According to An Empirical Study Analyzing Job Productivity in Toxic Workplace Environments, 80% of the issues associated with employees’ productivity were related to the workplace environment in which these employees completed their day-to-day duties. Hence, workplace toxicity may negatively influence the well-being and work performance of employees.

What is a Toxic workplace?

Workplace toxicity is the level to which bad behavior, such as discrimination, bullying, coworker incivility, or other negatives, are experienced in a work environment that can lead to increased levels of work-related stress and anxiety (A study by Walden University)

The toxic triangle within the workplace consists of toxic leaders, toxic work environments, and toxic followers.

It starts with Toxic leadership. Let's figure out the impact! Toxic leadership is classified as leaders who employ unproductive and potentially abusive, dysfunctional, and self-serving behaviors and personality traits, such as yelling, intimidation, bullying, manipulation, or overt to force employees to follow the leaders’ wishes. Toxic leadership can negatively influence worker well-being and productivity.

Effects of a Toxic Workplace

Mental health professionals share some common signs of a toxic workplace as follows:

1. You're afraid to share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions

2. People don't communicate clearly

3. Your boss doesn't respect your boundaries

4. Management plays favoritism

5. Your boss micromanages you

6. Your colleagues tend to shift the blame

7. There's lots of gossip

8. Your managers have unreasonable expectations

Toxic behaviors in the workplace can result in added expenses, overall lower company spirit, low rates of retention, poor work-life balance, worsening health, frequent call-outs, and lower productivity overall.

According to a study on how toxic workplaces affect employee engagement,** there is a direct relationship between a toxic workplace environment and employee engagement. If employees are working in a toxic environment, they will spread negative feelings among other co-workers. The behaviors that come with a toxic workplace environment, i.e. harassment, bullying, and ostracism, can be detrimental and lead to unnecessary stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety among the workers.

What can Leaders do to eliminate toxicity at work?

Positive or nontoxic leadership can lessen toxicity in work environments and leadership style and behavior can play a major role in worker satisfaction, well-being, and productivity.

1. Prioritize Employee Well-Being

Employee well-being will affect employee behaviors that enhance employee engagement with the work as well as with the organization. Therefore, employees are in need of a healthy workplace environment with clear policies, that value their well-being. An engaged employee is well-balanced and emotionally connected with the vision and mission of the organization.

2. Provide employees support

Organizational support also increases employee engagement. Workers want to contribute to their organizations. When leaders provide moral, emotional, and professional support, those actions can help facilitate employee growth and cultivate a healthy environment.

3. Encourage Employee Training & Development

Besides improving both the initial onboarding and training process, leaders may focus on offering further development for current employees and managers. 360Learning’s recent findings show that learning and development can have a big impact on employee attrition and reduce costs from employee turnover.

Creating a workplace that promotes well-being and supports employees' physical and mental health is of utmost importance. However, putting these ideas into action can be challenging. To help you navigate this process, our workshop "Stress Management and Well-being at Work will provide you with some practical tools that you can transform toxic into healthy behaviors at work, build a safe work environment and apply values of Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and Belonging in your everyday operations! Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn and grow as a leader! Book us now!