What Are the Characteristics of a Toxic Workplace?

The term “toxic” has popped up more recently in conversations about workplace culture, often as a catch-all for any negative experience. However, what we might see as an easy-to-dismiss online buzzword reflects real problems.

There’s abundant evidence that employees’ identification of toxic workplace characteristics strongly correlates with dissatisfaction, poor employee retention, and difficulties attracting new talent.

If your organization has a history of these issues, it’s time to take a step back and evaluate exactly what’s going on behind the scenes before it permanently affects the long-term success of your workforce.

Disregard for Workload Management

In a toxic workplace, it’s not uncommon for some employees to be drowning in tasks because they’re seen as more dependable and capable, while others fly under the radar, left with little to do. This uneven distribution usually happens for two primary reasons: The manager has failed to assess team capacity or, worse, they rely entirely on a handful of high performers to carry the load. 

As a result, overburdened workers find themselves pushed to their limits, while their concerns about workload are ignored or used to shame them over being unable to handle the tasks. Over time, this cycle leads to employee burnout and their feeling that their ability to accomplish tasks is causing management to exploit them.

Could your company culture be driving employees into burnout?

• Are some of your team members expected to sacrifice their personal time to meet overwhelming deadlines?
• Does leadership fail to support employees, advising them to “figure the problem out” independently?
• Has there been an increase in absenteeism due to mental health concerns like exhaustion or anxiety?
• Does leadership fail to involve employees in workload decisions?

Office Gossip

Gossip might seem harmless fun, but it’s a clear sign of workplace dysfunction in which casual chatter escalates into a breeding ground for distrust. Employees start to second-guess their colleagues, and psychological safety crumbles as communication breaks down. Instead of a productive work environment, team members spend more time watching their backs, unsure of what’s being said in hushed tones and behind closed doors.

Far from being immune, leaders are often significant contributors to this toxic cycle. Supervisors average 7.4 gossip partners compared to 3.9 among other employees. When leaders stoop to the level of engaging in gossip, it signals that the behavior is acceptable and implies that certain people within the office have an advantage simply because they’ve become gossip buddies with the boss.

Does rampant gossip compromise your productive workplace culture?

• Is office gossip leading to hostile work environments, where employees seem anxious about who’s talking about them behind closed doors?
• Is your team divided into cliques?
• Does your company’s work culture operate with a “trickle-down” approach to communication, in which information seems to progress slowly from leadership to individuals?
• Do supervisors participate in spreading rumors about particular employees, even if just within conversations with other leaders?

Lack of Work-Life Balance

It’s no secret that a lack of work-life balance was one of the primary factors in the mass exodus of employees known as the “Great Resignation.” What for many begins as a few late nights quickly spirals into a relentless routine, where downtime is scarce to the point that employees feel drained before the day even begins.

Inevitably, such toxic work cultures lead to excessive stress, in which employee well-being is sacrificed for a job that clearly doesn’t take the time to make their team feel appreciated for the effort.

Is your toxic workplace demanding too much at the expense of your employees’ well-being?

• Are employees sacrificing their evenings and weekends for work?
• Is your workplace culture built on the expectation that people prioritize work before everything, erasing the line between personal and professional life?
• Do team members hesitate to take time off, fearing that prioritizing their well-being could be seen as a lack of commitment?
• Does your company embrace remote work for productivity but fail to respect healthy boundaries, such as sick days or vacation time?

Micromanagement

When you prioritize your leadership training over the experience and investment of every other team member, you’ll quickly drive employees out the door. Modern work cultures see people demanding autonomy. 

Opting for constant oversight leaves employee morale in the gutter, as they feel suffocated. They know that no matter how capable they are, their judgment will never be trusted, so they disengage to alleviate the mental stress of feeling infantilized, regardless of the actual talent they bring to the table.

Is micromanagement suffocating innovation and leading to low morale?

