Toxic Workplace and Toxic Management

Fr. Damianus Abun, SVD

Abstract.

Toxic workplace really exists in any organization. It is dangerous to employees’ health and organization’s health. It is similar to how toxic chemicals destroy human’s health, the same how toxic workplace destroys the organization. The causes of toxic workplace are management and employees. Therefore, management needs to be observant to monitor their own toxic behaviors and detox themselves before their behavior contaminate employees and it is their responsibility to detox the toxic behavior of their employees before they destroy the organization.

Keywords: detox, toxic workplace, toxic employees and toxic managers. 

Introduction

I come to this point writing about toxic workplace. I write this topic   to document my experience for 21 years working in the toxic workplace until I tender my resignation. Someone might ask, why should you wait until 21 years to resign? Well, it is not because I do not have other choices where to go but it was my purpose to stick out hoping my presence can change a bit of the situation but after all, things change somehow but not totally. Toxic behaviors cannot be eliminated totally, we can only minimize.  
  

I have developed several sicknesses such as diarrhea and insomnia. I have consulted medical doctors about my sickness and even subjected me to laboratory check up to find out what is going on in my body. They found other related sickness but the main cause of diarrhea and insomnia was not somehow found. Instead of going to other hospital for second opinion, I tried to open up my sickness with friends who happen to be medical doctors and they told me that those kinds of sicknesses may not be necessarily caused by virus, but it can be caused by the workplace. After hearing their comments, I realized that I have been working in the toxic workplace. Workplace has been the sources of my stress which is caused by leadership and management style and employees’ toxic behaviors. Stress causes my diarrhea and insomnia and thus I had to avoid such situation and I regained my health. I have been working with leader-managers, who are not consistent, dishonest, less committed, less focused and having no long term directions. Beside the management, I have been surrounded by employees who are always complaining and criticizing, putting down one another. I have to avoid the place for me to get healed.   

Toxic workplace may not be something new, it has been there but people seldom talk about it.  Mostly toxic workplace is caused by management and individual employees. This is one of the causes why people are not happy in the organization and leave the organization. Those who are leaving are not only because they do not want the work but because they are not enjoying the work when they are dealing with negativity every day. The top management often has wrong assumption that people are looking for pay and as long as their pay is right, the employee will stay and then happiness will come. The management undermines the importance of conducive workplace environment and the emotion or feeling of people by not giving attention to toxic behaviors of employees and management.  

Toxic workplace

When we talk about toxic chemicals, one can understand immediately the meaning of it. Toxic chemicals are any substance which may be harmful to the environment or hazardous to your health if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin (About Education, 2016). By such definition one can immediately understand what toxic workplace means. A toxic workplace is a workplace that is marked by unconducive working environment, where uncertainties and personal battles harm relationship and productivity. Toxic workplaces are caused by toxic employees and toxic managers, or workers and managers who are motivated by personal gain such as power, money, fame and special status in which they use unethical means and sometimes illegal means to manipulate and annoy those around them.  Their main motives are to maintain or increase power, money or special status or divert attention away from their performance shortfalls and misdeeds. Toxic managers and employees do not recognize a duty to the organization for which they work or their co-workers in terms of ethical behavior toward employees or toward co-workers.  Toxic managers and employees define relationships with employees and co-workers, not by organizational structure but favor and those they do not like or trust (Benoit, 2011)

