Four Signs of a Toxic Workplace Culture

James Ritter

The importance of culture in a workplace is often overlooked, but it can have a significant impact on employee performance. While a positive culture can foster collaboration and productivity, a toxic culture can do the exact opposite, leading to high turnover rates and low morale. In this article, we discuss four signs that could indicate you’re in a toxic workplace.

Micromanagement

Do you feel like your every move is being closely monitored and controlled? If so, you’re likely being micromanaged. When a manager controls every aspect of your work, it can create an environment of mistrust and anxiety, leading to decreased productivity and job satisfaction.

It’s natural for a manager to keep track of tasks to a certain extent, but scrutinising every aspect of someone’s work is when it becomes unhealthy. This style of management can actually stifle creativity and make employees reluctant to take any initiative in their roles.

Expectations that extend beyond working hours

In today’s culture, particularly in the realm of remote work where the lines between home and work are often blurred, many employees are expected to be available 24/7. This could include responding to emails, texts or phone calls outside of your scheduled working hours, creating an unhealthy work-life balance.

Imposing this kind of workplace environment makes it easy to feel burnt out, leading to decreased productivity and quality of work. It could also cause workers to feel unappreciated and start a job search elsewhere, contributing to high turnover rates.

Lack of opportunities

In any role, it’s important to feel that you have opportunities to grow and develop your skills. Without these opportunities, it can be difficult to stay motivated in a role. Not only does it make workers feel undervalued, but businesses that fail to provide training and career development often end up with a stagnant workforce. It’s important to have a certain element of change in order to bring new ideas to light, and as with anything in life, there’s always room for improvement.

Cliques and exclusion

If your workplace is bringing back memories of school cliques, it could be a sign that your employer has a toxic culture. No one should ever feel excluded or left out, especially at work where collaboration is key. In a workplace where groups stick together, anyone excluded from the group is likely to feel reluctant to participate in any team activities out of fear of workplace bullies.

It’s important that people are approachable, particularly managers or other high-ranking team members. Without this effective communication, employees may feel intimidated and disengaged which can have a significant impact on productivity.

Reach out

If you can relate to any of these four signs, it’s likely a sign that you’re part of a workplace with a toxic culture. Fortunately there are things that you can do to help, such as speaking to a human resources team member or raising any issues directly with your manager. However, if you feel that change is unlikely to happen, remember to put yourself first and find an environment that allows you to achieve your full potential.

This blog was contributed directly to Workplace Fairness. Published with permission.

About the Author: James Ritter is a freelance writer who holds a particular interest in employee welfare, and has created content for established companies based all around the world. He has a degree in
creative writing, and is always eager to expand his knowledge around different subjects.

The post Four Signs of a Toxic Workplace Culture first appeared on Today’s Workplace.

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