The Toxic Employee or Employer

Poisoning the office or the business

I recently read an article on LinkedIn, ‘Ever Wonder if Your Workplace Is Toxic? Actually, It Is if These 7 Things Are Happening Now’ which made me think of the Toxic Employee/Employer and the importance of identifying and removing them from your business before they have caused considerable damage.

All businesses need to work as one cohesive unit, large corporations due to their size sometimes are challenged to do so, for small to medium sized business it is critical. If there is dissent and mistrust in the workforce, then it is very likely your business is suffering. Businesses need to identify toxic employees and route them out before they do irreparable damage. Employees need to recognise toxic employers, if they want a harmonious working environment, respect and recognition for their efforts.

The worst type of toxic employee are the ones that create that negative impact on your workplace. These individuals are the fatal contributor for a business and for ensuring a productive team and high morale.

They are the ‘know it all’s’, ‘been there, done that’, ‘If it was me, I would have…’ type of people
The people who could have done something better, but actually never put their hand up to do it…
They love to highlight failures of others
The first to point fingers and blame
They constantly gossip
They are two faced, agreeing to your face and disagreeing to their peers
They will not go outside the boundaries of their job role
They are the ones who have done all this before and were better at it
They pick the holes in anything that is suggested by others, but will not add any constructive input
They will happily sacrifice others to distract from their own weaknesses or failings
They have no loyalty or respect for others

Sadly, these people are not uncommon in the workplace, they are like a malignant virus, a mood hoover, they are a drain on the business, teams and individuals. These types of toxic employees contribute nothing positive to the workplace, and have the potential and ability to ruin your business.

These people continually and negatively affect productivity, motivation, performance and morale. Toxic employees are a contagion – effecting the entire office or business.

Sadly, they seem to flourish when you have a toxic employer, which only extrapolates the misery, decay, unrest and sense of dread and hopelessness.

If you want your company to succeed, these individuals (be they employers or employees) and their behaviours will have to be dealt with…

The worst types of toxic employers are the employers who rule and not lead… they are the archetypal bully and rule with the underlying aspect of fear… fear you will be blamed, fear you will be sacked, fear you will be belittled, fear your colleagues are waiting to fill your shoes… They instigate ‘Divide and Conquer’ strategies to keep employees constantly questioning who is supporting them or covering their back. They are quick to blame others who cannot defend themselves, such as ex-employees, overseas employees, absent employees, employees out of the office, they will spread rumour and incorrect assumptions, seed insecurities to defend their own position and ensure that their subordinates are compliant and subservient.

Working in such an environment is demoralising and unproductive, employees in this insidious situation have to take the proactive action for change… and that is look for a new job.

Employers who think such practices are legitimate, only have a short period of time before the signs of collapse and decay start to show. Employees will start to leave, customers will walk, suppliers will shy away.

Article inspired by:
Ever Wonder if Your Workplace Is Toxic? Actually, It Is if These 7 Things Are Happening Now

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