() –– With the efforts of unions in Amazon and Starbucksthe resignations of employees in record numbers and the continuing delays to go back to the officeworkers seem to hold their ground when faced with less than ideal work situations.
Both bosses and employees should care about the quality of the work environment, research shows. A 2020 study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that a toxic workplace “can be detrimental, leading to unnecessary stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety among workers.” In addition, he discovered that the employee’s discomfort spread to other workers and reduced the quality of the work they did.
But the research also found that the opposite could happen: employee well-being increased job performance, and a work environment that actively supports them “brings sustainability to organizational performance.”
A toxic workplace is bad for everyone
Basically, a toxic workplace is bad news for all parties involved.
On the workers’ side, increased stress and depression from a difficult work life can also put pressure on interpersonal relationships, said therapist Alisha Powell, whose special practice areas include work-life balance.
“A lot of times, employees can bring that stress to their families. And it’s something that affects their day-to-day, even when they’re not at work,” Powell said.
In addition to their mental health worsening and their interpersonal relationships taking a hit, employees may also turn to drugs or alcohol to deal with stress, said Dr. Kristen Fuller, a medical reviewer specializing in Mental Health and Addiction with experience in Family Medicine.
Here, experts explain how to tell if you’re in a toxic work environment and what you can do about it.
Recognize a toxic workplace
Toxic workplaces can drain your energy and leave you depressed and anxious.
The signs of a toxic work environment aren’t necessarily as obvious as many people believe, Fuller noted. You might immediately think of verbal or sexual harassment, she added, but it’s not that simple.
“It’s any workplace that makes you uncomfortable,” Fuller said. “Anything that leads you to feel like you can’t ask for what you need and that you don’t have support.”
A toxic work environment is one where an employee “can feel trapped,” Powell said.
“A lot of times in a toxic workplace, people don’t have the opportunities to advance or get promoted,” he added. “Not being considered for promotions or not having room for growth can really affect morale in the workplace because you know no matter how hard you work, there’s no promotion you can get.”
One telltale sign of a toxic work environment is supervisors micromanaging employees’ jobs, Powell said. If a superior keeps a close eye on workers and constantly checks on every little task, employees may feel that the company doesn’t trust them.
“If your tasks are micromanaged, you’re more likely to believe that your job isn’t necessarily what’s best for you and that the company doesn’t fully trust you to perform the position you’re being paid for,” Powell explained.
Work outside of business hours
Another not-so-obvious symptom of a toxic work environment is the idea that you have to be available all the time, outside of business hours.
Employers can ask you to work weekends or longer hours without additional pay, Fuller said. And he noted that those may be “less obvious red flags” that people often ignore as part of a normal work culture.
Powell said toxic work culture is also in evidence when employees feel compelled to answer work-related calls, messages and emails outside of their hours, which constitutes unpaid overtime.
“Even though most jobs won’t tell you ‘we expect you to respond after you finish your workday,’ there is often an unspoken expectation,” he explained.
What to do in a toxic work environment?
If you’re in a toxic work environment, Powell and Fuller recommended that it might be time to look for another job.
“You can do all the strategies to deal with it, but I don’t think you should be doing it,” Fuller said. “I think you should get out of it,” she completed.
Powell said he encourages his clients to set their own job search schedule, perhaps setting a goal to begin an active search for a new job within the next three to six months. He also recommended keeping records of any workplace actions or behaviors that indicate a detrimental work situation while you’re in the process of seeking new opportunities and positions.
However, quitting immediately before landing a new job is not a viable option for many people for financial reasons, Powell said.
So if you can’t just get up and quit, Powell has some suggestions. To try to improve the work environment, you have to think about the boundaries you want to set and start working on them, he said. If you want to show your co-workers that you’re not available outside of business hours, but you’re afraid to say so openly, you can set your phone to go to voicemail when you’re not working. Or set up your email signature to signal that after a certain time, you’ll only reply the next business day.
If there are issues you want to bring to your supervisor’s attention, writing a script about what you’re going to say can be less overwhelming, Powell added.
beyond employment
Outside of work, the expert recommended implementing more self-care practices into your daily routine, such as physical activity or a hobby. She also made it a point to seek therapy to manage work-related stress. Some full-time employees may be able to access therapy through a company-offered worker assistance program, Powell added.
“It’s time to strengthen some of those self-care practices so you can better manage stress,” she said. “Because that’s kind of unavoidable in a toxic workplace.”
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