Surviving a Toxic Work Culture

Surviving a toxic work culture is possible but it may require you to get out of your comfort zone. In many cases, something changed at your perfect job. There’s new leadership, cutbacks, or infighting has skyrocketed.

Whatever happened, it’s affecting you. A bad work environment is like a sinking ship. It will pull you down, so you need to find a lifeboat, before it does.

That escape to better days can take several forms and some acknowledge the fact that you may not be able to leave your job. Consider these tips for your toxic work culture:

Don’t Take the Toxic Work Culture Home

If you work for a jerk, then he or she is not likely to change, no matter what you do. Be aware of how much time the jerk is occupying in your life, especially time away from the job.

While it can be therapeutic to talk to a partner about the bad behavior of a boss, is this a nightly occurrence? Is it affecting your life outside of work?

You may decide that while you work for a miserable person, you’re not going to let that relationship poison the rest of your life. Create some mental boundaries between you and the job.

What is it that you enjoy outside of work? Maybe it’s something like fitness or art. Increase the amount of time you spend on those things.

Instead of spending 30 minutes complaining about your boss, you spend that time painting. When you have other things going on in your life, problems at work can become less of the center of your universe.

Sometimes a job is merely the way you pay your bills and a jerk or a frustrating situation is just something you tolerate because it lets you pursue the things you love.

Create a Culture Bubble

If you lead a team, in a suddenly toxic organization and are not the CEO, you may want to change the culture in your department. It is possible to create a culture in a culture. Think of it like a bubble, where the conduct and behavior inside is different than outside.

As a leader, this can be an important step, as you want to maintain employee engagement and retain top talent.

Gather your team and admit that while things in the organization aren’t perfect, you’d like to create a better environment. To to this, you need their help.

If things like respect, teamwork, or mentoring are missing in the business, can people in your group agree to embrace those principles?

This may require you to do more in terms of providing feedback, direction, and even career advice. But if you do nothing, you may spend that same time filling vacant positions, because people have no incentive to stay.

Employees, in a dysfunctional organization, will work harder if they feel like you care and provide them with things they want.

Plan a Toxic Goodbye

Sometimes you just need to leave a bad situation. If today is bad and tomorrow will likely be worse, then you need an exit strategy.

Set a timeline for your departure. Rather than just quitting one day in frustration, you want to prepare.

Take the time you’ve spent complaining about your job and channel it into positive activities, like updating your resume and networking. Think about looking for your next good opportunity, rather than being stuck in a bad situation.

You may also want to reduce spending and build up a nest egg. This money can help you fund professional development or provide you with money, should you need to leave your job as soon as possible.

Remember, your employer helps you pay your bills but they are not your family. You do work for the organization and are compensated for your time and effort.

Let’s say you get a great offer and submit your letter of resignation to your toxic employer. Think ahead if there is any scenario where you would stay with the bad organization. Maybe it’s a promotion or a significant pay increase.

Decide what would have to happen to keep you there. By doing this, you’re less likely to stay due to an emotional argument like, “We’re all screwed if you leave.”