• Are employees constantly second-guessing their decisions because leadership is watching every move?
• Do direct reports feel they have no room to grow, as every task must be approved, scrutinized, and rechecked?
• Do employees feel discouraged from taking the initiative?
• Are team members afraid to raise concerns due to the threat of dismissal?
• Does your company stifle growth by demanding employees work according to the “traditional” way things are done?

Unclear Expectations

Unclear expectations create constant confusion, forcing employees to spend more time second-guessing themselves than actually getting work done. It’s frustrating when no one really knows what “good” looks like because people get stuck trying to figure out if they’re hitting the mark or missing it entirely. 

This kind of chaos kills productivity, leaving even the best employees feeling unmotivated and completely disconnected from your organization’s vision. It’s far better to define what you expect and then work alongside your team until they feel confident about the value of their contributions.

Could vague expectations be leading your team to frustration and burnout?

• Are your employees unable to describe what criteria they’re being evaluated on?
• Do job descriptions change suddenly without guidance or warning?
• Are employees held accountable for constantly moving targets?
• Have team members stopped voicing their concerns about correctly interpreting a particular instruction?

Bullying

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), 30 percent of Americans have suffered abusive conduct at work, with another 19 percent witnessing issues like threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, sabotage that stops people from getting their jobs done, and verbal abuse. And unless you’re participating in every conversation, meeting, and feedback conference, you might not even recognize it’s happening.

It’s also important to remember that the damage that bullying does goes beyond the target. It seeps into the culture, leaving around 66 percent of people who know it’s happening but feel powerless to stop it.

Is bullying an unspoken part of your workplace culture?

• Do employees report being subject to verbal abuse, with personal attacks disguised as “just feedback”?
• Is workplace bullying dismissed or minimized by leadership, creating a hostile environment where toxic behaviors go unchecked?
• Are certain team members excluded or undermined?
• Is there a pattern of intimidation?

High Employee Turnover Rates

When people constantly leave a company, it’s not because there’s suddenly a boom in the number of better-paying jobs. There’s usually something deeper going on that makes them feel that the risk of being unemployed is favorable over remaining in their current situation. 

High turnover creates a vicious cycle: People leave because they’re overworked, micromanaged, or subjected to regular negative behaviors. They’d much rather feel valued and supported– who wouldn’t?– and when they don’t, they leave to look for a company that offers that. Then, once those people quit, the ones who stay are stuck picking up the slack, leading to more burnout and, you guessed it, even more people leaving. 

Is your company bleeding talent?

• Are exit interviews filled with concerns about leadership?
• Has your company experienced multiple waves of employees leaving within a very short timeframe?
• Do job seekers seem to avoid your company, even if they get as far as the first interview?

Break the Cycle With a Fresh Perspective on Toxic Workplace Culture

Recognizing the signs of a toxic workplace is nearly impossible when you’re in the thick of it. It’s easy to overlook the behaviors you might be participating in simply because they’ve become part of the day-to-day routine. Unfortunately, toxic cultures don’t just fix themselves. To break the cycle, you need an outside perspective to reveal the blind spots holding your company back.

Engaging in an executive roundtable– with others going through the same leadership challenges as you– gives everyone the opportunity to learn from others through honest, unbiased feedback. Step out of your own bubble and into meaningful conversations with your peers with Catalyst Group ECR’s Executive Roundtable program.

The process starts with a third-party assessment to help us understand your strengths and weaknesses and inform us on how to best help you grow as both a peer and a leader. From there, you can expect:

• A 12-month coaching contract
• One-on-one time outside of the peer group for further coaching
• 10-12 peers meeting together
• A monthly meeting lasting between 4-5 hours
• Time devoted to socializing and relationship growth
• Checking in on the previous month’s concerns
• Individual time to share, discuss, and communicate with peers
• Time to step out of the spotlight and look at others’ successes and struggles
• Goal-setting and goal accountability

Contact Lori Moen to learn more about getting started or to discuss private coaching options.