ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > April > 28
Friday, April 28, 2006
Toxic Bosses, Toxic Workplaces
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TV sitcoms like The Office with Steve Carell reveal some of the negativity and toxicity rampant in today’s workplace.
All organizations are vulnerable to the dysfunctional behaviors that can make a workplace a toxic and unhealthy place for employees.
Job stress in the toxic workplace will create physiologic responses resulting in illness and destroy productivity.
This loss in productivity and employee loyalty is often blamed on the quality of employees available, not the company itself.
Blaming the worker is a cardinal sign of a dysfunctional organization.
As Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University is quoted in Fast Company. “The problem isn’t that loyalty is dead or that careers are history. The real problem is that so many companies are toxic - and that they get exactly what they deserve”.
As an administrator or leader in an organization, how can you contribute in a positive way to prevention of toxicity?
In their book, Quantum Leadership, Dr. Timothy Porter-O’Grady and Dr. Kathy Malloch discuss toxic organizations and people and identify ten guiding principles for leaders to minimize toxic behavior in organizations. These include:
Know thyself - know your work values, your outlook on life and the meaning of work ethics and integrity to you.
Walk the talk - act in accord with the values you hold.
Be willing to listen.
Value the truth of the whole - know the power to be gained from understanding both sides of an issue.
Empower employees - mentor employees, ensure they are free to make suggestions, grow, mature and become sensitized to their behaviors and others.
Build relationships on respect.
Act as an agent of transformation - Encourage employees to be self-reliant and to take charge of their careers, not only their current jobs.
Screen job candidates for dysfunction - avoid hiring problem employees.
Expect accountability from employees - accountability is the process of “seeing it, owning it, solving it and doing it”.
Reward value-adding behaviors - employee behaviors that add value to the organization and achieve the mission of the organization.
All too often though, the toxic boss has no self-awareness of their effect on others and because of this can be the most destructive force in a workplace.
Sometimes humor is the only way to cope. To find some humor in this situation, see Toxic Boss or Bad Bossology.
In reality, laughter will only go so far in dealing with a toxic boss.
Other suggestions for dealing with a toxic leader include employee-focused strategies such as achieving balance outside of work, using humor, learning to “manage your manager” or setting boundaries in the workplace.
One of the most effective but riskiest strategies is jumping over your boss to complain to his boss. (This action should be a last resort because of the potential repercussions and subtle retaliation if it doesn’t work.)
The majority of experts end their discussions and lists of suggestions for coping with the reality that leaving a stressful workplace may ultimately be your only choice.
