{"id":51618,"date":"2021-10-17T12:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-17T16:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=51618"},"modified":"2021-10-21T14:21:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T18:21:13","slug":"toxic-work-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/toxic-work-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Signs of a Toxic Work Culture & How to Tackle Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What causes a toxic work culture<\/a>? What are the signs of a toxic workplace<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A work environment that doesn’t allow employees to face their vulnerabilities and is defined by lack of trust and ineffective communication will inevitably lead to a toxic work culture. Employees in a toxic workplace will resort to cynicism, criticism, and a kill-or-be-killed mentality as defensive measures to keep others at a distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn more about the signs of a toxic work culture and how to combat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Signs of a Toxic Work Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A toxic work culture will pit team members against one another\u2014in these environments, any show of vulnerability is seen as failure. This mentality is toxic to innovative settings because it\u2019s void of meaningful collaboration and self-improvement, instead focused on gaining approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brave leaders combat this behavior<\/strong> by rewarding those who show vulnerability and collaborate, not compete, with others. You can accomplish this by identifying team members who ask for feedback<\/a> on their ideas, ask for help from others<\/a>, and are transparent about their mistakes. Reward these team members with recognition for their commitment to self-improvement\u2014meaningful recognition depends on the team member, but it can look like a shoutout at a meeting, a promotion, or a shift in focus onto more meaningful projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cynicism and Sarcasm<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In response to negative emotions, team members might put up a snide, detached, or suspicious front that lets them avoid engagement with these feelings or with other people. This approach of cynicism and sarcasm usually turns work relationships<\/a> sour, because it stirs up feelings of anger, resentment, and confusion. Other people might distrust them\u2014\u201cWhat does she really mean when she\u2019s saying \u2018great work\u2019?\u201d\u2014or they might become distrusting of others\u2014\u201cMy colleague is purposely slowing down this project to make me look bad.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brave leaders combat this behavior<\/strong> by rewarding clear communication while refusing to allow or engage with cynicism or sarcasm. With the knowledge that team members usually resort to cynicism and sarcasm when they\u2019re hiding feelings like fear or inadequacy, you can open up an honest conversation with them about the difficult emotions<\/a> they\u2019re dealing with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticism <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Team members who feel inadequate or afraid often criticize others as a way to shift negative attention from themselves onto someone else. Unmitigated criticism is one of the most inhibitive consequences of a toxic work culture, because the fear of backlash<\/a> or ridicule stops team members from contributing ideas or breaking the status quo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When trying to weed criticism out of your organization, you need to listen carefully\u2014criticism isn\u2019t always obvious. There are two ways that people veil criticism in a toxic work culture: clinging to the past and the royal \u201cwe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n