The aftermath of a toxic working environment
Bear with me, this is going to be a long and emotional one.
Day 1 in your new job. Everything’s perfect. Day 135 in your new job. Things could have been better. Day 365. I must(!) get out of here, for my own sake. Leaving work feeling totally drained but achieving nothing of value? Waking up dreading for the day? Sunday afternoon comes along…Ugh!
Some of you will reason with me when I say that it is a breath of fresh air, leaving a toxic environment. Toxic work environments are common. And it's not usually the whole organization, it only takes a handful of people (And if) to poison the water.
Does this sound familiar? Toxic work environment can have a huge impact on the self-esteem of an individual, weeks and months after leaving the organization. Emotionally, psychologically and even physiologically. The most common effects from an unhealthy workplace, even after you leave, involve stress or stress-induced such as anxiety, social withdrawal, exhaustion, getting sick frequently or even unexplained conditions (physical manifestation of an unhealthy workplace is always tied with your psychological state), harming your interpersonal relationships with your family, significant other, friends and colleagues.
Finally, you found your dream job and managed to leave that toxic swamp! But something is off. You feel unworthy, self-doubting, that you will somehow, do something wrong and the big boss will be extremely mad with you. Kick you out of your dream job. And that day comes, where you make a mistake, and the Big boss says, “it’s okay, we’ll find a way out of it, we are humans, after all, we all do mistakes”. And there you breathe, and you realize that you are your worst enemy and this is what you should work on.
How do you regain your confidence after leaving that caustic chore you once called a job? How does one get back to their feet, away from any emotional baggage and shine brightly towards the next career step?
How do you regain your confidence after leaving that caustic chore you once called a job?
Bring some self-care into your daily routine. Set a time after or before work, dedicated to you. Go to the gym, start a martial art (😊), go for a walk, gardening, yoga, painting, writing, dancing, cooking, you name it. Any time dedicated to yourself alone will do wonders for your psychological well-being. I’ve personally found gardening, pets, gym, and martial arts to be some of the “me-time” activities I enjoy the most. And they work magic in releasing any anxiety or anger that may still be lingering in the background!
Next, some self-actualization is in order. This is the time where, as uncomfortable as it may be, it is crucial in moving on. Set some time in your week to think about all the negative beliefs and feelings your old job has caused you and how these are manifested in your professional and personal life. Are these feelings yours or do they belong to that ex-colleague/manager/boss that made you feel this way? Let them go.
Maybe try and write down your feelings, as some sort of closure, where you “vomit” all your feelings and emotions on an email/piece of paper and get them off your chest. Work on your strengths, what makes you good at what you do, and use them as a guide for the future. Feelings are not who you are, they a reflection of the environment you include yourself in. Trust there is peace and positivity out there 😊
