You despise your daily routine. You wake up on a Monday with a pounding sensation in your head, indicating that you're back to work. It's not the most pleasant feeling in the world, but you know you have to do it - drag your body to the workplace you detest and put on those phony grins for the people who make your life a living hell.
Is this something you've heard before? You're probably employed by a firm that is growing harmful for both your physical and mental well-being.
Here are three tell-tale signs to know that you are working in a toxic environment:
1. Leaders accept a fear-based and bullying atmosphere.
Incentives help individuals participate, while punishments impose discipline, according to the science of motivating people. Great organizations are skilled at balancing both, while poisonous companies misuse the latter, relying on fear to motivate their workers. Seniors intimidate their employees into passing on additional work, while leaders cram excessive deadlines into your schedule by reminding you that you owe them your jobs.
They believe that happy employees can't be too happy since they would slack off at work, just like dementors who take the last drop of happiness from you. Every step you take seems like you're treading water — asking questions makes you sound foolish, but not asking makes you appear as though you don't understand the work. Every blunder seems to be attributed to someone in the workplace, much like the endless rice that is freely distributed. You wonder whether signing that job contract was as good as accepting a death sentence because the office is so poisonous.
On the other hand, great organisations understand that although discipline is important, the incentive is what keeps people motivated and engaged over time. They congratulate, reward, and provide assistance.
2. The name of the game is unhealthy competitiveness.
It's fantastic to work at a firm where people push you to succeed every day. "I want to become like you too," you think to yourself when you're surrounded by co-workers who inspire you with better presentations, more innovative ideas, and speedier execution.
It changes, however, when every employee begins to regard their co-workers, even their bosses, as competitors. Employees will only look out for themselves when the pressure to succeed gets intense, and the opportunities for advancement are limited. That's when the firm starts to smell bad.
Toxic businesses place an undue emphasis on individual achievement at the detriment of the importance of cooperation and teamwork. They produce workers who think they must do whatever it takes to climb the corporate ladder, even if it means harming others.
On the other hand, great organisations ensure that everyone is working toward a unified purpose from the start. They instil in their athletes a mentality of racing together rather than individually and that there is no 'I' in teamwork. He takes keen interest in assisting students with online assignment help.
3. Procedures are governed by a bureaucracy that is sluggish and inconvenient.
It takes 28 managers to approve your project, you have to fill out three forms to get vacation off, and claiming reimbursements takes forever. Do they ring a bell? Toxic businesses irritate their workers by requiring unreasonable and extra procedures to do simple tasks. They implement regulations that have the best intentions but are overshadowed by the difficulties employees must suffer from paranoia and a lack of confidence.
Toxic businesses function in the same way that inept government agencies do, with staff that performs the bare minimum and systems that make consumers wait so long that they have no option but to abandon ship.
On the other hand, great businesses are consumed with queries such as, "How can I get more done?" How can I accomplish this at a lower cost? What can I do to make this go faster? They understand that when their staff doesn’t have to worry about the little, annoying pebbles that irritate them, they can focus on finishing the big, important boulders.
Consider your next moves.
Don't let that difficult working period for a poisonous organisation drag on any longer (hey, life is short, and there are so many ways to live a joyful life!).
In any instance, ask friends and co-workers to assist you in deciding whether or not to stay. It's easier said than done, but if you can't change the circumstance, the next best thing is to adjust your perspective: is the organisation truly that toxic? Is it just me, or am I the only one who feels this way?
Finally, even if you don't like the music, you may keep dancing while you wait for things to change or for a recruiter to ask you for a job interview — the DJ will change the tune at some time anyhow.
