How many of these sound familiar?
- YOU’RE TOLD TO FEEL “LUCKY YOU HAVE A JOB.”
If you’ve ever heard this statement, it’s a major red flag. This scare tactic is a means of threatening you into staying in a marginalized position and is symptomatic of an organization that thrives on bullying behavior and control.
- POOR COMMUNICATION.
Do you feel like you’re left out of the loop regarding important information? A pervasive lack of communication characterizes most toxic workplaces.
- POOR EMPLOYEE MORALE
If you walk into work and everyone around you is miserable a la “Office Space,” then you may be trapped in a hostile environment. In this type of office, there is no enthusiasm; no one coming in with smiles on their faces and no one ever says “I love working here.”
- THERE’S OFFICE DRAMA.
Toxic, cliquey co-workers make what should be friendly workplace competition seem hostile and dog-eat-dog. There’s always rumors or gossip floating around the office; misunderstanding, favoritism, and infighting are the norm.
- DYSFUNCTION REIGNS.
Do meetings feel like a waste of time, inevitably blowing up into disorganized chaos where nothing is accomplished? Are the company’s operations disjointed and failing? Toxic workplaces are full of confusion, arbitrary deadlines, lack of focus, and a general malaise. These are symptoms of a larger problem stemming from poor leadership and low morale.
- YOU HAVE A TOXIC BOSS/CEO
Toxic bosses are arrogant, autocratic, hierarchical, discriminatory and systematically demoralize employees. Your boss loves wielding his or her power and showing others that they’re in charge.
- THERE’S NO GROWTH
- YOU FEEL IN YOUR GUT SOMETHING IS OFF.
When your intuition says something is amiss, trust it.