5 methods to deal with toxic workplace culture

MAY 1 is set aside to highlight Workers’ Day. Employers might usually take the day to show appreciation to staff by providing a meal or even a gift. But what if there was a more permanent way to show employees that they are valued?

Addressing workplace toxicity is the answer to ensuring employees are valued and prioritised.

Toxic workplace culture leaves no room for employee growth and ultimately results in employees being demotivated and frustrated in the office.

Workplace culture plays a significant role in employee wellness. Employees who are exposed to prolonged workplace toxicity will experience more stress and anxiety.

A toxic workplace is one of the reasons why staff might feel uninspired and not willing to display creative rhythm in the office.

It could be the reason for your lack of exponential productivity.

Not every manager or team leader can get it right in terms of getting rid of a toxic workplace, as sometimes they are the reason for the toxicity. But steps can be taken to address the toxicity and to improve the workplace overall to prevent employee burnout.

Here are five incredible methods to utilise to deal with workplace toxicity:

1. In order to eradicate workplace toxicity, start by being crystal clear about the company’s policies and procedures. Staff have now rejoined the workforce since being exposed to work from home.

This will give employees an opportunity to understand what the company’s values are.

Reintroducing the policies and procedures can also be a great way to remind the staff members guilty of spreading workplace toxicity of the zero tolerance to behaviour that leads to the lack of productivity.

2. Employees need to be recognised publicly and reprimanded privately. Never use the floor to embarrass or humiliate a staff member.

Always recognise their efforts and applaud them in front of their peers and if they need to be addressed with regards to a mistake, then this must be done privately. Put goals and incentives in place so that employees can be motivated and pushed to extend beyond their skill sets.

Once you have some sort of incentive running and staff being recognised for their great work, the negativity and toxicity will be reduced as staff will now have another element to focus on.

3. It’s time to change the way you work. Improve the way staff work by implementing new means of technology to ease the workload.

Instead of staff members feeling frustrated and demotivated because of the lack of resources, try to relook at the processes being followed in the office and what would be a way to lighten the workload by embracing technology.

This can also mean having a faster internet connection or even upgrading to the latest printer. Whatever the change, it can have a significant impact on the way in which staff perform their duties.

4. Reshuffle the teams. One of the reasons why staff might be exposed to workplace toxicity could be the teams they are working in and possibly the manager. Initiating a reshuffle can play a great role in reducing exposure to team members around toxic work colleagues.

Some might argue that this might lead to the negativity now spreading to a different group of people. But what this would do is allow you to see who the negative elements are and try to look at ways to address their attitude.

5. Finally, listen to your staff. Communication in any relationship is essential. The same is said for workplace relationships.

Implement the open-door policy and get staff to engage with you on subject matters that they are concerned about. Hearing it first-hand from staff can allow you as management to act on a solution to the challenges that staff are experiencing.