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Sticking It Out In a Toxic Workplace Culture

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Thu Jul 25 2019

Sticking It Out In a Toxic Workplace Culture

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If you have job-hopped as much as some Millennials, it’s likely you’ve experienced all kinds of work cultures: caring cultures, hierarchical cultures, collaborative cultures, authoritative cultures, and results-based cultures. Employees thrive in cultures that best fit their work and personality styles. Some of this fit can be attributed to generational shifts and some of it is personal. One culture that does no good for anyone involved, though, is a toxic workplace.

Let me tell you a story.

Every day Lakshmi would go to work, she would end up in tears. Her manager spoke to her in a demoralizing and demeaning tone. Her coworkers were pleasant enough, but no one dared to stand up to the manager for fear of losing their jobs. Lakshmi was good at hers, but her manager undervalued her work. Busy through lunch most days, if Lakshmi stopped to eat, her deadlines would pile up again and she would have to work late. She cried at work more often than she ate lunch.

While Lakshmi’s case is extreme (and true), it exemplifies one of the worst toxic cultures I’ve heard of. But toxic cultures are not as unique as you might think. I’ve worked in numerous places as a part-nomad and part military spouse; of those places, I experienced at least four cultures that were extremely toxic. As this ATD blog post from Ryann Ellis states, here are some warning signs you are in a toxic culture:

  • The boss is a known bully.

  • Coworkers frequently gang up on each other.

  • Bosses or coworkers frequently take credit for others’ work.

  • Employees are insubordinate.

  • Office gossip and false accusations run rampant.

  • The boss is ineffective or absent.

  • Everyone operates under different rules.

  • Supervisors don’t communicate expectations well or at all.

A toxic culture can affect your overall work quality, productivity, and even your personal life and health. This type of environment increases your stress level, which subsequently increases the cortisol in your body. Consistently high levels of this hormone increase your blood pressure and can cause depression, anxiety, heart disease, headaches, insomnia, digestive issues, and weight gain.

If you’re in a toxic culture, you should run—not walk—away. If you’re bound by financial or other limitations, begin your exit by starting a side hustle, working on your personal branding, and finding joy and relaxation in other activities.

Review this infographic from resume.io to find out if you’re in a toxic workplace culture and what you can do to sustain yourself from the stress of that toxicity until a better opportunity arrives.

How to deal with a toxic work environment, courtesy of Resume.io

About the Author
Lisa Spinelli

Lisa Spinelli is a dynamic leadership and career development coach, trainer, and workshop facilitator with a passion for helping individuals navigate career transitions and leadership growth. As the founder of Blue Pinecone Consulting, Lisa specializes in coaching and training rising leaders and empowering them to embrace authenticity, adapt to change, and excel in their professional journeys.

Lisa is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and has delivered one-on-one leadership and career transition coaching to leaders in public service, employees at Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofit employees. Her extensive experience includes developing and facilitating workshops for organizations such as the USDA, Library of Congress, U.S. Air Force, and Bureau of Indian Affairs, from small groups of 10 to larger groups of more than 150.

Before founding her consulting firm, Lisa served as a director at an e-learning platform and has also worked at ATD as a senior content manager, where she created and managed workshops like ATD’s Troops to Trainers at Ft. Belvoir. She also created and hosted the popular The Accidental Trainer podcast and authored multiple career development resources, including the book Teachers to Trainers and the workbook Take Charge of Your Career.

Lisa’s unique perspective is shaped by her family’s strong ties to public service, with her father serving in the NYPD, U.S. Army, and CIA, and her husband being a disabled USAF veteran as well as having grown up in Rome, Italy. Her connection to the greater good and more well-being lifestyle fuels her passion for coaching and helping others.

Lisa holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia.