7 lessons learnt from toxic work environments

The reality is that we spend majority of our waking hours at work or in a working capacity. So when you find yourself in an environment that is not conducive to peace or is fraught with less than ideal conditions, this can have a negative impact on your overall wellbeing.

Whilst in the midst of it you find yourself questioning your value and sanity, there are valuable lessons to be learned in hindsight.

Here are 7 of mine -

1. Despite your good intentions, a toxic environment will ultimately affect your performance. There is no logical separation because when part of a team that has lost its morale or is fractured, you will begin to lose motivation. There is only so much burden you can carry alone.

2. It can distort your perception of your true value in the market. Given that the natural reaction is to start looking externally, one has to be careful that they first take time to review and regain their sense of worth. When you are in an environment where chaos is the norm, your performance will start to fall below par. Hence those around you will not value your input which then starts to clouds your judgment of your abilities. Take some time out. Be less reactive.

3. Gives you a higher sense of appreciation for good working environments. You have the benefits of comparison so you treasure the right place and you naturally want to give your best.

4. Motivates you to make some difficult yet necessary decisions. I can draw from my experience on this because if not for all the toxic environments I have been in over the years, I would not have made risky moves which proved to be advantageous. Nothing transformational happens in comfort zones.

5. Your career is ultimately your responsibility. Now I look back and realize how much power I gave to others when it came to defining my career. I somehow expected my previous bosses to help me get ahead. What I have learnt is that although they may have your best interests at heart, nobody can advocate for you like you can. You have to step forward and take on more responsibility and build relationships at work. In other words, ‘do not sit in the corner’.

6. Be less reactive about taking that next job. In trying to get away from one toxic environment, you can blindingly rush into another one just because you did not take your time to do some due diligence. Interviews do not fully portray a honest representation of a company so delve further and look at reviews or talk to former/current employees.

7. You learn to recognize what’s important to you despite the status quo. You may understandably start off your career prioritizing a high salary over everything else. But over time you realize that it’s worth some compromise for a productive team, a company that makes a difference or holds similar values to you.

Being in a toxic environment can be highly distressing and make you feel powerless. So take a break if need be, recharge your batteries and focus on making the next part the best part.

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