How we live our lives is often dictated by our jobs and careers. While some people seem to eat, sleep and breathe their work, others prefer to place more focus on themselves and their families.
But there are certainly a few bugbears that occur at work that almost all of us can agree on. In this article, we take a look at office toxicity and good practices we can put to use to help reduce this over time.
To get a better understanding, let’s first look at some statistics from a recent survey conducted by booklet printing specialist instantprint. A total of 1,000 UK office workers were asked about toxicity in the workplace, and below are some of the shocking statistics that emerged. We also recommend you contact a reliable private investigator to really figure out the root cause of the problem in your workplace.
- A toxic workplace environment had been experienced by 69.8% of respondents at some point in their careers
- Almost a quarter of people (22.5%) claimed to be indifferent about toxic behaviours, while 21.7% said they would continue to work in a toxic workplace
- 8% of women have worked for a toxic company compared with 66.2% of men
- All transgender respondents indicated they have experienced a toxic workplace at some point in their career
What are the Main Issues that Workers are Encountering?
According to the results of the survey, almost half agreed that the most toxic trait in any workplace was bullying (46%). Passive-aggressive communication was a close second, with 45.5% of people deeming that to be the worst.
Bullying and passive-aggressive communications were followed by office cliques (37.3%) and managers showing favouritism towards certain employees (35.5%).
With these recent findings in mind, we wanted to shine a light on ways in which we can combat toxicity in the workplace or stop it emerging in the first place.
Create Healthy Boundaries
We work to live; we shouldn’t live to work! No matter how high up we are in a company, or how much our careers mean to us, we should never sacrifice our mental health or overall wellbeing for a job. Be sure to create healthy boundaries to separate your work life from your personal life.
Once you log off for the evening, allow yourself to switch off from work mode and forget about any issues there. Self-care is imperative to a healthy work-life balance.
Look for Like-Minded Colleagues
When we spend five days a week in the office, who we choose to surround ourselves with has a huge impact on our lives.
Attempt to seek out like-minded people who share your sense of humour and have a similar mindset and interests to you. Not only will this bring more fulfilment to your working day, but it also gives you a reason to look forward to coming to work!
Grab a coffee together or go out for lunch to break up your day a little where possible.
Be Vocal
If something at work is genuinely upsetting you, vocalise it. Staying silent and bottling it up will only add to your stress over time, and if you don’t say anything it can’t be fixed.
One-to-ones with your line manager are a great opportunity to air anything that may be bothering you in a trusted and confidential environment.