What is a Toxic Work Environment? |
Posted: October 2, 2019 |
What is a Toxic Work Environment?
If you find yourself waking up every day ecstatic at the thought of going to work, you must love your job. However, no matter how much your work excites you, there will still be days where you feel pressured and drained. After all, there is no such thing as a perfect workplace — all jobs come with a degree of stress.
So, how can you be sure whether your working environment is good or bad for you? To answer that question, we need to figure out how to differentiate between the occasional stressful day and a consistently toxic workplace.
Here are six clear signs you may be trapped in an unhealthy working environment.
1. Your job impacts your work-life balance
A toxic workplace forces you to forego your life outside of your career as if your dedicated 8 hours of work haven’t earned you some much-needed rest and relaxation. Your employer always wants more. Before you know it, you’ve missed your sister’s graduation, your parents’ anniversary dinner, and your own birthday party. This situation can cause burnout, eventually resulting in physical and emotional exhaustion.
2. Your boss doesn’t care about you
One of the most common reasons people leave their jobs, regardless of how much they enjoy them, is an apathetic boss. This is the kind of leader who does not listen, criticizes poor performance but never praises the good, abuses their position of power to control employees, and has no interest in career development. A narcissistic leader only thinks of the welfare of the company and themselves — not their staff.
3. Rumors spread faster than a computer virus
It’s safe to say, a fair amount of idle gossip goes on in every workplace. It’s human nature, but that doesn’t mean it should be normalized. At some point, gossip can become toxic, especially when rumors begin to have a negative impact on the subjects’ work. They can also spark conflict between colleagues. Gossip is the last thing you want to engage in if you want to maintain a peaceful and comfortable working environment for all.
4. Thinking about going to work makes you anxious
Anxiety is a serious medical condition that should be taken seriously. If your work — where you spend half your day — is making you anxious, you may want to consider taking a break or reevaluating your choices to prioritize your mental wellness. While work-related stress is inevitable, anxiety triggered by the mere thought of heading into work should be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain your health and avoid further complications down the line.
5. Your workplace offers no room for growth
Nothing makes an employee more despondent than feeling their career has hit a dead-end. Growth is not a one-way street — it is something you and your employer have to work on together. If you truly feel like your job is going nowhere, you might be trapped inside a toxic, stagnant environment.
6. The amount of work you do is not reflected in your pay packet Sure, there’s nothing wrong with going all-out at work. You’re always supposed to give it your best. Sadly, this kind of attitude often opens a window of opportunity for unscrupulous employers to abuse your hard-working nature.
In some cases, instead of hiring another person to do a job, the boss will choose instead to dump more work on existing employees without even considering a pay rise. Let’s face it — that’s not fair. Remember, as the old saying goes, “Time is money.” Life is short, every minute is valuable, and no one should expect you to work for free.
Don’t allow toxicity at work to become the norm. You may be able to handle it now, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tolerate it forever. Always put yourself first.
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