Out-Shine a Toxic Workplace

Today, we are taking a closer look at a place that has a strong influence on many of us - our workplace! We spend so much time in the throes of the people and demands of our work that it’s IMPERATIVE that we find ourselves in a healthy environment. Because you know what happens if we let ourselves be beaten up by a toxic workplace? You guessed it, burnout!

Today, we are going to look at 3 characteristics of a Toxic Workplace and break them down. If you feel yourself relating to too many, you might want to consider finding a new place to spend your 9 to 5…

You can listen to this Shine Brighter Podcast episode and others on all your favorite platforms. Check it out here: https://linkin.bio/shinebrighterpod

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“Toxic” has become such a buzzword over the past few years. We hear about toxic relationships, toxic workplaces, and even toxic families. We don't always recognize toxicity at first though. We can easily be beaten down into thinking that “this is just the way things are” until someone outside opens our eyes to glaringly unhealthy behavior or a different, healthy reality.

Nothing drives you down the Spectrum of Burnout like a toxic workplace. It can drain your energy, kill your motivation, and make you dread going to work every day. )If you’ve listened to episode 1: The Spectrum of Burnout, this sensation should sound familiar to you.) But how can you tell if you're in a toxic work environment?

Signs of a Toxic Culture

Today, we are going to take a closer look at 3 characteristics of a Toxic Workplace. These are not the only red flags you might see, but I believe they are tell-tale signs that where you are is NOT where you want to be…

No Boundaries

In a toxic work environment, there are often no boundaries around your work life and your personal life. We LOVE to talk about setting boundaries when it comes to protecting your health and preventing burnout. If you feel like you're expected to be available 24/7, or if you're constantly being asked to work overtime without extra compensation, you are full steam ahead towards burnout. Another buzz word we’ve heard over the last few years is “work-life balance”.

In a toxic office, there IS no work-life balance. A healthy workplace should allow you to have a full life outside of your work. This balance is more than “being off the clock” though, it’s also about your mental state and how much you are worrying about your work when you’re away. Do you have trouble engaging with friends and family outside of the office because you are worried about work left undone? Do you lose sleep at night because the anxiety of what’s waiting for you tomorrow won’t rest? Nah dawg - that’s not the move. Setting boundaries for yourself AND your colleagues is a surefire way to stave off burnout.

Granted, no job allows you to unplug 100%, completely, every day and disconnect at five-zero-zero. We were thinking and spinning on the work we did for the last 8 hours! That’s not always something we can just shake off when we leave. This is one of the ways I choose to spend my commute though: when I’m leaving my office, I am slowly leaving behind the chaos of the day. It gives me the time and space to disconnect and refocus on my life outside of the walls of my work when I need it.

Ignoring or avoiding setting these boundaries can lead to resentment and, in turn, burnout, as you feel like your job is consuming all of your time and energy. It's important to set boundaries and make sure that you're able to have a healthy work-life balance, so that you don't become overwhelmed and burn yourself out.

I honestly think there's a whole podcast waiting out these JUST on boundary setting. Not even just an episode or series - a weekly podcast just about the importance of and the ways we can set boundaries.

No Growth

I say this all the time: “nothing makes me more frustrated than when I feel stuck.” This is true for my physical self, my mental self, and my professional self. I feel stuck when I am in traffic or when I am trying to pull something out of my back seat to the front and it gets stuck on something behind me. I feel stuck when I can’t think of the word I’m trying to use in conversation or when I can’t get past a level on the logic puzzle game on my phone. And I feel especially stuck when I can’t see a trajectory of growth in my work or career.

A toxic work environment doesn’t create opportunities for growth for its people. Now, this is not the same as someone who is not INTERESTED in growing beyond their current level! These are the people who are unambitious and uninterested in seeking out opportunities to grow - either personally or professionally. It’s hard to imagine, but those people DO exist and they terrify me.

Not included in this lack-luster category though are those employees who have, so negatively, been branded as “Quiet Quitters”. I consider Quiet Quitters to be those employees who are great at their jobs but don’t venture beyond their sanctioned responsibilities because they are content. And isn’t that something we should strive for? To feel fully fulfilled by the work we do without feeling like we NEED to jump up the next rung of the corporate ladder? I digress…

A workplace that isn’t looking for ways to invest in and develop the people in their company is a sure sign of a toxic environment. In organizations like this, you will often find that your coworkers are passive and disengaged from their work - I mean, what's the point of working hard if there’s no reward for putting in the work? You’ll also find that, often, turnover is high. People aren’t willing to stay with a company or leadership team that isn’t challenging them or investing in them.

This doesn’t mean that you love every second of what you do or that you are getting promotions right and left though. A company can provide other avenues of growth by investing time and resources into an individual’s needs or goals. This could mean offering leadership courses, certifications, or personal development opportunities that help someone grow.

I encourage you to think about it this way - if you’re not growing, you’re not staying. There are other companies and careers out there who will see something in you worth investing in and I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to flourish in that way.

Unhealthy Interpersonal Relationships

The ultimate indicator of someone’s character is how they treat others. And often, the way that people treat each other is encouraged, and even taught, by the environment they're in. Sometimes it’s by direct example or just by lack of correction. In a toxic workplace, you’ll see people who don't trust each other and treat each other with contempt, a lack of grace when there are mistakes (which there inevitably will be. Always.), and even gaslighting.

When people don't trust each other, you can feel it - it creates a negative and tense atmosphere. It can be difficult to collaborate or communicate effectively, as people may be wary of sharing ideas or speaking up for fear of being betrayed or undermined. This lack of trust can also lead to a lack of support and a feeling of isolation.

