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Four signs you can use to recognize a toxic work environment - and when it's best to quit

2023-03-06T16:06:25.366Z


If you are not happy at work, you should carefully examine the reasons for this. Sometimes it's not because of you, but because of the interaction of your colleagues.


If you are not happy at work, you should carefully examine the reasons for this.

Sometimes it's not because of you, but because of the interaction of your colleagues.

If you haven't been happy at work for a long time, you should listen to yourself.

Is it mainly because of you or your tasks that things are not going smoothly, or are your colleagues or even your boss making life unnecessarily difficult?

Of course, it's not always easy to remain subjective.

But according to career experts, there are typical signs that indicate that something is wrong in the team.

And that in turn has nothing to do with how long you have been in the company.

The job evaluation platform

kununu

explains in an article which signs can speak of a toxic working atmosphere.

Toxic work environment?

Four signs by which employees recognize it

1. Lack of communication and transparency in the job

A lack of communication or even a bad tone within the team is a possible sign that the work environment is toxic.

“Where there is a lack of respect, conflicts become more and more obvious.

This starts with insulting, condescending words and ends with yelling and cursing.

In short: Poison for the working atmosphere,” says the article on

kununu.com.

In addition, employees who constantly speak negatively of each other or strongly criticize the competencies of others would contribute significantly to a toxic environment without trust.

2. Narcissistic or unfair bosses

In many cases, employees are dissatisfied or quit because they don't get along with their manager or manager.

If the boss even has narcissistic traits and lives it out in the company or, for example, if an extreme control freak is in charge in the team, this can also poison the working atmosphere.

Such a type of person is described in the article as follows: “Whether pathological liar or control freak: psychopaths only act in their own interest.

Rules?

They don't know anything like that.

Fault?

They never have.

3,2,1 ... ticking time bomb in the executive chair!” Even if a boss has a few favorites on the team and instead constantly criticizes others or pays little attention to them, that is not a good sign.

3. Gossip or bullying by colleagues

From bullying among colleagues to gossip, there are sometimes bad developments within a team.

"Even one nasty employee can screw up the whole office climate," says the rating platform in the article.

According to a study by the

Warrington College of Business Administration,

employees who would suffer if their colleagues behaved rudely also often behaved more rudely themselves when they subsequently encountered people.

4. If the working environment even makes you ill

It should also be a warning signal for each individual if their own workload is perceived as permanently too high, or if the bad mood is particularly stressful for the employee.

Because a toxic working environment can also have a huge impact on health, the article says.

When resentment about the workplace turns into real fear, all the alarm bells should ring, the experts say.

+

Whether you feel comfortable in the job also depends largely on the working atmosphere.

© Antonio Guillem/agefotostock/Imago

Toxic work environment - don't quit the job right away

What can you do if you are no longer satisfied in the work environment?

"Finding a new job won't work overnight, and simply avoiding the difficult situation and throwing it in doesn't seem advisable either," says kununu.com, among other

things

.

And the causes, as described, are manifold.

You should therefore first try to actively tackle the problem.

Depending on the situation, it can help, for example, to form an alliance with other colleagues in the team.

In this way, you can “take care of each other and reduce the surface area for attack from the outside”.

According to the experts, however, one should not fall into the "gossip trap" oneself and thus contribute to the bad working atmosphere.

It can also help to document your achievements and to record what you have done for whom, so that potential envious people cannot dispute your work.

Another option, according to the experts, is to make work-related stress less of an issue by consciously taking care of yourself when you're at home (rather than in the toxic work environment),

Don't miss anything: You can find everything to do with careers in the regular careers newsletter from our partner Merkur.de.

Termination of the employment contract: the most important facts that everyone should know

Termination of the employment contract: the most important facts that everyone should know

Toxic work environment - termination is the last step

Can't you change anything about the situation at work?

Then you should – in the long term – also think about an exit.

“Who are you, what do you want and where do you want to go in life?”, kununu.com

recommends asking yourself such questions

among other things.

At the same time, you should update your application documents and “actively search for a new job”.

Keeping things moving would "take away the feeling of powerlessness" and help you see life positively.

"Outlook and visions of the future are essential for a positive feeling." No matter how toxic the working environment may be, the career experts also give the important advice: If you want to quit, you should show the employer "the necessary respect" and the "employment relationship in a fair and orderly manner”.

List of rubrics: © Antonio Guillem/agefotostock/Imago

Source: merkur

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