A toxic workplace culture can place significant barriers in the way of achieving business objectives. If toxicity has invaded your office, it is likely that you are dealing with staff who are unproductive, resentful, unmotivated and perhaps difficult to discipline – and it can affect senior managers to junior employees.
This can have significant effects on all areas of the business, and can even impact your bottom line. We give you tips on how you can start 2019 with a new, improved workplace culture – even if you’re already seeing signs of disharmony.
signs your workplace culture is toxic
Psychologists and workplace consultants have long analysed the circumstances which cause a business to develop a toxic culture. Obvious signs that your company is affected may include:
- Development of silos – This is demonstrated when workers fail to collaborate with each other or stick to their individual teams without sharing information, work or projects across the whole business.
- Drama – When ‘business as usual‘ can’t continue because histrionics and obstructive behaviour set agendas and cause issues and hypersensitivity.
- Lack of trust and ‘backstabbing’ – A little gossip is normal in any group environment. But when employees undermine each other regularly and fail to communicate effectively, it can be impossible to build or maintain a strong team culture.
- High leadership turnover – This can be a strong sign that either the business continues to select the wrong people for leadership positions (which is likely to have a negative impact on their direct reports) or the business does not support people who are trying to effect positive change. Either way, this does not bode well for success.
- Refusal to change – All businesses need to adapt, whether it is to keep up with technology, implement new ideas or listen to the needs of customers. A business where change is impossible is unable to grow; and this attitude suggests that management is perhaps not functioning optimally either.
identifiying a toxic employee
Generally, a toxic culture starts with a small number of toxic employees, whose negative influence spreads throughout the office. Although there are no defined criteria for a toxic worker, they may display traits of:
- Insistence on following ‘rules’ in an inflexible and unproductive manner;
- Turning in work which is of a poorer quality than that of their colleagues;
- Overrated belief in their own skills;
- Self-centredness and arrogance;
- Hypersensitivity to criticism;
- Disruptive, dramatic or obstructive behaviour;
- Paranoid tendencies;
- Gossip and general unpleasantness towards others;
- Passive aggression displayed towards co-workers.
If any of your staff are displaying a number of these behaviours, it would be wise to ensure that Human Resources is aware of, is monitoring the situation and that a strategy to address the behaviour is formulated immediately.
strategies for implementing a better culture
You can deal with a toxic workplace by:
- Offering purpose-driven work (so that all staff can see how they are assisting the company and providing clear outputs)
- Encouraging cultural improvements (by offering rewards for staff who have the right attitude or engage in positive actions)
- Improving leadership (staff are more likely to listen to senior management who set a good example, engage them and inspire them to perform better).
WHERE DO I START?
Once you have identified that your workplace culture is toxic, it is time to disrupt the negativity. A cultural or climate survey may assist in pinpointing particular areas of or reasons for malcontent.
One of the most important things to do in this scenario is to be honest with your staff about your assessment of the culture. Indicate that senior management is aware of the issues and is going to take steps to effect changes.
This will likely encourage those staff who are committed to a fresh start, while at the same time causing those who are unwilling to cooperate to either resign or be adequately and reasonably performance managed.
All staff should be involved in these announcements at the same time, ideally in the same room, so that the business develops a new, shared vision and has a joint positive attitude. All executives and senior management should be setting a clear example and be well versed in the proposed new company direction, so that everybody is reading from the same runsheet, and change really is demonstrated to be ‘top down’.
Importantly, once an action plan for repairing the toxic culture is developed, it should immediately be implemented, so that enthusiasm and motivation does not wane.
It takes commitment and determination to disrupt a toxic culture. It’s best undertaken by moving ahead quickly with a clear course of action and employee buy-in. As employees practise the new rules and behaviours, your culture will become self-reinforcing. If you have allegations that demonstrate a toxic workplace culture, and would like a cultural survey or fact-finding investigation into the circumstances done – contact WISE today!
Content retrieved from: http://www.wiseworkplace.com.au/_blog/WISE_Blog/post/how-to-transform-a-toxic-workplace-for-a-productive-2019/.