12 Signs That Indicate You Are In A Toxic Work Environment
The work environment or work climate are the perceptions that a worker has about the processes and structures that occur in the organization where they work.
It occurs at different levels (organizational, workplace, personal) and exerts a direct influence on their behavior, their level of satisfaction and well-being at work.
There are different signs that indicate that we are in a negative work environment For example, our boss makes our lives impossible or our co-workers all do their own thing.
In the following lines I am going to delve into these signals, which are shown below.
1. Negative leadership
In recent years, many of the studies and research related to well-being at work have been related to the influence that leadership styles have on the well-being of workers. Superiors, due to the place they occupy in the organizational structure, exert great influence on numerous people. A single boss or manager action can have negative or positive consequences on an entire team, and therefore, on the company’s results.
Research indicates that those superiors who employ a transformational leadership style that is, they care about the workers, are charismatic, communicate efficiently and have a strong shared vision, which they convey to the workers (they are capable of changing their expectations, perceptions and motivations), they are the ones who They obtain better results for the company and greater well-being of workers.
2. Role problems
Roles act as behavioral guidelines , and although they can be extremely complex, they are essential for the well-being of workers. Role problems can frequently occur in companies when someone is not clear about the role they play within it (role ambiguity), has to do tasks that do not concern them (role overload) or has to deal with demands, demands. at work that are incongruent or incompatible with each other to perform the job (role conflict).
These role problems are generators of stress and burnout and often occur due to poor communication, especially at the upper levels of the company (for example, in the relationship with superiors or due to an unclear company structure).
3. Work overload
If in the previous point I talked about role overload, which is rather a psychological phenomenon in which the person can perform tasks that are not theirs (but does not necessarily include excess work); Work overload is rather a physical phenomenon, in which the person simply cannot cope with the volume of work that he has to perform.
For example, if an employee only has the capacity to produce 2 machines a day and management asks for 8. Logically, the worker will end up stressed and will suffer the negative consequences of this phenomenon
This is a situation that can occur relatively frequently due to the logic present in many companies, which consists of achieving the maximum profit in the minimum possible time. To achieve this, expenses that will not positively impact the organization’s productivity from day one are reduced, which leads to concentrating the maximum amount of work in the minimum number of hands. The result is usually burnout, something that can become chronic and that is not only harmful to the worker, but also lowers the company’s productivity ceiling.
4. Toxic colleagues (mobbing)
Coworkers are one of the key elements in the work environment, whether for better or worse Scientific studies suggest a good relationship with them has a buffering effect in relation to stress, that is, in cases in which this phenomenon manifests itself, colleagues reduce its negative effect. Now, a bad relationship with colleagues is a very common stressor. Especially if cases of workplace harassment or mobbing occur in this relationship.
There are different types of mobbing, so the harasser or harassed can also be a boss. To know the different types of workplace harassment, you can read our article: “The 6 types of mobbing or workplace harassment”
5. Lack of commitment to the organization
Researchers, when they want to know the work environment, usually measure some variables that are a consequence of the decrease in well-being at work. one of them is the lack of commitment to the company.
When a person is comfortable at work He feels the company is his and is even proud to belong to that brand The same does not happen when the work environment is toxic.
6. Desire to leave the company and absenteeism
Another variable that is a consequence of being unhappy at work is absenteeism, that is, when the person misses work frequently for different reasons, generally due to medical leave. If this phenomenon appears, it is because there are reasons for it, beyond the marketing strategies that the organization can use to keep its staff happy.
However, it is not necessary for workers to be absent or leave the company when they are unhappy, because in recent times this figure has been reduced with the economic crisis and due to the “survivor syndrome.” In reality, the simple idea of leaving the company can be measured, and is what is known as intention to leave the company. When a person finds themselves in a toxic work environment, the desire to leave the company increases.
7. You are not motivated to go to work
The two previous points are a clear indication of demotivation towards work and the little desire to work that is generated when the work environment is toxic. People who are not happy at work or are stressed feel great heaviness and demotivation every time they have to go to the workplace.
In turn, demotivation is usually reflected in the accumulation of tasks to be done, which in turn causes greater stress and discomfort, in a vicious circle.
8. You feel like you can’t grow within the company
The structure of the company also affects the well-being of the workers and the motivation one feels , and when there is no development plan, people perceive that they are stagnating. In the long run, this is not positive for your well-being and, therefore, stress and demotivation appear.
Fundamentally, the problem is that the present is associated with what the future may hold, leaving very little room for improvement. This perspective is totally demotivating, because it also gives a vision of the organization in which one is only a piece whose task is to keep working without looking much beyond their routine.
Many companies, aware of the need that people have to earn a salary , they set schedules for their workers that do not take into account their needs outside of work, their leisure time and, in general, their well-being. In fact, some companies even do it illegally. The need to have a job leads many people not to report despite having illegal working hours and conditions.
10. Bad communication
One of the phenomena that causes greater discomfort at work and a toxic work environment is communication , which can manifest itself at different levels. In the first point I have talked about leadership styles and their influence on stress, and whether a leadership style is considered healthy or not is often determined by communication skills. However, poor communication can also occur, for example, between colleagues or from different departments of the company, and can generate role problems, discomfort, conflicts and other negative phenomena.
11. You don’t feel valued
People are emotional beings, and we all like to be valued. The vast majority of us have spent half our lives studying and fighting for our professional career.
Just a few decades ago, many companies trained workers, and some of them felt that they owed a debt to the organization. Nowadays, after studying and paying for our studies during the 4 years of the Degree (plus the different Masters) we want a little respect and appreciation. When this does not occur, it is very likely that demotivation and discomfort will show signs of presence
12. You are stressed or burned out
All of the above points have something in common, and that is that if they occur over a prolonged period of time they generate stress and burnout: one of the great evils of work, because it not only affects the workers but also the results of the organization
It is common to see entire departments and even groups (for example, nurses) suffering stress due to all of the above variables and others that also affect the work environment and are outside the company’s control. For example, political decisions or budget cuts in healthcare (in the case of nurses). Therefore, many variables can lead a person to live in a toxic work environment.
