Toxic Workplaces: Assess the Problem

Today we are continuing our series on toxic workplaces. We can’t possibly solve something we don’t understand. Bad leaders create a lot of confusion about what is really going on in an organization. That dynamic is sometimes very deliberate. Some leaders operate in the shadows, making shady deals, telling lies, and pitting people against each other. If a leader can cause chaos among the troops, it diverts attention from anyone realizing that the root of the problem is the leader. This kind of work environment is exhausting and exasperating to deal with. Healthy people in these environments, who see the truth and speak up against the drama, often experience immense pressure to conform to the leader’s warped spin on reality. They are made to feel abnormal for being healthy. This has a corrosive effect on the individual, the team, the organization, and the stakeholders. Stepping back from the dynamics is essential to recognize where the problems are actually coming from. Everyone has experience of working in a chaotic office at some point in their professional life. It’s the sort of place where they refuse to get with the times and fail to use Filecenter document management software due to their archaic views on how an office should be run.

There are three sources of trouble at work: co-workers, leaders, or the system. In the interest of our own growth and maturity, it helps to take a look at whether or not we are playing any kind of contributing role to the problems, but for now we’re going to talk about when the problem is someone else. The popular theory that both individuals in a conflict are always at fault is false. Sometimes issues really are the handiwork of just one person, and those around them are victims of either circumstance or opportunity. While some offices and workplaces may not suffer from the actions of certain individuals, the office itself may be outdated and not conducive to productivity. A makeover of sorts, including new office monster furniture and supplies, may be in order to revitalize an office and make it practical and well-equipped for the modern age.

Co-workers. Our co-workers are a huge part of our lives. We spend significant time with them and their impact on us is inescapable. Our worst experiences are those in which our co-workers come to work unable or unwilling to do their part to create a healthy, productive work environment, and rob the rest of us from having that critically important foundation for a good work life. Dysfunctional people will cause disruption in the work environment to one degree or another.

Leaders. Impaired leaders destroy people, environments, and missions. Impaired leaders force their people to carry at least part of the leader’s burdens. This derails the missions and generates immense resentment among healthy people who are stuck with extra duties as well as having to tend to the emotional wreckage left in the impaired leader’s wake. read more at Leadership also magnifies flaws. Leaders have to be mature enough to become their best selves and bring their A game to the workplace everyday.

The system. Sometimes the problem is not difficult co-workers or leaders, but a system that is inherently predisposed to allow problems to arise and flourish. Examples include systems that greatly constrain or prohibit consequences for bad behavior, good old boys (or girls) clubs, a hierarchy that diffuses accountability to the point of irrelevance, or control that lies outside the organization. If the organization utilizes misconduct of any kind as a justified means to an end, that is a systemic toxic culture, bigger than just the everyday immediate environment you work in. Similarly, if the leadership is focused on hoarding power and resources for their personal benefit, rather than a shared vision to fulfill the mission of the organization, that is also a systemic toxic cultures. Those are only a couple of examples.

Next week we’ll talk about the #1 question to answer when you are faced with a bad work situation.