Humans express themselves more via their actions than through words. Human behaviour, on the other hand, can be difficult to understand because it differs from person to person.
While you don’t need a psychology degree to understand human behaviour, you will need help understanding the conduct of your staff.
So, when do you consider their actions ‘toxic’?
We’ll go through what toxic workplace behaviour is and ten toxic workplace habits in this article. We’ll also offer some prevention advice for each sort of hazardous behaviour.
What is toxic behavior in workplace
Toxic workplace behaviour is any type of employee or management behaviour that has a detrimental impact on the company culture.
Workplace bullying, abuse, gossiping, incivility, and frequent absences are all examples.
If left uncontrolled, these practises can have negative consequences such as:
- Morale is low.
- Unproductivity
- Burnout in the workplace
- Insufficient work-life balance
- High employee turnover
As a result, it’s critical to keep an eye on employee behaviour on a frequent basis to avoid instances of toxic behavior that disrupt workplace peace.
Common toxic behavior in workplace
Here’s a look at ten of the most prevalent toxic behavior workplace habits and how to avoid them:
Aggressiveness
Both verbal and physical aggressiveness are considered aggressive. Bullying a coworker verbally or physically is both examples of workplace aggression. Typically, the aggressor is dealing with some personal troubles that prompt them to lash out at their coworkers.
These problems may include:
- Low self-esteem.
- Mental health issues.
- Attention deficit.
- Malice or jealousy against a coworker.
- Furthermore, aggression is divided into two categories:
Overt or active: When the attacker strikes their target in an overt or active manner.
Covert or passive: When the aggressor conceals their intentions and participates in activities to harm the target indirectly.
Regardless of the approach, the goal is the same: to hurt, disrupt, or make the target’s workplace unfriendly.
Gossiping
Conversations over the water cooler are entertaining.
They can ease workplace stress and develop employee bonds, whether it’s regular office gossip or informal chats inside cliques.
Some employees, however, may be the subject of office gossip and rumours. Gossip should never come at the expense of a coworker’s sentiments.
Office gossip can also waste a lot of time and reduce productivity.
Here are some more harmful workplace gossiping consequences:
- Employees are distrustful.
- Distracted workers.
- Unfounded rumours.
- All of this can lead to workplace tension, stress, and missed deadlines, all of which can lead to a toxic work environment.
Absteenism
Employee absenteeism is defined as an employee’s absence from work on a regular basis. This is common practice and does not include paid time off or permitted leaves.
Employees and employers are also affected by this toxic culture.
How?
Team members who are frequently absent lose their reputation as hardworking employees, and their compensation is reduced as a result of their absences. Furthermore, their absence adds to the workload of other employees, which can lead to increased workplace stress.
Employers, on the other hand, must endure increased labour expenditures to compensate for lost production as a result of absenteeism.
Narcissism
A narcissistic toxic worker is usually a high performer who does not believe in working in a team. Their primary goal is to look nice and be seen as the best, even if it means sacrificing the efforts of their teammates. A narcissist loves to work alone, continually demotivating their coworkers, and meddling in the efforts of others.
A narcissist’s common qualities include:
- A disproportionate sense of self-worth.
- Constantly requiring attention.
- Take advantage of others in order to achieve their own goals.
- Has no empathy.
Furthermore, narcissistic personnel have a history of taking credit for their coworkers’ efforts. They offer someone else’s ideas as their own in order to gain everyone’s approval.
Passiveness
Employees that are passive comply with all requests and do not provoke direct conflict.
This, however, can be detrimental in the long run because they will be disconnected and unable to think for themselves.
Such toxic personnel put out minimal effort and merely perform what is required of them, rather than acting on their own initiative.
If they’re in a meeting, for example, they’ll agree to all of the ideas given and never provide feedback or ask questions. This demonstrates that they are uninterested in learning.
Disorganization
Shoes can reveal a lot about a person’s personality. Similarly, a cluttered workstation or an unorganised calendar reveal a lot about an employee.
But how does a person’s organisational ability have a detrimental impact on the company culture? Delays result from disorganisation.
Employees with low organising skills frequently miss deadlines, which makes their supervisors wait. This period of waiting can stifle project progress and cause stress for all parties involved.
Procrastination
Everyone has put off work for the next day at some point. Procrastinators in the workplace do it all the time. They have a bad habit of deferring or outsourcing labour to others.
What do procrastinators do during their work hours?
Instead of concentrating on their work, they may be scrolling through their social media feed, watching Netflix, or buying online.
A habitual procrastinator, like an absentee employee, doesn’t contribute much to the project, which might lead to missed deadlines and frustration.
Sexual harassment
Unwelcome sexual behaviour, inappropriate sexual remarks, or solicitations for sexual favours constitute sexual harassment, which is a gender-neutral violation.
A team member, subordinate, supervisor, or manager could be both the harasser and the victim. In the working culture, there are two kinds of sexual harassment:
Sexual favours in exchange for professional rewards is known as quid pro quo.
Physical or verbal harassment that produces an unfavourable work environment for the victim is known as a hostile work environment.
Making excuses
Employees that engage in this harmful conduct are always seeking methods to avoid taking responsibility.
A toxic behavior employee with ready-made excuses may pull down your company’s production and morale, whether they’re sick or caught in traffic. They have talent, but when it comes to work and consistency, they are simply unreliable.
Unlike procrastinators, who do their jobs in the end, excuse creators aim to avoid them entirely. This could indicate a lack of engagement or motivation at work.
Pessimism
While having the Monday blues is understandable, some individuals are continually dissatisfied at work.
Such a toxic coworker constantly complains about everything, whether or not there is a valid cause for it – from the malfunctioning vending machine to the poor response time of their computer systems.
They are dissatisfied with everything and have a negative attitude toward everything, making the entire team unpleasant.
Conclusion
And, because of the COVID pandemic, everyone is working remotely, identifying the indications of a toxic workplace can be difficult. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of promoting a healthy work atmosphere. Use the suggestions above to avoid toxic behavior and create a welcoming workplace for your entire team!