Contempt is a key characteristic of a toxic workplace, where people are treated with disrespect, disdain, or condescension. This can be seen in the way people talk to each other, as well as their body language and behavior. A workplace filled with contempt is likely to be emotionally draining and unpleasant to be in.

In a toxic workplace, there is often a lack of grace or forgiveness when it comes to mistakes. People may be punished severely for even minor mistakes, leading to a fear of making any mistakes at all. Or worse, those mistakes are held against them long after they have shown their growth from the experience. This can create a culture of perfectionism, where people are too afraid to take risks or try new things, leading to stagnation and a lack of innovation.

I was surprised to see how many people were able to contribute “gaslighting” to a toxic culture. Yes, it’s toxic behavior, obviously, but I was caught off guard with how much I saw it referenced in people’s struggles with toxic companies. Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which the manipulator tries to make the victim doubt their own perceptions or memories. In a toxic workplace, people may feel like they are constantly being gaslighted, whether by their boss or their coworkers. This can lead to feelings of confusion, self-doubt, and a lack of confidence in your own judgment.

You’re spending 40 hours a week where you work, so it’s kind of important that you can maintain good relationships with, at least SOME, of the people there. Sometimes though, those unhealthy interpersonal relationships are just too much and they need to push you right out the door before they do any real damage.

Parking Lot Politics

Does your organization have clear, transparent lines of communication? Or does everything happen through “Parking Lot Politics”? That’s what we used to call it back in my ministry days, anyways. We would leave a meeting with a clear decision or direction only to discover that Beth-Ann and Harold Gene were holding court, as they say, in the parking lot afterwards expressing their disagreement and plans to do things a different way if they were in charge.

Gossip and negativity are rampant in a toxic culture. It’s often characterized by a negative atmosphere, where gossip and negativity are allowed to thrive. This can be especially damaging if it's coming from your coworkers or superiors, as it can create a culture of mistrust and undermine your confidence in your job. (Are we hearing some recurring themes here?) If you feel like you're constantly surrounded by negativity and gossip, it's a good sign that you're in a toxic work environment. Gossip can also be a sign of a lack of transparency, as people may turn to gossip as a way to get information that they feel they're not being given directly.

Transparency is a golden key to unlocking healthy culture. If you feel like you're constantly in the dark about what's going on in the company, or if you feel like you're not being told the whole truth, it's a sign that something isn't right. Granted, you’ll never know everything- unless you’re the big boss, of course. Some inner workings are “need-to-know”, but when questions and concerns about the way things work are shunned and struck down, something isn’t right.

This sense of secrecy can create a culture of mistrust and insecurity, as you may feel like you're not being given the information you need to do your job effectively. A healthy work environment should be open and transparent, with clear communication channels, and a history of honesty and trust.

How to Out-Shine a Toxic Workplace

So now we have our eyes open to some red flags of an unhealthy working environment, but the real question is ‘how do we fix it”? The short answer is, we can’t. If we aren’t the decision makers of our organization, we don't have the manpower to flip a decade of unhealthy culture on its head.

Clay Scroggins, the author of “How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority” would NOT like that answer. (For real though, it’s a great book and I highly suggest it to anyone who is working with people above OR below them.)

I’ve heard it said that “A toxic workplace will change you before you change it”. Unfortunately, it’s not your responsibility to try to fix something as pervasive as an unhealthy company culture. Especially when you find yourself the victim of its effects. Culture is built over years and years of behavior and ideology. The longer you stay and allow yourself to be surrounded by people and systems that drag you down lower and lower, the more likely you are to succumb to the darkness of burnout that creeps in.

Alone, as individuals, we can’t change the toxic culture of an entire organization, but we CAN out-shine it. We each carry our own light out into the world and into the workplace every day. Our behavior and our decisions DO carry weight and influence, even when we don’t see it. A positive mindset won’t fix everything, but, if you’re in an unhealthy environment, it’s a great place to start. When given the opportunity to give into unhealthy, “accepted”, cultural behaviors, choose instead to treat others the way you would like to be treated. It’s the Golden Rule for a reason, y’all.

You can listen to this Shine Brighter Podcast episode and others on all your favorite platforms. Check it out here: https://linkin.bio/shinebrighterpod

Wrapping Up

We’ve talked about the trauma and pain that a person can experience when faced with the challenges of a toxic culture. And there are many of us who are faced with this experience every day. We are either stuck there because there are no other options right now. Or it’s our job to create that change for the people around us. Or maybe we are simply waiting, chomping at the bit, for our next opportunity to present itself.

For my optimists out there, I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to give any tips or advice on how to turn things around in organizations that behave in some of these ways. Unfortunately, today was more about being able to identify what toxic culture looks like rather than how we can flip those ideologies and harmful behaviors on their heads to move our workplaces towards growth and light instead of into the ground.

The best advice I can give you if you find too many of these traits being true in your offices is to get OUT! Even if you can’t leave right away, just making the choice to leave in your own mind allows you to see a light at the end of the tunnel and keep pressing on while you chase your next adventure. Use the time that you are in that hellscape to be a light to others. Do your best to choose joy and to find good in small places.

Can you imagine if I told you that this is just the tip of the iceberg? I feel like I share something along those lines at the end of every episode, but it’s true! There was probably more that we DIDN'T cover today than we DID, so if you have thoughts on something you think we should have talked about, I would love to hear it! OR if you have a toxic workplace horror story to share, I would love to share it! I know there are a bunch of people out there who would like to commiserate with you. You can email me with your questions, comments, and Workplace Nightmares at shinebrighterpod@gmail.com

I love organization health and culture and all the ways that we can make it, and ourselves better. If you have questions about what this looks like in your world, I would love to explore that more with you!

NOTES:

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