Our personality is not static. It is dynamic and changes with the working experiences of the organization’s environment. A toxic working environment gives painful experiences and de-actualizes the employees’ behavior. It diminishes the self actualizing traits. Employees become frustrated and dissatisfied and in the process degenerate to become problematic and marginal performers, some becoming good at survival skills. Talented employees will take the initiative to look for greener pastures leaving a pool of mediocre and frustrated employees in the process.
According to Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Job dissatisfaction is an enemy of employee performance.
When employees react strongly to the hygiene factors, they become frustrated and would not do their best. They may have the competencies to do the job but they don’t want to do it well. Job dissatisfaction contributes significantly to a toxic environment at the workplace.
Factors that can contribute to a toxic environment
Opaque Management
- Unclear vision and mission, goals, and objectives;
- Badly defined systems, policies, regulations, rules;
- Roles are ambiguous;
- Principles of management are violated;
- Resources are idle and inefficiently used;
- Disruption of unity of command;
- People can get away cheating and not doing work .
Boss
- Boss who plays favoritism. This may even be in a broad form, e.g. having a preference for the line over the staff functions or vice versa;
- Boss does not give recognition for performance;
- Boss claims credit for subordinate’s achievements;
- Boss censors the good performance of the employee from the higher management;
- Boss breaks employee’s self-esteem;
- Boss fails to give clear instructions and directions;
- Boss withholds vital information from the employee, which is vital for the efficient performance of the job;
- Boss blames employee if things go wrong;
- Boss says one thing and does another – i.e. there is no congruence between what is said and what is done;
- Boss is not decisive – subsequently employees do not have a sense of direction;
- Boss plays “God” with the performance appraisal – they are subjective;
- Boss delegates responsibilities without giving the authority to act – curtailing the employee’s self-esteem.
Company Policies
- Win-lose policies;
- Centralization of power;
- Creating privileged groups in the organization;
- Closed-door policy;
- Poor fringe benefits;
- Too much red tape.
Working Conditions
- Hot and noisy working environment;
- Unsafe work conditions;
- Dirty work environment;
- Insufficient resources;
- Old technology;
- Old machinery.
Interpersonal Relationships
- Unhealthy politicking;
- Lack of cooperation among workers;
- Back-stabbing;
- Empire building;
- Rumor mongering;
- Alienation;
- Mistrust;
- Sabotage.
Pay
- Pay is below the market rate
A toxic organization is a breeding ground for problem employees. The impact of a toxic company can be envisaged in the vicious cycle below:
The toxic environment gives psychological pains to the employees. Psychological pains de-actualize their personality changing them for the worse probably, into problematic ones. Problematic employees are insensible and irresponsible. The smarter ones will cheat and sabotage the organization at the slightest opportunity. Their negative manipulative traits are developed in the process, giving them the skills to play a survival game. The marginal employees will become worse and as a result, shirkers, deadwoods and laggards are created. Dissatisfied and frustrated with the organization may cause employees to adopt a very negative attitude towards work. Productivity and quality will plunge. Cost of operation escalates. Complaints are badly entertained. Customers are frustrated with its service and products. Consequently the organization loses her customers to the competitors. Eventually, the organization suffers from recurring losses. Downsizing takes place and in the process employees are retrenched. The better employees would look for greener pastures while the problematic ones behave like chameleons to survive within their rights embodied in the labor laws. Cash flow problems surface and the organization is forced to cut down further costs adversely affecting the remuneration package and fringe benefits. The war between the union and the management begins causing greater damage to the organization and eventually will kill it. For the survival and growth of the organization, it is imperative for the management to continually make a concerted effort to remove the factors that contribute to the toxicities of the working environment to improve her health.