Mindy’s Monday Motivation – Blog Post #24 – Create the work environment you crave

?“The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him.”―?Joseph Heller,?Catch-22

It was 11pm Sunday night and I were re-reading excerpts of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller to help my son with his English homework. Heller’s style of writing was paradoxical. I love it as I came away thinking about the irony of it all. These two sentences above made me ponder and sparked the theme for the blog post this week. In what situation would someone who is good-natured, generous, and likable be despised by others after a short period of time? As we know, it was a toxic environment at the 256th US Army Air Squadron, where our anti-hero, Captain John Yossarian was stationed, and we could certainly draw parallels between this fictional army environment and current toxic office workplaces.

?1.??????Management is always right – well, it’s the army, so management is always right.

2.??????Little or no enthusiasm around the office – sadly, in the book, the soldiers knew there were no way out and couldn’t do anything to change their fate.

3.??????Lack of communication or negative communication

4.??????High turnover – unfortunately in the story, the soldiers died resulting in the high turnover.

5.??????Cliques, gossip and rumors – paranoia that everyone is out to get you

There are many articles advising on how to handle toxic work environment such as this one from TopResume: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/how-to-handle-toxic-work-environment or this one from Teambonding.com https://www.teambonding.com/10-signs-that-youre-in-a-toxic-work-environment/ However, what struck me strange was the ones written for employees would tell them to plan an exit strategy, while the ones written for HRs or leaders would tell them to do things to fix the issues. There wasn’t a single article that I could find where the employees were encouraged to take some actions themselves. Is it mission impossible? Why couldn’t the employees take actions as well rather than resign to accept that the toxic environment could not be changed by them and can only be done by upper management?

I always feel that any relationship is a two-way street and the same goes with that of employer and employee. It’s easy to let negative thoughts cloud your thinking and push the blame on your boss, your colleagues, etc. I hope you don’t think I am victim blaming. I am not. I am just saying that we can all take responsibility for the work environment we are in. Obviously, if the situation is not salvageable, then an exit strategy is a good option. However, I would rather you not give up so easily.

?For example, if there are rumors flying around, then take the initiative to help stop those rumors. If folks are worry about company stability, then mention this to your upper management so they can send out communications to quelch the rumor. Help your leadership team or your HR team build a better environment for you and your colleagues. Give them feedback when possible. My husband has always told me that unless I tell him what I am thinking, he has no way to know. The same goes with everyone else. No one is a mind-reader. So, maybe they don’t know that they are not communicating enough, it’s easy to give that feedback by asking for a better understanding of what’s going on.

If there is no enthusiasm in the office, then let’s find something to be enthusiastic about together. In our division, our office manager, Heather Stewart, has taken upon herself to create all sort of activities to boost team morale and team bonding. This is difficult to do during COVID, but we have activities like photography contest, fitness challenge and even a “fun and frivolous” team page. You might say that is her job, but not really. Heather just wanted to help create a great work environment, not just for herself but for all her colleagues. You could tell that she was making extra efforts.

High turnover? Whatever the reason may be, we should always wish those who leave well. They were our colleagues at one point. We spent time with them, sometimes even more time than our own family member. Turnover can cause stress on the folks remaining as they perhaps might need to take on the extra workload. However, consider this an opportunity. One, you can help bring in talents such as the people that you admire from your previous employments. Two, you could pick up new skills while taking on the extra workload.

We can build the work environment we can all enjoy. Sometimes, it just takes positive thinking and positive attitude. Your job impacts not just you, but your family and friends as well. So, why not create a less stressful and motivating environment for yourself at work? Those awesome workplaces that people talk about, where did they come from? It may have been due to the leadership team or the HR team, but at the end of the day, the folks who help sustain those environments are you and your colleagues. So, why wait to find a great work environment when you can create that every where you go?

Hope you have happy and positive thoughts this week! Until next Monday!

Mindy