Signs of a Toxic Work Environment - 10 Signs You're In a Toxic Work Culture

So, maybe you've just started a new job and something doesn't seem quite right; Those subtle

signs

keep showing up and it's getting harder and harder to ignore and you start to wonder if you're

work

ing in a

toxic

work

environment

, but don't. Worry, in this video I'm going to share with you common

signs

that you might be trapped in a

toxic

work

environment

. Hi everyone, I'm Brian from Life After Layoff and today I want to talk to you about some common signs that you might be working. in a toxic work environment Being trapped in a toxic work environment can be one of the most physically and emotionally draining situations you can find yourself in in your career because it will take the life out of you and not only affect you but it will affect people as well. that surround you, so when you're done with work, it will still follow you home and you could find yourself awake in the middle of the night dealing with anxiety-related issues, not getting a good night's sleep, and feeling scared.

Going on Monday morning can not only affect you mentally but can also affect you physically through the manifestation of health problems and a toxic work environment can also set you back years in your career and as you know, the trade-off is not worth it. shame because they make you feel like a failure at a job in which you have otherwise been very effective. You probably need to think about an exit strategy. Now I made another video about the signs that you should quit your job immediately. You might want to check it out. Find out if you think you're in that situation now as a corporate recruiter and HR professional with over 20 years of experience working at some of the largest and best-known companies in the world.

I've talked to plenty of candidates who are dealing with exactly that, so I want to go over some signs that the situation you're in might actually be a toxic work environment, and if that's the case, you need to start crafting your strategy. At the outset, but before we get too deep, if you're looking for more videos on how to advance your career directly from a human resources professional and corporate recruiter. Make sure you hit those subscribe and notification buttons properly, so let's look at some of the signs that you might be in a toxic work environment.

Number one sign. is high voluntary turnover high turnover rates are a sure sign that something is wrong in the workplace now, before jumping to conclusions, all companies will have some turnover, it is natural and honestly, it is healthy to have some turnover, But an abnormally high turnover rate at the company or specifically in the department you're considering tends to spell trouble and is definitely a sign you should pay close attention to. Now we're talking about voluntary turnover, not the kind where someone is fired or asked to leave, which we'll talk about. which in a minute you will see that people do not tend to leave large companies if they are at a point in their career where they can no longer achieve upward momentum, perhaps they will look for a different department or the company will work with them to develop a strategy to continue to grow your career—in fact, the best companies have a much lower turnover rate than the standard 22 percent across the board—but if you notice a revolving door the moment you set foot in their organization, you probably You should pay close attention, and in fact, it's probably a question you should ask during the interview process.

Why is the position open? I made a video with 10 questions you should ask your interviewer during the interview and you should make sure to check it before you go on site because we want to make sure we thoroughly vet our opportunities before joining a new organization, so it's important to pay a lot of attention. Pay attention to why people leave. Go to Glassdoor and look at their recent reviews. See if there is a common thread. Keep your ears open as you ask. Departments you might be exposed to can gain insights that will help you understand why people are turning over.

So the second sign is excessive involuntary rotation. This is the type of rotation that the company separates the employee. and that's a good way to say you were fired or laid off if you move to a new organization that has a reputation for firing people for small infractions or for not meeting very difficult to complete metrics, which will be a big red flag . and these types of companies tend to have instinctive reactions to market conditions. These companies typically think they can call back those same employees at any time once market conditions become more favorable to them.

What this shows is an inept management team or at worst one that simply doesn't care much about you either way it's not a type of organization you want to align yourself with you want to find companies that actually value you the same It happens with bosses who fire you on a whim maybe the employee didn't meet unreasonable standards or expectations and the boss gets out of hand anyway, it's an unstable work environment and it's definitely considered toxic, so let's take it one step further. there: constantly changing targets, moving targets are another sure sign of a toxic. work environment because you never really know what your goals are and if that goal keeps moving you will never reach it and it makes for frustrating work experiences because no one seems to be on the same page and if no one is on the same page, they Inevitably, we will work against each other. another to achieve their goals, so if there is a winner and a loser in your own department or in your own company, that is definitely not a situation where you can really succeed, and even when you think you can. might be reaching that elusive goal, the little carrot dangling in front of you keeps moving just out of reach so you keep working harder and harder on that hamster wheel, but the only place they should be running is right outside the door toward a better opportunity because having your compensation tied to that level of insecurity is no way to exist in your career.

Now let's talk about the next one. Negative reviews are generally a pretty good indicator of the type of work

culture

you may find yourself in and if you are a current employee, be sure to jump through the glass door or indeed and start looking for company reviews alone. to see what your coworkers think. You may find yourself nodding your head or shaking your head in now-larger disgust. Enterprises will have more reliable data sets than smaller companies, but now you want to look for common ground. Keep in mind that people tend to review when they are not very happy with the situation, so you should take this with a bit of a grain of salt.

It's a grain of salt, but look at what people say about the leadership team. Are they living by core values? Are they setting realistic expectations for their coworkers? Are the benefits competitive? Is the compensation competitive? Are they treating people with respect or are they firing them? At one point, what your work-life balance is like, there are a lot of things you can know from reviews and that's why good companies spend time focusing on exit reviews so they can look for data and trends. . Now again, we're looking for general themes. because particularly unscrupulous companies have been known to boost their stats by sending employees and incentivizing them to make fake reviews, so if you see a bunch of reviews grouped together that look suspicious about a company, you might want to use a grain of salt when considering them. reviews, but that in itself is a sign of a toxic workplace within the review, so pay attention to that too, okay, so let's talk about the next one, it's a win at all costs mentality.

