I hear from many people that their workplace is toxic. When your job starts to be stressful and raises your level of anxiety, it’s time to take a hard look at the reasons behind your dissatisfaction. You can plot your next steps, depending on your analysis. But it’s important to take the emotion out of your thinking to see the problems clearly. I’ve written down a few of the most common scenarios I hear and recommendations on what should you do if you determine your workplace is toxic.
Can I Change My Workplace Culture?
Over time, our workplaces become our homes. Which is why it's often so discouraging when we have a toxic workplace. Looking for a new job can be a long, frustrating process. And so often, the first inclination is to stay and work through the problems. The challenge is figuring out if you have the power to affect a meaningful change and improve your organizational culture.
Unless you’re a senior executive, it’s unlikely there’s much you can do. If the problems are because of how senior management runs the company, the answer is simple. It’s time to leave. But sometimes the toxic workplace is more localized to you or your department. In this case, change may be possible.
Take Your Concerns to the HR
Take, for example, a toxic workplace created by a bad co-worker. While difficult to handle, this is one reason companies have HR departments. You should be able to take your concerns to HR and have a candid conversation about how to handle the situation. The key is making sure you have a conversation based on facts, not emotions. Plan ahead and document the issues you feel are causing personal conflict. Having issues documented is the easiest way to keep the conversation factual.
Sometimes, people are difficult to work with. Other times, they may be incompetent, dishonest, or disrespectful. Whatever the issue, if their behaviors have a detrimental effect on your job, bring it to the attention of HR.
If it’s something like a policy, process, or expectation, things get a little trickier. Others may feel the same but are afraid to speak up. Some companies have an open mindset of bringing problems to management's attention. But often, bringing attention to these kinds of issues can put a target on your back.
What you need is to decide on the issue causing the toxic environment. Can you reasonably believe that an action you take has a reasonable chance of affecting a change? Will it create enough positive change that you will no longer feel the environment is toxic? If you can’t answer that question with a yes or at the very least, a strong maybe, then it’s time to move on.
Should I Ride It Out?
There’s a temptation to talk ourselves into riding out bad situations; thinking that things may get better down the road. It’s better to accept that toxic workplaces rarely resolve themselves in reality. And if they do, it’s often too late. The damage has been done and we no longer like our job or the company.
If you hate the thought of leaving, my recommendation is to see if there’s another place in the company that might be a better fit. Sometimes transferring to a new department might be all that’s needed. A different team, a new boss, or even a new location might do wonders for your feeling of wellbeing.
When that’s not possible, it's time to consider leaving. Riding out a toxic environment will inevitably bring you down. It could lead to problems in your personal life as well. It’s not worth the potential damage it could cause, and moving on is often the only real solution. As they say, hope is not a strategy. Hoping things will change only invites more dissatisfaction.
Ok, So I Need To Leave. When?
There’s a temptation when you make a big life decision to want to act on it immediately. The question of when to leave stirs a lot of emotions. The thought of removing yourself from that environment quickly can be tempting. Often, in reality, that’s not the best course of action unless you’re financially ready to make the move. Do you have enough in savings so that you can take a few months off while looking for a new job? Have you started a job search? Have you gone to any interviews?
In the ideal world, your best bet is to actively start looking. Get some job interviews and a written job offer before you make a move to leave. It can be difficult to do this, while still working in a toxic environment, but, it makes the most financial sense. But I’d recommend starting that search immediately if you’ve decided you need to go. Waiting until the end of the quarter, until after the holidays or whatever artificial milestone you put in place is a procrastination technique. Start today; there’s no reason to wait.
I Might Get Fired! Should I Quit Instead?
Sometimes an environment is so toxic and has deteriorated so much. There's that fear of the possibility of getting fired. You may have some bad performance reviews or warnings from your manager. Sometimes it’s more subtle, and you can sense that you’ve lost the confidence of the people around you. They’re treating you in a different way, and you detect distance in your interactions. A sure sign that trouble is brewing is if you find yourself left out of important conversations. Or if you're not assigned projects with delivery dates in the future. These are signs that behind the scenes, the company might be preparing to let you go.
If you fear this might happen, is it better to preempt a firing and quit, or let yourself be fired? The answer is as much a personal choice as it is a rational one. Many people get fired, laid off, or downsized at some point in their careers. But it’s not the end of the world. Potential employers understand that this is a fact of life in the business world. Don’t look down upon yourself as a candidate. They are more concerned with patterns. If you’re fired many times or failed to keep a job for any reasonable length of time (2 years is a good benchmark), then that becomes a red flag.
Should I Really Quit?
Assuming you’ve had steady employment and have not developed a pattern of getting fired, then it becomes more of a financial decision. In most states, getting fired means you’re able to collect unemployment benefits. These are usually not available to people who quit. It may not be a replacement for your income. But it can help ease the financial stress while looking for your next job. The money might be worth the trade-off of letting yourself get fired if you don’t have any jobs lined up. But if you’re close to landing that new job, it’s a tough call. It takes a while to collect unemployment. If you reasonably expect to be working within a month, it’s probably not worth it.
The other thing to consider is if your company will offer you some kind of severance. The best indicator of this is how they’ve treated other employees. They usually treat everyone roughly the same. If a company generally pays out a severance, there's a chance you’ll get one too. Unless you’re fired for a cause (i.e. stealing, violating a policy, ethical issues, etc). Severance can often be much more lucrative than unemployment. It’s worth understanding what your company might do.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that toxic environments are difficult. They often have real and significant impacts on your personal life. If you have little hope of affecting change, it's time to move on. Move to another area of the company where you believe the problems won’t exist. If you fear getting fired, brace yourself but don’t fear it. There’s life after your time at this company. You’ll be so much happier if you find a way to separate yourself from this toxic place either by moving within the company or leaving for opportunities elsewhere.