• Toxic work environment and low morale

Initiatives (min. 4)
• Description
• Turnover issue(s) addressed

A hostile work environment is a never-failing way to boost the level of workplace

stress exponentially. Furthermore, a toxic workplace often considered the result of a

toxic employer or toxic employees who are motivated by personal gain (e.g., power,

money, fame or special status), usage of unethical, mean- spirited and sometimes

illegal means to manipulate and annoy those around them (Majlergaard,2019). Hence,

toxic cultures destroy self-esteem, motivation, goodwill, relationships, and sometimes

even lives (Ellis, 2020). Also, A toxic workplace is characterized as any work

environment that makes you feel uncomfortable, devalued, or underappreciated. Toxic

can run the gamut from bullying and bad management to sabotage and hostility. Often,

people accept their fate, low morale, feeling trapped, or lucky to have a job at all.

Low morale in the workplace is not necessarily a by-product of an uninspiring or

toxic office environment. Unexpectedly, dramatic change is often a factor for a downturn

in employee morale like, for example, the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, which has

been extremely disruptive for businesses, healthcare, and their workers. Not only are

they trying to navigate a new remote work situation while also juggling personal

demands, like caring for children, but it can also be even harder to stay engaged in an

upbeat about work (Half, 2020). It was said a positive attitude and high morale to

accomplish tasks is contagious. Unfortunately, same with low morale, if you observe

that the entire office exhibits low assurance then toxic workplace might be to blame, we

are talking about a situation where there seems to be a black cloud always hovering
over the office, consistent low energy, and joylessness at work. Thus, it can affect every

single employee like wildfire, which can result in reduced productivity, displeased

employees, and faster turnovers.

Therefore, the victims of toxic work culture are often the employees. While the

onus is on management to define and correct the culture where necessary, they stand a

higher chance of getting that done if they get feedback from and involve the employees.

People, after all, make the culture.

• Resources for development and implementation

• Implementation strategy and timeline
• Evaluation/review process (of initiative)
• Expected results

Identify problem behaviors

Every company is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for repairing a damaged

work culture. The first step is always to assess your business’s culture to identify your
specific challenges. Starting by taking a critical look around the organization. Before you
the better change, one must face uncomfortable truths head-on.
Some of the common warning signs a workplace is turning toxic are:

 gossiping and/or social cliques

 aggressive bullying behavior
 poor communication and unclear expectations
 dictatorial management techniques that don’t embrace employee feedback
 excessive absenteeism, illness or fatigue
 favoritism and imbalanced working conditions (discriminatory policies/wage gaps)
 workaholic behavior that sacrifices healthy work/life balance
 unrealistic workloads or deadlines
 little (or strained interaction) between employees or employees and
management, and
 unsafe or morally questionable working conditions.

Evaluate the underlying support network

A toxic culture cannot take root without a fertile environment, and its symptoms

cannot survive without supportive infrastructure. One must examine the company’s/
organization’s leadership and values. Also, what are the shared values and actions that

are helping to support those behaviors? Both the lower and upper management.

Examine the company’s values and culture: these are some problematic and set

the foundation for negative work culture.

 discriminatory beliefs
 treating employees as assets, not people
 information guarding (poor communication/unclear expectations)
 aggressive or hostile leadership styles
 a belief that employees are lazy, stupid and/or expendable
 resentment of Authority
 contrariness
 lack of accountability
 lack of appreciation for (or recognition of) good work

Once your assessment is done and you have a clear understanding of the illness, you

can now strategize your treatment plan.

Plan your repair strategy

Tackle the problem behaviors that have the biggest impact first, and smaller issues will

likely begin to right themselves and remember – change is hard. Do not try to fix

everything at once. Prioritize.

 Listen to your employees. Hear their grievances, validate their

experiences, and make the changes necessary to address their
issues.
Examples:
one-on-one conversations, a town hall meeting with HR, or pure blind
surveys. Listen, validate, and work together to find solutions.

 Assign realistic workloads and deadlines.  This means taking the

time to learn what your employees do. What are they responsible for,
and how long do those tasks take?

 Communicate transparently. Employees can’t do their jobs well

without understanding the context. Having the information to do one’s
job reduces confusion and frustration, making employees happier and
more efficient.
 Example:
Hold weekly meetings and send frequent memos or a company
newsletter. Share the information they need to know.

 Acknowledge work well done. And article done by Strack (2014)

stated that “appreciation for your work” as the most important factor in
job happiness. As a manager, find ways to show appreciation. Tell
employees what they are doing well – they’ll feel appreciated (and be
more likely to continue doing it).
Example:
Build a supportive environment by sharing employee successes and
make positive encouragement a group activity.

 Treat all employees by the same rules. Playing favorites breeds

resentment. Examine your company policies – do they unfairly benefit
one group over others? Be open to feedback; employees may see
problems that you don’t. Then even the playing field and
require all employees to follow the rules.

 Foster emotional intelligence. A good relationship with colleagues

and superiors among the top five elements leading to job satisfaction
thus increases the self morale of the employee (Strack, 2014).

Example:
 Banish bullying, disrespect, and dismissive behavior. Prioritize
emotional intelligence.
 Provide resources to help employees expand their emotional
intelligence.
 Improved emotional intelligence can cure several ills.

Implement your plan

John Kotter of Kotter International (1995) asserts that leaders are catalysts for

workplace change. If you are in charge, you have a powerful platform for motivating

change. Humans have a strong drive to be a part of the group. Normalize the behaviors

you seek by asking the social influencers/ group leaders in your company/organization

to promote those behaviors, too . Make it easy for your employees to implement positive

changes by removing barriers to success. This, again, will require that you listen to your

employees to know what those barriers are.

 Finally, help your employees see how the changes you are proposing will reward

them with a more positive workplace.

Reflect and adapt

 Give your new policies and practices time to take root. Change will not happen
overnight.

 After a few months, take stock. What has changed? What has not?

 Meet with the influencers you enlisted to help with your implementation.

 Reflect on how things have gone. Different perspectives can offer useful insight.

 Assess your progress, and adapt your efforts as needed. Keep the lines of
communication open.

 Cultural change is a big undertaking, but well worth the effort. Perseverance will
lead you to success.

References/

 Campbell, S. (15 August, 2017) How to Improve a Toxic Work Environment, Retrieved from

https://wheniwork.com/blog/how-to-identify-and-improve-a-toxic-work-environment

 Ellis, C. (25 January, 2020) The Enterprises Project: How to spot a toxic culture - and what to do about it. Retrieved
from

https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2020/1/toxic-culture-how-spot

 Half,R. (7 April , 2020) 3 Signs of Low Employee Morale and How to Counteract Them. Retieved from

https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/5-signs-of-low-employee-morale-in-the-workplace-and-how-to-
counteract-it

 HR Morning (2018) , 10 signs your workplace culture is toxic (and how to fix it). Retrieved from

https://www.hrmorning.com/news/10-signs-your-workplace-culture-is-toxic-and-how-to-fix-it/

 Kotter, J ( June 1995), Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/1995/05/leading-change-why-transformation-efforts-fail-2

 Majlergaard, F. MD (3 October ,2019) Are you in a toxic Work Culture? — Blow the whistle. Retrieved from

https://medium.com/@gugin/are-you-in-a-toxic-work-culture-blow-the-whistle-cb88b5920f4
 Stract, R.(6 October, 2014) Boston Consulting Group: Decoding Global Talent. Retrieved from

https://www.bcg.com/publications/2014/people-organization-human-resources-decoding-global-talent