Now, this mentality usually starts at the highest levels. of the organization and is certainly a toxic way to run your business. The win-at-all-costs mentality usually starts at the highest levels of the organization and rarely bodes well for a good work environment. Listen, there's nothing wrong with being competitive in the workplace, but you have to do it the right way if you're working for a company that takes shortcuts, does shady or illegal things, and treats its employees poorly just to get the bottom line. , you really need to think about your situation because these types of organizations tend to value the almighty dollar above everything else and where do you think that leaves you in the hierarchy?

So if your employer's goals are achieved at the expense of doing the right thing, be careful now, the next major sign of a toxic work environment is work life. balance or specifically the lack thereof companies, particularly bosses who pride themselves on putting in excessive hours to get a job done, are toxic because most jobs must be done satisfactorily within 40 hours and if you routinely have to work more than 60 hours a week to get a job done, then your company is either understaffed or overworked or a combination of both. Now there are some companies that pride themselves on the idea of ​​working too many hours as part of a normal

culture

, so if you find yourself working in one of those industries it's something to think about and if your boss is someone who values ​​time in the face of actual productive work, then it's also a sign of a toxic boss because a good boss won't call you in the evenings and on weekends and while you're at it.

You're on vacation asking yourself for status updates on things that can wait until Monday, so if you routinely have to work excessive hours as part of a normal work culture, then you're probably in a toxic environment now, it doesn't mean you won't have You may have to occasionally work long hours to get a job done or finish a project on time, but you shouldn't have to do it on a regular basis, and more and more people are demanding a work-life balance. part of a consideration for taking a new job and that's something you have to be picky about because you can't get those hours back or the lost memories of not being able to attend your kids' baseball game because you work too much, so if you find yourself in a situation where you are routinely expected to work 60+ hours a week, you really need to think about whether that is right for you, the next major sign of a toxic work culture is dishonesty.

Now this is probably the most obvious one on the list. If you work for a company that doesn't live by its core values, then you are certainly in a toxic work environment. Dishonesty can come in many different formats from leaders who do not practice what they preach, but it can also come in form. of dishonest coworkers, coworkers who make up situations to suit themselves are toxic people and if you find yourself in those types of environments you are not going to last long nor should you want to last long because if you are someone who takes pride in doing the right thing and you're surrounded by people who don't.

That's never a winning formula because these types of coworkers are willing to throw you under the bus to save their own story even if it's not the truth and things like this can derail a career in an instant, so be careful if If you're surrounded by dishonest people, the next major sign of a toxic work culture is coworkers going straight to your boss behind your back, inevitably you'll leave. face a conflict at some point in your career with a coworker or someone else you support and in most circumstances problems can be resolved through open lines of communication, but the coworker who feels like you are well ignoring it and going straight to your boss for every little problem is a sign of a toxic work environment because you are never going to build that necessary layer of trust because in the back of your mind you will always be wondering who is spying on you and who is gossiping and Additionally, if someone has a problem with your work, they should give you the opportunity to address it directly, but if you have a coworker who continually talks to your boss behind your back, that type of situation cannot be tolerated next time.

The main sign of a toxic work environment is gossip or excessive gossip. Now gossip has always existed as long as there is a water cooler in the building, but there is such a thing as excessive or toxic gossip. Now think about your own work situation, I guarantee it. you can identify who the main gossipers are in that organization and if you can't identify who the gossipers in the organization are, chances are it's actually you and now I'm joking, but if you align yourself with the gossipers in your organization, it's a sure sign to a very short career, so if you value your upward mobility in the company you're at, make sure you stay away from those gossip clicks because, inevitably,If you are labeled a gossiper, it will be very difficult to get rid of it. that stigma and people will associate you with that and that's not something you want to be known for, not to mention I can't tell you how many HR issues I had to resolve because gossip was the root cause so do yourself a favor .

Stay away from the water cooler talk and get back to work. The last major sign I want to share that you are in a toxic work environment is bad bosses. Now I made a video specifically about 10 Types of Bad Bosses You Might Be Working For. at some point in your career, so if you haven't seen that video, check it out for more details, but do you find yourself working for a bad boss? That will be one of the fastest ways to look for a new job because in most cases, people quit bosses, not jobs, because we all know that a great boss makes a big difference in the type of work culture you're in and a bad boss can negatively impact you faster, so if you find yourself dealing with any of those 10 Types of Bad Bosses I covered in that video.

You'll probably want to think about updating your resume, so there are plenty of signs that I just presented about signs that you are in a toxic work environment, you find yourself in one of these situations that you really have to reflect on, is it a systematic problem? or it's localized to one person or one boss, and if it's the latter, maybe you can move on to another department, but if it's a company-wide problem that you can't easily solve, then you have to think about what is best for you. career because at the end of the day we are all free agents and we all need to take care of ourselves first, but if you need more help in the job search process, that is something I specialize in.

I have a website called lifeafterlayoff.com it's packed with tips and tricks, all from an inside perspective. I suggest you go and check it out. I also have a couple of training courses where I share my deepest and most intimate knowledge of the recruiting process. One is called rocket fuel resume. is designed to teach you exactly how to write a resume, all from a recruiter's perspective, giving you the best chance of getting noticed, and once you land that first interview, be sure to check out the best job seeker boot camp that will take you to the end.

To the finish line in that course, we cover every step of the interview process and, ultimately, how to get the offer. Be sure to check it out if you are in a toxic work environment. Hang in there, but take proactive steps and make sure you're moving the ball forward in your career. I appreciate you watching and I'll see you next time.