to the teamwork of the organization and ultimately make the lives of all those around them miserable, draining the energy and spirit out of their co-workers.
- Simply put, although these individuals have the potential to be very successful in the job for which they're selected, workplace zombies drive up employee turnover. The person is not actually suitable for their job, team or company culture.
Common Zombie Trait #2: Disengagement
- They "sleep" throughout the workday, making it difficult for others to complete their assigned tasks -- often because they have to complete the zombie's tasks as well as their own.
- They do not work well in groups, creating a culture of indifference.
- They tend to take more personal/sick/vacation days.
- They inhibit productivity to an extent that can possibly threaten the company's very existence.
- Disengaged employees often "infect" others in the workplace, creating an epidemic of unhappiness, which leads to an overall decrease in productivity.
Common Zombie Trait #3: Creating a Culture of Confusion and Disillusionment
- Because these individuals either can’t or won’t do their job properly, everyone suffers in bearing the extra burden of picking up that person's slack. In doing so, they (consciously or unconsciously) drain currently engaged employees of their time, energy and resources.
- Competent workers then become distracted and disillusioned while incompetent zombies continue to wreak havoc by making careless mistakes that cause everyone to fall behind
- These individuals eat away at trust -- managers and colleagues can't trust them to produce anything reliably.
- They may not see how efforts translate into any productive output or purpose, which hampers workplace success for the individual, the team and the entire company.
Solution: Use Basic Ethical Principles to Overcome the Workplace Zombie
- R-e-s-p-e-c-t: Again, be sure to meet with the person privately to address the situation. Review the issue clearly, noting that you respect their time and opinions and expect the same from them.
- Issue Recognition: No one can afford to have a workplace zombie sucking up their resources! Active employee engagement plays a major part in company profits. Organizations with engaged workers report higher earnings, better employee retention and happy, motivated team members in general. It's therefore critical to address any indication of disengagement?as soon as it is identified.
- Preventative Hiring Practices: It's fairly easy to spot a workplace zombie just by looking at their resumes. These individuals are more likely to job hop and have gaps in their resumes due to?healthcare claims.
- Isolating, Probation and Dismissal: Unfortunately, the best way to avoid the viral effects of a workplace zombie is to (1) isolate the person from having contact with productive team members; (2) give them a chance to reform by addressing the problem and offering simple tasks to test their ability to become productive team members; (3) let the person go if they are unable to redress and correct their workplace habits within the established probationary period.
In upholding these simple practices one preserves a productive workplace rather than allowing the zombie to infect the entire team/company with negativity and a sense of disillusionment that leads to decreased productivity and morale.
(Additional suggestions for coping with these and other types of toxic individuals are available to my Business Ethics students and Philo4Thought protégés ... Life is already tough. No need to let the negativity of unprofessional individuals hamper your productivity and success!)
