TOXICITY AT WORKPLACE
It was supposed to be an exciting time in every young adult's life, moving from their comfort zone to start their career in different city. But this didn't go well as this Ikwo lady hoped they would.
" I had taken a leap of faith, but things were not easy" she said
Amid longer hour, an uncertain economy and our ever-shaky grip on healthy work and life balancing, work environment has gotten more challenging. For Juliana time are not just hard, they are toxic.
After one and a half year, Juliana finally resigned from her working place.
" Where I am now is a breath of fresh air, I am free and I am able to be myself. I wish this feeling for everyone, especially those that are in toxic work environment, so that they may be healed.
****
Toxic means "Poisonous" or "causing unpleasant feelings; harmful or malicious" in the work place. A toxic work environment is where employee find it difficult to work or progress in their careers due to the negative atmosphere created by co-worker, superior or boss. A toxic work place can be attributed to an abusive boss, unfriendly staff, poor workspace atmosphere or anything that causes dissatisfaction within the team. It is a place that causes harm to your health, happiness and wellbeing.
Kusy & Holloway (2009) define toxic behaviours as the behaviour pattern that undermine organizational productivity and work life effectiveness.
Employees who find themselves in a toxic work environment, tend to display low morale. Workplace toxicity is a powerful cause of illness to one's physical and mental health. No one feels good about dealing with a negative, abrasive, nagging, gossipy, mean-spirited or otherwise toxic person who is making your work life hell. Problematic work relationships are often as memorable as they are challenging and can have detrimental effects on your well-being.
Toxic work relationship occurs when you have a deep and ongoing feeling of fear dread. You are on employee eggshells at all time. That is, you are afraid to propose new ideals or making your intention known about a particular thing, just because of the negative reaction you might get. Constant criticism is what they get in replace of care. It is the act of giving some negative, hurtful feedback in the name of wanting to make something better or to help you improve.
Moreover, you rarely hear these three words. “Great job today”, “Thanks for this”, “Really great ideal”. As humans, we all need to feel respected, appreciated by those around us. In a toxic work relationship words and phrases to show appreciation are consciously withheld to make you feel less impactful.
Studies show that toxic relationship may negatively impact not only your mental health but also your physical health. They can result in the effect such as; increase in stress and anxiety, Lower productivity, feeling unsecured or bad about yourself, decrease job satisfaction, sleeping problem, poor mental health, physically and emotionally harmful. A short experience of toxic work environment can affect you negatively and if you don't do something or get help early, it can take longer time to recover in which you might have lost your self-esteem. Through this you sink deeper into muck water of mental torture without a chance of redemption.
How can you deal with toxic people in the workplace?
Set boundaries. You can set boundaries by not having relationship with toxic people. Prioritize your value and communicate your boundaries clearly. Trust me, you can't control or change the behaviour of others, you can only control how you react to them.
Create more emotional space. Emotional distance is the ability to disconnect with another person on an emotional level. By practicing this, you will experience less frustration and emotional drain. The other person will find it hard to move you and you will be less vulnerable.
Know your self-worth. Work on yourself and build yourself esteem. Don't let anyone trash you like a bin or molest you because you are subordinate. But note, try as much as possible not to be rude while communicating displeasure.
If the workplace is too toxic for you to survive, it is better you exit with a better plan. You owe yourself a lot and you deserve to be happy. And if peradventure you get to the top, don't be a repetition of the things you went through.
Peace M. Agboola.
Comments