Surviving a toxic work environment

When you pray for a job, pray for a job with a good working environment. There is nothing more depressing than finally getting a job only to find out that surviving a toxic work environment is what you have to do every single day just to put bread on the table.

We all have “Monday Blues”, a bad week, a terrible month or a quarter that’s just straight from hell. This is a common occurrence in almost any career and it is easy to recover from a dreadful day or a bad week. You may even learn valuable lessons that will enhance your performance after a terrible month or quarter. Again, this is expected and it is all part of your personal development. The difference, is that a toxic work environment has all of these challenges on repeat every single day without a break for months or even years.

The workplace becomes an infestation of unrest, competition, low morale, constant stressors, negativity, deflection and even bullying. This either results in a high turnover (resignation or dismissals) or physical/mental illness from the employees. The sinister beauty of it, is that the employer holds no accountability whatsoever. This, makes surviving a toxic work environment one of the most difficult tasks to achieve.

Signs of a toxic work environment

Like any other toxic relationship, you may have noticed a few things amiss here and there but didn’t mention anything in hopes that things will change for the better. Besides, you don’t want to label yourself as a bad apple or a problem child now do you? You were so excited and eagerly waiting on your first paycheck to buy something to reward yourself, nothing else mattered, especially those red flags.

Months later you notice the situation getting worse and greener pastures show the snakes that crawl beneath.

1. You find yourself compromising your personal life for the sake of your job.
2. Work overtime with no/little pay.
3. You are on EARNED vacation but still need to constantly check your emails in case there is something that requires your urgent attention.
4. Days when you are off sick or have to step out for an hour to pick your child up from school or take them to the doctor you feel guilty and made to feel as if your job is on the line.
5. Stress caused by something that is beyond your control as an employee with no tangible support from management.
6. Suddenly you notice that your opinion or suggestions subjects you to more ridicule and scrutiny.
7. Poor leadership, your manager works against you.
8. There is lack of communication or decisive instructions. You must adapt and accept the way things are today.
9. You are a victim of verbal abuse and discrimination from customers regularly. Your value as an employee is of no regard because the customer is always right.
10. You are sexually harassed at work and nobody seems to take this into consideration. “Job well-done. Thank you for being so professional and for reporting this matter to us.“‘
11. Unrealistic competition set from flawed data collection designed to work against growth and development.

Burnout

A toxic workplace environment will leave you with a burnout. Surviving a toxic work environment in that state is nearly impossible.

A burnout is more than a hype-word you may have heard somewhere at the workplace. Workplace burnout is recognized by the World Health Organization as a legitimate medical diagnosis.

Burnout can be a definite sign of a toxic work environment—or at least, a work environment that isn’t for you.

Here are three types of burnout. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Maybe it’s time to reconsider employment.

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Frenetic Burnout

Frenetic burnout is when employees put a serious amount of energy into their work in the hopes of a rewarding output however, after a sustained period of dedicated work, the frenetic worker does not find positive outcomes. This results in a steady increase of exhaustion coupled with minor to major illnesses that was never there before. The “frenetic” burnout is in line with the number of hours per week that the employee dedicates to work.

Underchallenged Burnout

This type of burnout occurs when an employee feels underchallenged and bored at work. Being unable to find any satisfaction in a job, the employees find themselves in a low mood and low moral. Demotivation and dissatisfaction sets in and contaminates other employees. The “underchallenged” burnout is related with the type of occupation.

Worn-out Burnout

An employee who feels exhaustion about their job after experiencing consistent work stress over a long period of time has Worn-out Burnout. Having negligible reward experiences, the worn-out employee has no inspiration for the job at hand. The employee is disillusioned often caused by failure from management or leadership to attend to the basic needs of the employee. The “worn-out” burnout is in line with the cumulative effect over time of the characteristics of an organization.

Solution

There are two ways to reduce burnout:

The first is to take a vacation.

A few weeks after returning to work however, feelings of burnout often return. This means that a vacation is a temporary solution to a brewing issue.

The second way to reduce burnout is to have supervisors offer emotional support to workers through positive feedback and discussions about the positive aspects of the job. This, however, may also be a temporary fix that needs consistency in order for it to be effective.

So what is permanent quick fix to this?

