Workplace stress is hardly a phenomenon. Everyone has a bad day (or even month) at work now and then. Your client presentation didn\u2019t go as well as planned; your boss didn\u2019t fall head over heels for your proposal; you had to stay late to finish a project; your co-worker\u2019s been having a series of too-loud sales calls. But there\u2019s a big difference between aggravating incidents and a full-blown toxic work environment.<\/p>\n
A toxic work environment is one wherein dysfunction and drama reign, whether it\u2019s the result of a narcissistic boss, vindictive co-workers, absence of order, et cetera.<\/p>\n
Basically, a hostile work environment \u201cleaves you feeling like dirt,\u201d says Robert Sutton, a Stanford University professor who studies organisational behavior and author of The A**hole Survival Guide<\/em>.<\/p>\n In addition to harming your morale, this kind of climate can also be damaging to your health, says Paul White, co-author of Rising Above a Toxic Workplace. \u201cStress takes a toll on your body,\u201d White says. Health problems stemming from workplace stress include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and decreased mental health, and can lead to fatal conditions, recent research from Stanford and Harvard Universities found.<\/p>\n To counteract such conditions, you first need to know what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n Sign #1: You\u2019re chronically stressed out<\/strong><\/p>\n Waking up every day and dreading going to work? You\u2019re not alone. An international poll by Monster found that 42% of U.S. workers have left a job due to an overly stressful environment. Furthermore, stress levels are often amplified when someone\u2019s job eats into their personal time with friends and family, according to a 2017 Paycheck survey.<\/p>\n It can be difficult, though, to self-asses your own stress levels. To get an accurate reading, take this short quiz from the American Institute of Stress.<\/p>\n Sign #2: You\u2019re being overworked<\/strong><\/p>\n In a hostile workplace, employees are often overloaded with job responsibilities. Unfortunately, being overworked can lead to burnout and cause resentment: A survey from the Families and Work Institute found that 43% of employees experiencing high levels of feeling overworked say they feel angry toward their employers often or very often.<\/p>\n Sign #3: You\u2019re being bullied<\/strong><\/p>\n Bullying runs rampant in toxic workplaces, says Mitchell Kusy, a professor at Antioch University\u2019s Graduate School of Leadership & Change and author of Why I Don’t Work Here Anymore.<\/p>\n The Workplace Bullying Institute defines bullying as \u201crepeated mistreatment of an employee by one or more employees; abusive conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; work sabotage; or verbal abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n While 61% of bullies are bosses, 33% of bullies are peers with the same rank as their targets, and a surprising 6% of bullies are subordinates, a 2017 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute found.<\/p>\n Sign #4: You\u2019re a victim of\u2014or contributor to\u2014office gossip<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t hear this from me, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Stop right there\u2014office gossip benefits nobody. Still, many employees spread rumors about co-workers, whether it\u2019s done intentionally or unintentionally. Regardless of what side of the gossip fence you\u2019re on, it can create a toxic workplace, which contributes to the poison circulating.<\/p>\n Sign #5: Your boss is a hothead<\/strong><\/p>\n A toxic manager is someone who consistently hurts your self-esteem and routinely undermines your ability to put out good work. The concept of leadership clearly went directly over his or her head.<\/p>\n Option #1: Confront the person one-on-one<\/strong><\/p>\n You should be able to resolve many interpersonal problems without intervention. \u201cGenerally, your best first step is to have a gentle backstage conversation with the person who\u2019s causing you harm,\u201d says Sutton. But, rather than focusing on how someone\u2019s behavior makes you feel, focus on the negative consequences of the person\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n For example, if a co-worker is consistently belittling your ideas during team meetings, you\u2019d approach by saying, \u201cI understand you want to offer feedback, but when you interrupt me, it makes it difficult for me get my ideas across to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Option #2: Confront with a team<\/strong><\/p>\n If the direct approach is futile, you may have to get help from your superiors (assuming they\u2019re not the problem) to resolve serious issues with co-workers. But before you request a meeting, there are a couple measures you should take.<\/p>\n First, figure out if any of your peers are having similar problems. \u201cThe more fellow victims you have, the more power you have,\u201d Sutton says. Obviously, you don\u2019t want to bombard your co-worker; one or two representatives in addition to yourself should suffice.<\/p>\n Second, gather hard evidence to prove your case. For example, if your colleague is frequently trying to sabotage your work by turning their assignments in late, compile emails that show times when this has happened and present what you have in the meeting.<\/p>\n Option #3: Plan your exit<\/strong><\/p>\n Some companies simply have a culture of dysfunction. If the toxicity is coming from the top down, you may be better off coming up with an exit strategy.<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s easier to get a job offer when you\u2019re still employed\u2014meaning you\u2019ll want to have a job lined up before you put in your two weeks\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n Is your current job bumming you out? Need some help freeing yourself from its grip? Join Monster today. As a member, you can get job alerts sent directly to you, plus you can upload up to five versions of your resume\u2014each tailored to different jobs that interest you. Recruiters search Monster every day looking to fill top jobs with qualified employees, just like you. Life\u2019s too short to hate your job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How to recognise a poisonous job situation and the steps to take in response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,130],"tags":[102,103,101],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-the-job","category-people-culture","tag-toxic","tag-work-environment","tag-workplace"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":512,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}5 signs of a toxic work environment<\/strong><\/h5>\n
How to detoxify your workplace<\/strong><\/h5>\n