Katie Bishop
Publish: 06 Dec 2021, 11:43 pm
Representational Image || Photo: Collected
A common conception is that toxic behaviours are often found
in large corporations where competition is fierce and accountability is low –
and yet some workers report that the same damaging culture can just as easily
be found in smaller, less hierarchical organisations. How can we identify which
workplaces are particularly prone to toxicity? And are workers stuck in noxious
workplaces if they want to work in certain industries – or is there potential
for change?
When workplaces turn toxic
Although there isn’t a well-defined and consistent
definition of what makes a workplace “toxic”, there are some key factors to
look out for.
“A toxic workplace is a context in which abusive behaviours
are almost normalised,” says Thomas Roulet, a professor of organisational
theory at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. “It’s both about
how people behave poorly, and how others are affected. A toxic workplace is
often also riddled with political behaviours – individuals trying to gain
influence without thinking about the consequences for their collaborators.”
It’s easy to imagine the most toxic environments are in
highly competitive and intensely corporate companies. But is this perception
really accurate?
“High-pressure contexts are more likely to lead to toxic
workplaces as stress and anxiety trickle down the hierarchy,” says Roulet. “But
large organisations are also more likely to have good systems in place to
address toxicity, for example, with opportunities to reach out to HR and
initiatives to act on bullying behaviours.”
So, for many smaller companies, or organisations within
industries typically considered kinder or more democratic, toxicity can still
be an everyday occurrence. Pearl, 20, found herself horrified by toxic
behaviours at a non-profit based in Europe when she moved there to take part in
an internship.
“I started to notice that the company hired people like me
who were from developing countries to work for them in the name of ‘making a
difference’,” she says. “Both myself and full-time staff from developing
countries were underpaid. If we mentioned this, we were told that we should be
grateful for the opportunity, rather than having our complaints taken
seriously. Being in an environment where I was expected to produce a high
standard of work that was often underappreciated was tough.”
Pearl was ultimately offered a permanent role, which she
declined. She says because the company were mission-led, they believed that
their work justified the exploitative nature of their contracts, and says that
she was often mistreated and told that she should be “glad” that she was
getting paid at all.
Janine Yancey, founder and CEO of Emtrain, an organisation that has recorded more than 20 million employee sentiment responses about behaviours in the workplace, says this kind of toxicity is not uncommon in workplaces where managers and workers are overstretched. In both the non-profit sector and within smaller organisations, where funds are less plentiful and companies are often under-resourced, damaging company cultures have ample space to thrive.
“When smaller companies are understaffed, work around
reducing toxic behaviour tends to fall to the bottom of the priority list,”
says Yancey. “There has to be investment in proactively creating a culture that
works for everyone.”
Yancey argues rather than a specific industry or type of
organisation breeding toxic behaviour, there are common indicators that make
any company more or less likely to become unhealthy. The resources a company
possesses to manage these toxic signals will ultimately determine outcomes.
“Organisations where leaders understand the implications of
their power, and where there are strong norms of behaviour, tend to be the
least toxic,” she says. “This has to be more than just a written policy – it’s
a cultural thing where people know to act a certain way, and everyone ascribes
to that.”
Due to the complex and multi-faceted definition of ‘toxic
workplaces’, it can be difficult to identify an environment where toxicity is
commonplace – which can make it tough for interviewing workers to know what
they’re stepping into. Yancey recommends digging deep into cultural norms
during the interview: “Ask about norms of behaviour, what the leadership is
like and whether they have coaching and training, and how the organisation sets
tones of communication… if the company representative has no good answers to
these questions, then that might not be the best sign.”
Hope for the future?
Although it’s still common for workplaces to get away with
toxic behaviours, several high-profile cases of noxious company culture have
surfaced in the past few years – which could potentially signal improved
workplace culture in the future, across many different types of organisations.
In November 2021, Activision Blizzard employees staged a
walkout after reports that chief executive Bobby Kotick had long been aware of
harassment allegations. The state of California recently sued the video game
company after employees complained of a “fratboy” culture, including unequal
pay, promoting men over women and widespread sexual harassment. Just a few months
earlier, the CEO of Scottish brewer and pub chain Brewdog was forced to respond
to an open letter accusing the beer company of “toxic attitudes” and a “culture
of fear”.
Yancey says it’s not a coincidence that both Brewdog and
Activision Blizzard have faced public challenges in recent months.
“The younger generation of our workforce have been raised to
speak truth to power and to speak out when they see a wrong that needs
addressing,” she says. “That generational characteristic, in combination with
the power of social media, which allows people to organise online and share
messages at scale, is a new framework of accountability that didn’t exist even
a few years ago. But it exists now, and it’ll get even stronger as boomers and
Gen Xers retire.”
With toxic workplaces beginning to be named and shamed, and
the Great Resignation now underway, employers are facing more pressure than
ever to make sure that their workplaces are inclusive and attractive to
potential and existing staff. Companies may need to prioritise stamping out
damaging cultures – or risk coming under fire.
Saurav ended up being one of many trying to invoke change from the inside, joining the Diversity and Inclusion committee in order to ensure more BAME voices were heard within the company and pushing for more internal communications around employee behaviour. Although he eventually left the company, his response is indicative of the way that disenfranchised employees are trying to influence the cultures that they find themselves in – and perhaps changing how bosses will approach toxicity in future.
This Article is written by Katie Bishop and Published in BBC online portal
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