Toxic workplace has become hot issue in the organization today because apparently it is perennial issue that cannot be eliminated from the workplace and it has a negative effect on the performance of employees and the organization. Everyone has a story about inconsistencies, uncertainties, favoritism, bad employees, bad managers which contribute to a terrible place to work. Paul White (2014) identified several characteristics that indicate the existence of toxic workplace and they are major communication problems, inconsistency in following the policies, narcissistic leaders, seething disgruntlement, physical and emotional health problems. According to White (2014) who is a psychologist, there is always problem in communication across the line, between management and employees and between employees. Communication breakdown causes unhealthy working environment.  Beside communication problems, another problem that contributes to unhealthy workplace is inconsistencies in implementing or following the policies/rules. Often time top management plays different rules for the same problems. Today is different from tomorrow and such situation causes confusion to the employees whether they are going to follow or not to follow the policies. Adding to that situation is the narcissistic behavior of mangers or leaders who are so busy getting credit for themselves. They view themselves as the centers of the whole organization without recognizing the contribution of employees, thinking that they are better than the rest. Making the situations complicated further is when the employees complain and the managers do not give a damn about it. Those situations definitely can bring emotional problems to the employees and organization as a whole.  This phenomenon harms both the company and the other employees, including those who are not direct targets.

What happen when we are into toxic workplace is that everyone is in bad mood. When one encounters each other along the corridor, she/he turns his/her face around, instead of greeting one another with smiling face. When the boss is not around, everyone is relaxing, doing their own thing and do not mind the business of the company. This is the direct result when employees are undervalued, forced to compete one another, distant from the company mission (Biro, 2016). Within this kind of environment, introducing changes can become impossible because everyone will resist change because they do not trust management if their best interest would be protected. There is distrust between management and employees and even among the employees themselves. Having this kind of environment will cause unhealthy and unhappy life, not only within the company but it can also affect family life.  

Toxic Management   
 

The word toxic has taken on a lot of meanings, and more widespread use of it has made its definition fuzzy. My definition on these words is originated from the meaning of toxic chemicals.  If toxic chemicals are understood as any substances that are harmful to the environment, then toxic management can be understood in similar concept, that toxic management is any practices initiated by management that are harmful to health of employees and organization as a whole. Marquet (2015) has identified several practices that are characterizing toxic managers and they are micro management, focusing on mistakes and weaknesses, poor communication, distrust, inappropriate behavior, unnecessary meetings, and unrealistic expectations. In terms of micromanagement (Lavoie, 2014) the management exercise too much control and giving attention too small details without giving them trust to do their job. In such kind of management, as if the management is doing the job for their employees. Adding to such problem is when the management is focusing too much on the mistakes and weaknesses of employees, instead of their strength. Such practice can make them apathetic and definitely reduce their spirit to work. Complicating further this situation is poor communication in which the communication line is one sided; the management does not hear feed backs from the employees.  The employees only hear from their boss and carry out the order. In that kind environment the culture of distrust ( Huhman, 2014 ) is growing in which management and the employees do not trust each other and such problematic relationship can trigger inappropriate behavior where employees do not have respect to their management and management does not have respect to their employees. 

Adding to the long line of toxic management practice is unnecessary meeting. Often time the top management schedule meeting but the meeting may not be necessary because there are no clear agenda to be discussed. Often time start the meeting with the opening statement, “by the way”. Besides having no clear agenda to be discussed, the meeting is taking too long and no clear goals to be achieved. Adding to that problem is conducting meeting at the scheduled rest time of the employees which is in violation of labor standards. Worsening the situation is when the management impose unnecessary or impossible objectives to the employees to achieve in which he/she himself/herself cannot do it (Sanborn, 2013).

Toxic Employees and How to Handle Them         

In consistence with the understanding of toxic chemicals, I understand toxic employees are those who constantly producing toxic behaviors that are harmful to the work environment. There are some employees who are consistently spreading gossips about other people, criticizing other employees and the management, seeing everything from negative side and influencing others to go against change. I consider them virus of the organization because it contaminates others; positive employees become negative employees because of their influence. They’re destructive, distracting and draining. Like a cancer sapping the energy of those around them, they cripple their coworkers’ morale, performance and productivity. Worse, they poison your entire business in the process (Shandrow, 2015).  According to Sprenger (2016) negativity and toxicity spread like germs in the workplace. Whether it’s gossip, nonconstructive criticism, drama, bitterness, constant complaining, or blaming others, toxicity can be as harmful to the workplace as germs can be to your body. Not doing anything to detox, then the productivity may suffer.  How to detox is another challenge to the management.  I often suggest to the management, that if she/he is the virus, then remove the virus or you can devise a plan to rehabilitate them, if they are still considered as assets of the company. Dylan Minor  and Michael Houseman (2015), assistant professors of Kellog School of Management, (as cited by Gallo 2016) provided a reason why they are called toxic employees, it is because they not only causing harm but because they also spread their behavior to others. Their behaviors are contagious. Their behaviors demotivate, frustrate and put down other team mates.   

