Why does toxicity affect companies and employees? A recent Glassdoor survey examined employee feedback about their companies. The survey found that employees rated a company’s culture highly or low. A bad culture would be a negative trait for younger employees, women, and underrepresented minorities. Even large companies have distinct microcultures, which may span various business units, functions, and geographies. Microcultures can also emerge from individual leaders or subcultures within an extended team. As a result, even the most exemplary cultures can contain pockets of toxicity.
Workplace toxicity
Increasing workplace toxicity is a big concern for every leader. Toxic leaders may not always be readily accessible to their staff. The goal of the conversation isn’t to accuse, but to air out feelings and performance problems. Moreover, employees should explain how they believe their toxic leader is affecting the company’s performance. Don’t make assumptions about a toxic leader’s behavior, because you’ll just create misunderstandings. Instead, ask for clarifications when necessary.
To calculate the monetary cost of toxic behaviors, you need to know the average hourly wage of employees in the company. Divide that number by the number of employees and the number of annual work hours to arrive at a monetary cost per employee. A toxic work environment can make it difficult to hire the right talent for the company. Ultimately, a toxic environment will make your organization’s reputation suffer. But if you don’t take action now, the damage may be already done.
Toxic cultures are a serious concern for any leader. These workplace cultures are often characterized by a lack of respect for individuality and low morale. It’s no wonder that a company’s bottom line suffers. Many managers find it hard to keep standards of excellence high if the culture is toxic. If employees can’t buy into the company’s vision, it will be tough for the company to achieve success.
Toxic leaders exhibit biases against their team members. They show favoritism to friends and family, while degrading their subordinates. They often lack confidence and can panic if a competent coworker exposes their biases. They may even abuse their subordinates later on. The consequences are obvious. The only thing that can stop this destructive behavior is to take action. When it comes to toxic leaders, you need to be very careful.
Some people blame a toxic leader on childhood trauma, mental health problems, or their personality type. But it’s not necessary for every toxic leader to have the stereotypical screamer. A toxic leader may be pleasant, talented, and successful at first. However, they can degrade others for their own personal gain, and even take pleasure in the process. When workplace toxicity is present in an organization, it’s imperative to prevent it from affecting the success of the entire organization.
The costs of toxic leadership can be substantial. Though the DOD rarely performs research on this issue, anecdotal evidence is plentiful. The DOD cannot assume that leaders understand how to treat others. Leaders should reinforce organizational values and not tolerate toxic behavior. Toxic leaders drain the commitment and self-esteem of their teams. They also undermine the security of their team. The cost of toxic leadership is too great to ignore.
Signs of toxic culture
A toxic work environment can cause turnover and can result in a lack of talent. A toxic culture often hinders the development of top performers. High turnover rates and frequent layoffs are signs of an unhealthy work environment. Top performers will eventually leave companies where there’s a toxic work environment. But how can you avoid this issue? Below are some signs every leader should be concerned about. Listed below are some of the most common signs of a toxic work environment.
Information hoarding is another sign of a toxic work culture. If employees keep vital information to themselves, teams, or departments, it’s probably a toxic work environment. Information hoarding can range from very important things like client lists to something as simple as the copier password. Either way, this kind of behavior suggests that individual employees feel more competitive than the organization’s overall culture.
Whether or not a work environment is toxic is not easy to pinpoint. But if you know how to recognize it, you’ll be better equipped to respond. A toxic work culture is marked by distrust and suspicion among coworkers. This lack of trust can inhibit innovation and productivity. Employees may even leave the company altogether if they don’t feel safe in their environment. If a toxic work environment is present, there’s no hiding from the consequences.
If a workplace lacks trust in leadership, there are ways to change the culture and restore a healthy work environment. One way to do this is to seek input from everyone. Ultimately, a healthy work environment is one that is driven by the best possible results for the business. But the most effective leaders seek input from their teams. A top-down management style prioritizes compliance over competence. So, if your workplace does exhibit any of these signs, it is time to make some changes.
Another sign of a toxic work environment is bad leadership. Employees often do not feel respected or have confidence in the management’s ability to address toxic workplace issues. There are frequent reports of abuse and legal actions by former employees. When these signs occur, you should immediately address them. If you want to improve your company’s culture, start by looking for ways to improve the way people communicate and interact.
These signs of a toxic workplace should be of concern to every leader. These characteristics are red flags that indicate a toxic work environment. These symptoms may appear as low team morale or a lack of quality work. If you’re a leader who doesn’t recognize these signals, it’s time to hire someone who does. If the leadership is not caring about the culture, you’ll have a difficult time retaining talented employees.
Importance of addressing core issues that cause employees to disengage
High turnover rates are an obvious sign of a toxic culture. Often, a new employee will leave a company because of poor management and a bad role. Yet, according to SHRM, a high turnover rate indicates an unhealthy culture. In these situations, it is vital to launch an anonymous employee satisfaction survey to find out what is driving employees to disengage from their work.
Talking to disengaged employees individually can help to uncover the underlying issues. While it might be difficult to get through to a disengaged employee, it is important to keep in mind that their behavior may be a result of legitimate workplace issues, not personal ones. While rescuing disengaged employees may seem difficult, addressing these issues can help the organization as a whole. Some disengaged employees will submit work late, and others will offer excuses for their shortcomings. They may also be unwilling to accept constructive feedback because they believe it will not advance their career.
In addition to the employee survey, organizations can assess how inclusive their culture is. A CultureX platform can help employers determine how inclusive their workplace is for different demographic groups, such as age, disability, and gender. In a toxic culture, identity-related topics are among the top predictors. For example, if employees are speaking negatively about the LGBTQ community in the workplace, they’ll score 0.65 lower on average than those who are not.
To address the root causes of a toxic work culture, leaders must adopt a systemic approach to change organizational systems. This means redesigning work environments, processes, and incentives. This approach reduces the costs associated with hiring new employees and increases employee retention. By addressing the root causes of toxic behaviors, organizations can build a healthier work culture and attract new talent more easily.
A toxic culture can lead to burnout, chronic disengagement, and a low employee morale. Toxic workplaces will not kill employees; they will simply prevent them from bringing out their best. They will likely drive them to look for other jobs. They won’t bring their employers the results they seek. They will instead drive them away. And the only way to solve the problem is to focus on the underlying causes of toxic cultures.
An employee who is not recognized is twice as likely to quit their job within a year. To effectively address this issue, managers must acknowledge employees for their contributions and achievements. Even a simple “thank you” can go a long way. Additionally, managers should continually monitor employee performance and document it. It is critical to identify disengaged employees early on so that you can address any underlying issues before they become too difficult to overcome.
To fix a toxic work culture, SMB leaders have a unique set of challenges. Fortunately, they can use their power within the organization to reframe it and implement healthier work environments. Rather than blaming employees for the bad behavior, leaders can take concrete steps to tear down the norms that are driving a toxic culture and rebuild an environment based on decency, mutual respect, and good ethics.