Honestly, there isn’t one, because until the entire subliminal organizational culture shifts from the point of deflecting problems, to addressing them directly, surviving a toxic work environment is a fleeting illusion that will forever be perused but never attained. Everyone who is in a toxic work environment is either stuck with accepting the current situation regardless of how dreadful it is because they do not have another plan to pay the bills, or stuck with a choice to risk it all and leave because they know that they deserve better and are willing to endure any financial strain instead of being a part of an organization that exploits them and regards them as expendable all in the name of being grateful for being employed.

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Fear

According to Stats SA, the official unemployment rate increased by 1.0 percentage point to 30.1% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

The number of employed persons decreased by 38,000 to 16.4 million and the number of unemployed persons increased by 344,000 to 7.1 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Such figures should bring shivers to your spine. There is no greater fear as close to death as losing your job and having nothing else to do for money.

Being poor, poverty-stricken or borderline broke is not a life for anyone to live. We should never wish it upon anyone. If you are struggling to find a job or start your own business or know someone who is, check out The Perfect Cocktail blog series: https://yfapublications.co.za/the-perfect-cocktail-2-register-your-business-for-free-well-almost/.

Nevertheless, the fear of being unemployed is one of the greatest reasons why we decide to stay working in toxic environments. Majority of the youth of South Africa know how it’s like to not have a job. Something is better than nothing at all… Right?

Surviving a toxic work environment caused by fellow employees

Cliques, Exclusion + Gossipy Behavior

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Remember back in high school? It was your first day and you did not know a single person? You had no idea where the classes were, you were all alone and trying to figure your way around. You would notice a few kids getting along, maybe they came from the same primary or something. Suddenly a few weeks later, you start noticing that there are giggles every time that you walk past a particular group of people or there are sneers and nasty comments. This goes on for some time and even throughout high school. Back as kids, this had a very sinking and sad feeling and when the same thing is done by grown ass adults in the workplace, it can still be pretty deflating.

We all know what a clique looks like. It’s the group of people—whether or at work or at school—that sticks together, grabs each other coffee, laughs at inside jokes and excludes anyone outside their circle. It can feel extremely alienating to exist on the outside of an active clique. Cliques are counterproductive in the workplace. Having workplace friends and acquaintances is good, any behavior that can be described as “cliquish” is best to be avoided.

Here are a few warning signs you’ve got a few Susan’s, Heather’s and Siya’s in your office:

1. Constant feeling of exclusion from a group of people.
2. A particular group that lunches, grabs coffee, and organizes happy hours together.
3. When projects are offered to a particular group of people regardless of talent or experience.
4. Large parts of the workday spent whispering or chatting on messaging platforms.
5. General outward disinterest from the group in anyone else—unless it involves gossip or “drama”.
6. Gossip and rumors.

Solution

The best way to disassociate yourself and be at peace when you notice such behavior is to not be involved at all by staying in your lane. Just do your job to the best of your ability and return to your productive life after your shift ends. Reporting these matters, unless it relates to harassment, is a waste of time because these cliques also appear in managerial level.

Employees neglecting work

We slip up now and again. We forget to file something or sign an important document or submit an application, an invoice or send out an email. This is common in any profession. We are human and we make mistakes. The situation gets toxic when these actions become so habitual that it hinders your ability to do your job and to perform your duties to the best of your ability.

You would need to report this behavior immediately to your manager so that it is attended to. It takes is a little communication to clarify misdemeanors and rectify errors. Your colleague may be going through a personal or health related issue that prevents them from being effective and efficient. This goes for you too. Do your colleagues a favor and communicate with them because whilst you are on a mission to surviving a toxic work environment, you can not be creating it in the process.

Head above water

Staying in a toxic work environment all boils down to personal choice because some risks are worth taking meanwhile others aren’t. Everything is purely based on circumstance and the position that a person is in at that particular moment. It is no secret that companies, certain organizations and institutions exploit their workers for their own benefits and profit margins.

Some refuse the involvement of trade unions amongst employees because it goes against the code of conduct and ethics to keep business afloat. Sometimes it is impossible being a whistle-blower to bad business practices because a whiff of such news will cost a person their entire career. We see such things happening before our very eyes with our friends and families and all we can say is “at least you have something” as if that something is good enough for people to rather suffer in silence than to lose the little that they have.

Have you/are you a victim of working in a toxic environment? Share your story on the comment section below. You may also provide ideas on how to cope in such work situations.