Toxic work environment
A toxic work environment is one of the biggest hindrances to success. It breeds unproductivity in employees, causes disruptions in a given company’s operations, and promotes division instead of unity. Sometimes it can even cause physical or mental illness due to the unhealthy amounts of stress it almost always gives the people involved.
If you want to gear your company for success and prevent your workplace from being toxic, you should be aware of the signs that express toxicity and what you can do to avoid it.
Office Politics
One of the telltale signs of a toxic work environment is the presence of strong office politics. While many consider it a fact of working life, a time can come where the politics becomes unhealthy — ultimately affecting the productivity and well-being of the people involved. Office politics are usually the result of conflicting interests between employees of a company and, as you would come to read, it is almost always linked to all the other signs of a toxic work environment.
Office politics may happen because of people fighting for a promotion, an increase in salary, or the favor of executives and bosses. While those things will inevitably happen, given the nature of work, the conflict it breeds can continue to escalate. Not resolving this as soon as it is detected will lead to the other signs listed below and may spell disaster for everyone involved.
Gossip and the Spreading of Rumors
Unlike office politics, gossip is not supposed to be natural. There are no benefits that come with gossip because most (if not all) of the time, the subjects of work gossip are things that are unrelated to work. Sometimes, it could even be rumors that can damage a person’s reputation. The insidious thing about gossip is that it could be you, your co-worker, or your boss who are the subject which means no one is safe. This can make people feel unsettled or paranoid about their work.
Gossip and office politics go hand-in-hand because the former is used as a weapon to win the latter. Avoiding widespread gossip should be a priority because it causes general disharmony in a given workplace that can result in a physical altercation if not resignation of the aggrieved parties.
Lack of Transparency
Transparency is all about openness, accountability, and honesty. All these traits are desirable because they help a company become successful in their operations. It is a sign of trust and unity among members. In a toxic work environment, there is a lack if not a total absence of transparency because there is no point in being open to people who have an agenda against you.
Tying it with office politics, employees may be inclined to withhold important work-related information to their workmate/s to get an advantage in the eyes of the management. This is not only selfish but also detrimental to their success.
Absence of Cooperation
Just like the lack of transparency, absence of cooperation is another manifestation of selfishness that is caused by a toxic work environment. Workmates who are not on good terms with each other are also not inclined to cooperate. When it comes to work-related tasks, an employee might put-off a useful collaborative effort that can benefit the company’s operations.
Instead of working and pushing each other to succeed, a stark lack of cooperation can result in inadequate or subpar work outputs. Aside from that, this type of behavior is easily spread to others, especially those who share the sentiments with the person initiating this toxic behavior.
High Turnover
A company’s high turnover is a sign one can observe without actually working for them. Turnover refers to the rate at which employees quit or resign from their jobs and are replaced by someone new. People who are looking for jobs are usually cautious of companies or firms that have a high turnover rate because job security is important. Given the difficulties that come with being unemployed, people are inclined to apply for a job they know they can last in.
The startling thing about this is that employees may end-up choosing unemployment over working in a toxic workplace. This should be a major cause for concern if you are on the side of the management because not only will you lose employees, but finding new ones to replace them with will also become difficult. This hinders company growth and development.
Avoid Having a Toxic Work Environment with Teamstrr!
If you want to avoid a toxic work environment, then you should invest in improving your company’s avenues for communication. Something that can help you in doing that is Teamstrr.
Teamstrr is an online platform that allows employees and team members to share their thoughts digitally. Given the importance of open communication and its ability to resolve work-related issues and improve relationships, finding avenues to do that is of utmost importance. With Teamstrr, you can address issues in an efficient and cost-effective way.
The best part about Teamstrr is that it caters to a workforce that is continually becoming more attuned and oriented to technology. By having a mode of communication that is done digitally, people can avoid the tension that comes with face-to-face interaction and disruptions in work operations are avoided. The possibility of violent confrontations is also minimized, ensuring harmony within a workplace.