Originally published in Business2Community
We’ve all heard horror stories of toxic work environments (if we’re lucky enough to not have experienced them directly.) From a disgruntled employee to a manager on a power trip, toxicity can show up anywhere in your organization and the impact bleeds. What was once a collaborative team can transform into chaos by the impacts of gossip, unprofessionalism, and toxicity. Even with a strong handle on the culture of your company, it only takes one employee to foster a toxic work environment. Defining, recognizing, and combatting toxicity is key to your professional health and happiness as well as the health of your organizational culture.
A toxic workplace creates discomfort for your employees and impacts retention and productivity. It is vital for the health of your company and your employees that toxicity is properly managed. Nipping toxicity in the bud requires your team to be empathetic, proactive, and aligned on strategy. In a recent article from B2C, Sapper COO EmilyMuhoberac discusses the best practices to define and address toxicity in your workplace.
“At what point does an employee’s poor behavior become a hinderance to productivity? Should managers measure the latent issues (like team morale) to which the employee contributes, or should they evaluate whether someone diverged too far from the company’s mission and values? Unfortunately, there aren’t one-size-fits-all answers to these questions. Team leaders need to first assess what problems exist in their individual workplaces and then discover the root causes.”
Solving toxicity isn’t a quick fix; the solution is rooted in the fabric of your culture. To truly understand the cause, seek to holistically understand your employees and the environment you’ve created. While toxicity can be challenging to overcome and to even to define, an empathic approach can help to align your team against the worst. To read the full article on removing a toxic work culture, click here.
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