Post 2: Preventing A Toxic Workplace

 Preventing a Toxic Work Environment

           This 2023 Success article outlines 3 main ways managers can stop their workplace from becoming toxic. First it's explained that toxic work environments lower engagement and employee performance. Gloria writes that when keeping an eye on your employee's behaviour, awareness is the most important aspect. Keeping a close eye, and creating space for open communication will drastically improve chances of spotting toxicity and preventing it from growing. 

            The first method touched on is personal connection to the team. As a leader, getting to know your team on a more personal level helps to understand how they are feeling. By actively listening to their concerns and interests, You'll be able to notice when problems arise before they have detrimental effects.

            Secondly, take cultural input from the team. By making use of staff's internal creativity a leader can confidently make the right changes or improvements to the way the workplace operates. This also builds trust, as workers will develop a more positive attitude towards coworkers and managers if their needs are consistently being met. 

            Finally, Gloria Highlights the importance of expecting more out of leaders. Setting and maintaining high standards of management for oneself and those around them will ultimately be the only way to keep a positive leadership environment. Since the health of the management is likely going to trickle down and represent the health of employee's environment, fixing any problems at the source before they spread to others is a good way to keep conflict under control. 

            In conclusion, there is a strong emphasis on accountability for everyone. Everyone in a workplace should have the right to feel safe and included, this also means there is a mutual responsibility on leaders and staff to incorporate healthy habits. If all team members make equal effort to see their environment improve, They will feel more confident to call out bad behaviour as they see it happening. 

How This Relates To Me

            I'm currently fortunate enough to work in an environment I find to be healthy majority of the time. In the past i have experienced what it's like to not feel like my needs are being met, but the place I currently work demonstrates lots of the points above. My manager tends to put herself on an even level as the staff, she takes our input and assists us with tasks even when they aren't her full responsibility. The fact that she goes above and beyond for us is the reason I believe our workplace has a high retention rate, with many staff being employed there for 5+ years. (I consider this high for the restaurant industry.) 


St. Martin-Lowry, G. (2023, May 23). How to Recognize and Prevent Toxic Work Environments.                     SUCCESS. Retrieved from https://www.success.com/how-to-recognize-and-prevent-toxic-work-            environments/

Comments

  1. Brianna TavaresOctober 13, 2023 at 6:20 PM

    I found this summary very insightful as I too have worked in toxic and positive work environments. In my first job the manager talked down to the staff she oversaw. This left employees feeling uneasy and like they were walking on eggshells when she was around. Due to the feeling of unease and tension, employees were not as productive as they could be when this manager was working. In my other job with a more positive environment my manager spoke to her employees as equals resulting in everyone feeling more comfortable and safe at work. This summary clearly highlights the correlation between having a positive relationship between managers and staff resulting in a healthy work environment.

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