Identifying (and Leaving) a Toxic Workplace

In any given day, you spend nearly as much time at work as you do at home. Best case scenario it’s 7 or 8 hours, but for many it may be 10-12 hours or even more.

There are many benefits to working hard, but only if that work is done in a nurturing environment. Your workplace should not add stress on top of any that you might already be feeling from the work itself!

Is Your Workplace Toxic?

Some of the actions you pass off as normal at your office may in fact be warning signs that the company is not a healthy place to be. Here are some of the things to watch out for:

  • Complaining co-workers: Do people gather around the water cooler to commiserate about how unfair something is or how much they hate their boss? There’s bound to be a little complaining everywhere, but an excessive amount can be a clue that there is actually a problem.
  • Lack of transparency: Beyond griping about a job, if office gossip runs rampant at your workplace, it signals that managers or other leaders are not being open about what’s going on.
  • Sick time: How often do you and your co-workers call in sick? An office with a lot of sick time indicates that people are using it as a way to get out of coming into work, or that the job itself is so stressful that it’s literally making them sick. Neither is a good scenario.

Making a Change for the Better

Identifying a toxic workplace is the first step on the path toward making a change. Once you’ve made this realization, the best thing you can do is try to remain as positive as possible while exploring new opportunities.

The last thing you want to do is burn a bunch of bridges on your way out the door. Rather than getting caught up in the drama, focus on ways that you can leverage your network for a new opportunity — whether that’s moving to a new job or starting your own business.

When you’re interviewing for a new job, remember that the interview process is a two-way street. You should be assessing the company’s culture just as much as they are evaluating you!