A “toxic workplace” is a colloquial term used to describe a place of work, usually an office environment, that is marked by significant personal conflicts between those who work there. Such infighting can often harm

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...

. Toxic workplaces are often considered the result of toxic employers and/or toxic employees who are motivated by personal gain (

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

, fame or special

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status confere ...

), use unethical means to psychologically manipulate and annoy those around them; and whose motives are to maintain or increase power, money or special status or divert attention away from their performance shortfalls and misdeeds. Toxic workers do not recognize a duty to the organization for which they work or their co-workers in terms of

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

professional conduct Professional conduct is the field of regulation of members of professional bodies, either acting under statutory or contractual powers. Historically, professional conduct was wholly undertaken by the private professional bodies, the sole legal auth ...

toward others. Toxic workers define relationships with co-workers, not by

organizational structure An organizational structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination, and supervision are directed toward the achievement of organizational aims. Organizational structure affects organizational action and provides the founda ...

but by co-workers they favour and those they do not like or trust. Quite similarly, Harder et al. (2014) define a toxic work environment as an environment that negatively impacts the viability of an organization. They specify: "It is reasonable to conclude that an organization can be considered toxic if it is ineffective as well as destructive to its employees". In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the issue of

workplace bullying Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm. It can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, and physical abuse, as well as humiliation. ...

is getting increasing attention from state governments; twenty-six states have introduced a version of the Healthy Workplace Bill which provides a definition of this conduct and support for employers to address the behavior through discipline. Studies by National Occupational Safety and Health found toxic workplace environments a leading cause of workplace violence such as "violent acts, including physical assaults and threats of assault, directed toward persons at work or on duty." Studies on this issue include verbal violence (threats, verbal abuse, hostility, harassment, and the like) can cause significant psychological trauma and stress, even if no physical injury takes place. Verbal assaults and hostility can also escalate to physical violence.

Corporate and organizational results

This phenomenon harms both the company and the other employees, including those who are not direct targets. Co-workers are distracted by drama,

gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

and by choosing sides in the ongoing animosity. This can translate into lost productivity. While employees are distracted by this activity, they cannot devote time and attention to the achievement of business goals. Positively motivated and ethical employees may try to speak up to a toxic employee but this can make them a target (see

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

). Managers of toxic employees can feel intimidated by a toxic employee and try to appease the employee in an effort to avoid confrontation. Over time, positively motivated employees drift away from the workplace and may begin to view management as inept and ineffective. This can result in poor job performance as they begin to feel less valued, therefore less loyal to the company. Fellow employees may begin to experience physical symptoms from the

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

and worry over whether they or someone they care about in the work place may be targeted. This can even develop into a clinical depression requiring treatment.

Prevention and resolution

Interventions to address this negative behavior in the workplace should be undertaken carefully. While fixing the problem is something that is very important and will likely be very beneficial, it must be done in a way that doesn’t cause any extra trouble. When toxic workers leave the workplace, it can improve the culture overall because the remaining staff becomes more engaged and productive. The process of removing the toxic employee will likely allow the other employees to become more willing to open up and communicate with each other as they learn to help support one another again. This is something that is really important for the overall culture of the company. Companies who articulate a strong set of cultural values regarding communication, respect and professionalism as well as a

performance evaluation A performance appraisal, also referred to as a performance review, performance evaluation,Muchinsky, P. M. (2012). ''Psychology Applied to Work'' (10th ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press. (career) development discussion, or employee appr ...

system that ranks both technical performance and the professional treatment of fellow employees are felt by HR professionals to be more vulnerable.SHARP Report, April 2011, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, "Workplace Bullying and Disruptive Behaviour" accessed at: http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/research/files/bullying.pdf

Corporate and organizational results

Prevention and resolution

See also

References

Further reading