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The Risks of a Toxic Work Environment for Employees and Companies: How Can We Fix It?

by Josh Biggs in Business on 28th June 2021

Toxic environments are one of the most destructive factors for employees and companies’ performance. It can also create a negative image and reputation and affects employees’ mental health. 

What is a toxic work environment?

With 1 in 5 Brits quitting their jobs due to deeming their workplace as ‘toxic’, this type of culture is costing billions per year. 

Women are more likely to leave their jobs due to the culture of the workplace than men, with those under 35 having the most resignations related to this. 

If you find yourself having more bad days than good at work, it could be down to it being a toxic workplace. 

Most toxic workplaces have bad communication and a constant lack of clarity, as well as cliques and gossips that might make people feel excluded. They also suffer from bad leadership, resulting in unmotivated colleagues and staff. There may even be a high turnover of staff in these types of workplaces. 

What are the risks of a toxic work environment?

A toxic workplace environment can result in unhappy employees and senior members of staff. This can result in a lack of trust between members of the workforce or resentment for anyone who is being treated differently / better than they are. 

People start to become affected physically, emotionally, and mentally by toxic work environments. They might start skipping work or calling in sick as they hate the thought of being around those working conditions or those people. This results in the company being understaffed and struggling to keep afloat. 

Staff who feel like there’s a toxic atmosphere might start to become defensive and easily agitated which could cause them to have angry outbursts towards others and cause conflict amongst the team. 

What can you do to avoid creating a toxic work environment?

Ensuring that all your employees feel valued and listened to is vital. You must ensure that your business communicates well and that there’s no secrecy or cliques that would make anyone feel uncomfortable. Try investing in some leadership and culture consultation so that you can train your senior employees to lead their teams in the best ways possible.

Each complaint or report of unethical working should be carefully noted and investigated. No issues should be dismissed or considered unworthy of looking into further. 

You should aim to have monthly meetings with your staff to ask how they are doing and if there’s anything that the company can do to help them improve. You should also set attainable targets and reward your staff when they meet them.

Categories: Business

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