How To Survive a Toxic Workplace Culture

Job misery — whether in an office or online — can take its toll, but there are strategies for coping with its harmful effects

If the thought of going into an office or meeting with work colleagues sparks dread, you are not alone. According to a recent report, more than a fifth of UK SME workers have left posts due to toxic work culture, which also leads to high staff turnover and loss of productivity costing the UK economy more than £15 billion annually.

Staff not feeling valued or respected within their organisation is a significant problem, which is not always addressed effectively. The Culture Economy Report 2020, which was compiled by SME software provider Breathe, also revealed that a third of SME decision-makers witnessed bullying in the workplace at some point in the past year, and more than half of employees felt senior management handled the incidents poorly.

During the pandemic, remote and home-working has increased a great deal, and while this may mean not having to work in an upsetting office atmosphere, it may mean unpleasantness morphs into cyberbullying. Some employees feel that when remote-working they are under surveillance, and may have options for enjoyable collaborating with staff curtailed. 0

When remote-working, culture is still key, as it affects how cohesively a team works together. Work culture can be expressed via email, Slack or Zoom just as much as in an open-plan office. Effective, open and respectful communication is essential for a positive remote-working culture. Organisation leaders may set the tone and core values, but every member of the team is accountable for their contribution. Transparency, trust and bonding activities such as ‘watercooler chat’ are vital for remote teams.

Work culture matters

It’s in employers’ interests to develop a positive work culture, as a negative atmosphere will affect the wellbeing of staff. A toxic culture can make jobs harder to do, reduce productivity, inhibit the effectiveness of teams and stifle innovation. Conflict is inevitable, but resolving it in a healthy way, rather than letting resentment fester, is important.

A healthy working culture, where an organisation embodies its mission, vision and values, creates an authentic sense of community and supports achieving goals. Company culture can be influenced by external events, such as a merger or acquisition, during which a valued culture can be overwhelmed by a competing, dominant culture with different values.

Apart from resentment and conflict, what are the signs of a toxic workplace? When employees are happy, there tends to be high morale, and unhappiness generally means low morale. More signs include:

• Employees being more concerned with hierarchies and titles than working well as a team
• Fear of speaking honestly
• High employee turnover
• Great work is unnoticed, while tiny errors are punished
• Staff are scared to show initiative
• Office cliques which are a source of stress and conflict, and
• Lack of positive feedback.

Another definition of a toxic work culture is one where any element of a job leads to serious disruption in employees’ lives whether from illness, severe anxiety, or sleeplessness. A toxic workplace culture can lead to staff feeling stressed, depressed and even having suicidal thoughts.

Remain professional

In the short term, coping with a toxic workplace culture could include making friends in the organisation who can be trusted, taking up stress-relieving activities in your leisure time and focusing on goals and increasing your skills. Be pleasant and professional with everyone — even toxic co-workers. Working hard, being supportive and setting appropriate boundaries may eventually gain you more respect.

If you want to make a complaint, your employer may have a grievance procedure, which you should follow. You can also approach a manager or HR and explain the problem. HR should have a protocol for resolving conflict but if they are unable to help, then that is another sign of a toxic work culture, as this indicates power resides with an inaccessible few.

Discreetly document meetings and phone calls, save emails, and note hostile events in a diary. Details regarding the who, when, where and how may be needed as evidence to corroborate a claim.

Another approach is to write a grievance letter, according to the Citizens Advice Bureau, for the relevant HR manager. CAB advice recommends explaining your situation in clear, non-emotive language which sets outs the facts and avoids discussing feelings.

However, if the culture continues to negatively affect your life outside work, then make an exit plan. Keep your CV up to date and search for opportunities — though not in the presence of toxic colleagues. Try to remember that this toxic culture exists independently of you, and that it’s not personal.

When looking for another position, avoid ending up in a similarly negative environment by noticing the atmosphere in the new organisation’s office, if you attend for an interview. Ask questions about their values, read reviews online, and if possible speak to some current employees.

Working in a toxic environment can be stressful, but change is always possible. If you can’t change the organisation, then you can change your reaction to it by remaining calm, focused and professional. Then you can leverage your skills and strengths to find alternative employment which is more rewarding and joyful.

Join the Stay Nimble community for free resources and tools to identify your talents and critical skill gaps. For premium members, we also offer exercises for building confidence, and cultivating the habits of tenacity and coping when pressure builds. Though you may think resilience is a quality we’re born with, it is actually a learned skill which can be developed for meeting the challenges of working in a negative environment.