10 Signs That Your Workplace Is Toxic

Toxic Workplaces on the Rise

1. Chronic High Stress - The work is intense on a fairly ongoing basis with few periods of "downtime" to recover.

Or, there is a culture of fear or bullying that contributes to chronic high stress.

2. Low Morale - You and many other employees are in a bad mood frequently. There's little enthusiasm or joy.

3. Lack of Work-Life Balance - The organization wants to own you. You regularly work more than 40 hours per week and work cuts into your other commitments. You're forced to choose between having a life and having your job. Your employer really doesn't view you as a human being but as a factor of productivity.

4. Increased Physical and Emotional Illness - You and your coworkers develop stress-related physical and/or emotional illnesses. These illnesses can run the gamut from musculoskeletal problems, gastrointestinal upsets, anxiety and depression, to autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.

5. Unrealistic Expectations - You're put in a situation that sets you up to fail and burn out. The workload and expectations are unreasonable for one human being, but nobody seems to care.

6. Lack of Loyalty - On your first day at work, you sign an at-will employment contract that gives the organization the right to fire you at any time for any reason. You've effectively just been told that you don't have a permanent relationship with your employer, which sets the stage for a relationship built on lack of loyalty and trust.

7. Immature Leadership - Toxic workplaces are fueled by immature, dysfunctional leaders. Such leaders share some of the following characteristics:

• Coldness and emotional distance or, excessive emotionality and reactivity
• Unreasonable expectations for productivity and goals
• Conflict avoidance
• Unwillingness to listen to others
• Lack of empathy and support - i.e. - expects employees to come to work even when ill
• Poor communication
• High aggression, intimidation or bullying - instilling fear in others
• Lack of morality - the leader's or organization's goals are sought at the expense of human welfare and decency
• Hypocritical - doesn't walk the talk, for example- says he or she embraces "teamwork," "good communication," "trust," etc but displays behavior that contradicts his or her talk.

8. Pervasive Poor Communication - You don't get much feedback on your performance, you get only negative feedback, or you're left out of the loop and don't know what's going on.

9. Scapegoating - Mistakes are explained by blaming others. Employees are belittled; high performers are criticized for incompetence, and employees that leave are blamed for poor performance. Bullying leaders are tolerated and even admired. The Human Resource Department may even be intimidated by the bully or lacks expertise on how to deal with the situation.

10. Dysfunctional Relationships - There are widespread dysfunctional dynamics such as:

• Cliquishness, "insiders and outsiders" rather than unification and teamwork
• Favoritism
• Insincere communication
• Long-term grudge-holding
• Back-biting and pitting co-workers against each other
• Criticizing others before asking questions

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Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

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