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Dec 29, 2023, 09:04 AM
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How Managers Can Change Toxic Workplaces And Build Effective Teams
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Signs and Red Flags of a Toxic Workplace
According to MIT Sloan, work culture is 10.4 times more important than compensation, the strongest factor in predicting high turnover. Out of 1.4 million employee reviews, analysts have determined that toxic workplaces are characterized as: unethical, non-inclusive, disrespectful, cutthroat, and abusive.
Disrespect is a red flag for workplaces that don’t value empathy and consideration for other people, especially for other people’s time.
Employees feel disrespected when their work is unnecessarily disrupted, when their work isn’t acknowledged, or when their boundaries are crossed.
Non-inclusive workspaces do not prioritize fair treatment of employees across different identities. Professionals of every race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and identity should not only feel that the culture is equitable, but that their voices and contributions are being equally valued and heard.
No professional enters a company to be tokenized or have to prove their worth in the workplace because of existing bias.
Unethical behavior includes dishonesty among both team members and company executives. Is the organization in compliance with industry regulations? Does the organization uphold outward-facing and internal transparency? Do leaders truly value employees and stakeholders?
Cutthroat cultures create toxic competition. While healthy competition gives teams an edge and keeps employees striving to be better, cutthroat or backstabbing behavior decimates morale and hinders motivation.
Abuse, bullying, hostility, and harassment are commonly mentioned in negative Glassdoor reviews describing unhappy work environments. Hostility is especially dangerous to morale, as gossip and cliques build resentment among team members.
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Failure by management to address toxic workers, especially those who are high performing, can be one of the leading causes of unhappiness in the team. When unhealthy dynamics and behaviors are overlooked because of high productivity or talent, it sends a clear message to others that the behavior is acceptable and that others on the team will not be supported by leadership.
When companies create cultures around high-performance and metrics vs. long-term, sustainable, healthy growth, the day-to-day dysfunction is often ignored for the sake of speed and output. These environments tend to place on the backburner inclusivity and diversity initiatives and leadership training is often non-existent.
While short-term gains are rewarded, executives fail to see the long-term impact of protecting a toxic, but high-performing team or employee. Beyond this, managers promote unhealthy workplace behavior when they recognize and reward high-performers for going above and beyond, even when that means rewarding the road to burnout by praising a lack of professional boundaries.
For example, recognizing an employee as dependable or dedicated for working on vacation or answering emails after hours sets an unfair bar for team members with healthier boundaries around work and personal life. Team members should not have to participate in a hustle culture to get ahead in their careers.
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