10 Signs That Youre Working in a Toxic Environment CareerMetis.com

10 Signs That You’re Working in a Toxic Environmentâ€" CareerMetis.com Source â€" BurstWe spend most of our lives working. And your co-workers are very likely to be the people that you interact with the most in your life.But if you are not happy with your work environment, this displeasure will carry over to your personal life. Leading to low confidence and damaged personal relations.Toxic work environments are, as the name says, toxic. And having to work in this sort of environment can negatively impact your health. So it is best getting your CV preparedand jump ship.evalBut how can you tell if you are working in a toxic environment? Here are ten signs to look out for:1) You Hear The Words, “You’re Lucky to Have a Job”evalIf your boss or HR manager told you this in a one-to-one meeting, then it is a huge red flag. Telling someone that they’re lucky to have a job is a scare tactic that doesn’t motivate you to do your job to the best of your ability, but makes you want to hold on to your job out of sheer fear.This tactic can often make people f eel they’ve been bullied into staying in a marginalized role, and it is also a symptom that the organization thrives on controlling and manipulating staff.2) Too Many ManagersAt my former workplace, I used to work as a supervisor and I reported to my line manager. My line manager had a senior manager, who reported to our team’s department manager, who reported to the Managing Director. I had four levels of management above me, and whenever I put forward an idea, I had to go through the four tiers for approvals. It was incredibly frustrating and made me wonder what half of these managers actually did.Sometimes, I have noticed that middle-management won’t want to go ahead with a good idea Coming back to the last point about middle-management not going ahead with your good idea, the main reason is that they feel threatened by you. So they find ways to reject your idea, mainly by showing you the red tape, so you won’t get noticed by someone higher-up. The last thing middle-manag ement, that work in these toxic environments, want is to lose their jobs to someone below them.That said, office politics is in pretty much every organization, mainly in large organizations that have hundreds, even thousands of employees. Smaller organizations have little or no office politics, mainly because they don’t have many managers.4) Office Gossip Over Staff Well-BeingBesides management, office cliques can sometimes spread unwelcoming rumors about colleagues. This can lead to isolation and people feeling victimized. In some worse cases, office cliques can even transpire against management or company direction.Do keep a close eye on these people, and keep a respectful distance at all costs.5) Poor CommunicationevalevalLack of communication is a strong sign of toxic workplace. Some organizations leave people out of the loop regarding important company information. And in terms of feedback, you may receive little or no feedback at all, and when you do, it’s pretty harsh and negative. It’s not constructive or encouraging at all, more threatening.6) High TurnoverIf you notice everyone is generally miserable, and no one has a smile on their faces or shows any sign of enthusiasm, then there’s no passion to stay in the job. Companies that have low staff morale tend to have a high turnover.7) DisorganizedDo meetings feel like a complete waste of time where nothing gets accomplished? Or have you noticed that departments are disjointed and are not in line with each other? If you noticed that there is laziness, confusion, lack of focus and overall unwillingness to try something new because “that’s how it has always been done”, then it is a sign of poor leadership.8) Blame or Accusatory CultureThis is perhaps the worse sign. Blame culture shows there is a lack of trust between colleagues and management and shows that there is no push to find a co-operative and harmonious resolution.You find that you are always having to cover what you are doing just t o protect yourself. And even though you should cover yourself in general, when you are doing this in a blame culture, you will become extremely anxious.9) A Bad BossThis is an easy sign to spot. Bad bosses are always trying to control everything and are always on the lookout for small slips so they can point the finger at you. This type of behavior is demoralizing and lowers one’s self-esteem.You’ll notice your boss tends to wield his or her power around, just to remind everyone who is in charge. They’re not likely to help or give you credit for a decent job well done. They might even humiliate you in front of everyone as well.10) You Sense Something is WrongHalf the time, your gut instinct will tell you that there is something wrong. If you feel something is not what it seems, then you may be right. If you are asked to hide something or do a task that isn’t morally correct, then these are clear telltale signs that you are working in a toxic environment.Pay attention to any physical symptoms. Are you getting sleepless nights? Are you always on the edge? Your body is telling you something, so pay attention to it.evalThanks for reading! Have you worked in a toxic environment? Do you know of any other signs to look out for? Let us know in the comments section below.