As an employee, you spend a majority of your day at work ( irrespective of work from home or work from the office model). This is one of the major reasons why the company culture plays a crucial role for every employee because the ambiance leaves a great impact on the employee’s personal life and mental health.
Whether it is the lack of work-life balance, constant micromanagement of tasks, etc, toxic work culture can affect an employee in more ways than one.
So, before you start looking for a job switch, here are 5 signs of toxic work culture to identify and tips to tackle the situation in case you find yourself in a similar tough spot.
Signs of a toxic work culture
It is not always that the entire organization upholds toxic work culture, it could be that certain teams have poor managers which affect the work environment within the team.
Here are a few signs that can help you realize whether or not you are stuck in toxic work culture.
Going to work feels like a task
When you work in toxic work culture, getting up and heading to your workplace can feel like a herculean task. This is major because a poor work attitude can hinder the performance of other team members.
On the contrary, a healthy work environment makes you feel eager to look for a new day at work. A good work culture encourages an employee to push themselves to do their best, leading to better productivity.
Constant fear of failure
Mistakes are bound to happen, even to the most attentive employees. Although it is natural to feel upset over it, feeling petrified about owning up to a mistake is a different ball game altogether.
A good work culture allows you the space to take calculated risks and learn from your mistakes. You will not only be guided and given the chance to rectify the mistake, but also be allowed to continue taking charge of projects.
Restricted/ No communication
Communication plays a crucial role on the work front, the absence of which can lead to utter confusion and chaos. A toxic work culture seldom allows open discussion and tags any questions as ‘defensive’ or on similar lines.
Along with this, a toxic work culture follows very stringent hierarchical divisions with hardly any communication between the groups. This can cause a lack of idea exchange leading to the stagnancy of growth.
Dysfunction & chaos rules the day
Toxic work culture is a breeding ground for confusion and dysfunction due to their lack of communication, trust, power struggles, etc.
So, if you find yourself unclear about your role and responsibilities, then be sure to consider it as a sign of toxic work culture and walk south if you are just in your interview round.
Employee turnover rate is high
Another sign of toxic work culture to consider is the high turnover rate of the company. You can uncover this sign if you do thorough research not just about the company on websites like AmbitionBox, but also on job searching websites like Naukri.
If you notice repetitive job ads from the same company, you can pitch the question during your job interview and then take a call accordingly if you find the answer convincing.
How to deal with a toxic work culture
Now, every problem has a solution, sure you can always leave the organization if it gets too much for you to handle. But while you await a better job opportunity, here are a few things you can try to lessen the impact of toxic work culture.
Stay away from gossip
Gossips brew with a lot of negativity, whether at the workplace or in personal life. So, it’s best to avoid such gossip groups altogether to maintain positivity and focus on your work.
Avoid sharing your opinions discreetly with the gossip groups as you could also turn into a topic of discussion for them and it might adversely affect you.
Find people with a similar mindset
When you find like-minded people, the burden of a toxic work culture lessens, and working in that ambiance becomes bearable as they uplift your spirits and mood.
However, don’t go about oversharing your emotions and opinions with them as it can become too much for them.
Focus on matters you can control
Unless you are in a managerial position, there’s hardly anything you can do to ease your discomfort.
Although you can’t control the other person’s actions, you can control the way you react to them. The best way to do so is to understand how the said person reacts and you can tweak your response accordingly to maintain peace.
The best way to avoid a bad experience in toxic work culture is to research the company thoroughly. Go the extra mile and try to connect with former and/or current employees and ask about their experience working at the organization.