Toxic employees are realities of the companies nowadays; one cannot deny the existence of it. Simple solution would be to remove them from the list of your employees. However, business expert says that toxic employees are one of the challenges that business managers face today. Though the first step is to avoid hiring toxic employees but often time toxic behaviors do not appear when she/he is hired, they will be only known later. Once they are on your team, it can be hard to get rid of them because oftentimes the behavior doesn’t run against anything legal so you can’t fire them. Christine Porath (as cited by Gallo 2016) recommended some steps to be taken to address the situation: first, dig deeper. This recommendation is based on the belief that behaviors are expression of what is inside the person. The manager should ask them personally why they behave in such a way. Their behaviors can be caused by personal reasons or wrong treatment by the managers. If the reasons are personal, then the management should provide counseling service to those employees and if it is caused by the management, then management should revisit their treatment to their employees. Often time employees behave in a toxic manner, as a way of avoiding their own feelings of incompetence or insignificance. They become very critical to others, flood others with information to prove they are right, or jump to conclusions and personalize everything, hold a grudge, get hostile, and think obsessively or any number of other inappropriate behaviors. Second, Porath (as cited by Gallo (2016) argues that in many cases, toxic people are obvious to the effect they have on others. Most of the time they don’t realize that they’re as destructive as they are,” “They’re too focused on their own behaviors and needs to be aware of the broader impact.”. The management should provide feed backs so that they know the effect of their behavior toward others.  Third, explain the consequences of their behavior, that if they do not change, then they would be punished. Or if they cannot be punished, they can be tamed; As Krumrie (2016) suggests that managers should tame their toxic employees. The manager just has to find out what would motivate the bully to change his or her ways, and since everyone is motivated by something, there is always a way. Fourth, separate the toxic persons from other team members. According to Porath, if you can get rid of a bad apple, you can isolate it from the rest of the bushel so the rot doesn’t spread. Finally, according to Porath, the managers should not be distracted by those toxic employees. Managers should not consume so much time on those people and set aside main duties and responsibilities    

summary

Toxic workplace is caused by both management and employees. Toxic workplace is bad for the organization and it can de-energize employees and demotivate. If it is not given attention and the management does not take any steps to detox the workplace, such situation can lower the productivity and quality and consequently loses it competitive strength. Therefore, the management needs to be observant to monitor their own toxic behaviors and toxic behaviors of employees and takes decisive steps to eliminate viruses from workplace.

References

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Krumrie, Matt. (2016). Manage A Toxic Employees. Monster. Retrieved from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/manage-a-toxic-employee   

Marquet, Kristin. (2015). Seven Ways Toxic Managers Stifle Employee Motivation and Productivity. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245955

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Shandrow, Kim Lachance. (2015). Five Types of Toxic Employees and How to Deal With Them. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251614.

Sanborn, Mark. (2013). Five Signs You are Expecting More from Your Employees that They can Give. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229413

Sprenger, B. Marilee. (2016). How to Deal With Toxic Employees. Dummies. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/business/human-resources/employee-relations/how-to-deal-with-toxic-employees/ 

White, Paul. (2015). Five Signs You are Stuck in a Toxic Workplace. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/5-signs-youre-stuck-in-a-toxic-workplace-2015-11.