Toxic work culture is a pervasive problem. It lowers productivity, raises turnover, and increases the risk of legal issues. Taken as a whole, these problems can have a devastating impact on employees and organizations – and it’s HR’s job to address them.
Leaders need to take a proactive role in driving positive change. Your employees look to you to set an example, and your behavior has a trickle-down effect throughout the workforce. HR professionals can make a huge difference by living out the company’s core values in all their professional interactions.
Understanding Toxic Workplaces
Before you can solve a problem, you need to understand it. To that end, HR leaders should learn how to recognize the signs of a toxic workplace environment. Note that “toxic” doesn’t just mean “negative” – it also means confusing, entrenched, and potentially unsafe. Toxic environments typically include:
- Bullying
- Poor communication
- Lack of trust
- Poor work/life balance
- High rates of burnout
- Low employee engagement
- Few promotions or opportunities for career development
- Unreasonably high expectations
- Few friendships between coworkers
- High turnover rates
- Recurring compliance problems
Ignoring any one of these issues will exacerbate others on the list. Left unchecked, a toxic workplace can have serious financial consequences for your business.
How to Identify a Toxic Workplace
Fortunately, HR can have a positive impact on hostile work environments. These leaders are perfectly positioned to assess the scope of the problem by gathering information from employees, managers, and executives.
Start by designing and implementing a company-wide survey. Paycor Pulse surveys, for example, allow you to collect information in a psychologically safe online environment. Employees can fill out the survey anonymously at whatever time that works best for them. This process empowers people to answer questions honestly and on their own terms. Psychological safety should always be a priority, doubly so if you’re concerned your workplace might be toxic.
Once you collect responses, it’s time to analyze them. Develop a workflow to review the information you’ve gathered and identify patterns. You can use this data to answer specific questions and pinpoint areas that need more attention from HR.
For example, imagine that 95% of your employees report feeling supported at work, and the remaining 5% all report to the same person. Leadership could address the problem by reviewing that particular team’s workload, training the manager in better soft skills, or reorganizing the departmental structure.
How to Create a Positive Work Environment
Whether or not your company is toxic, HR leaders should learn a few key strategies to improve workplace culture. These best practices can improve key HR metrics like turnover rate, absenteeism rate, referral rate, and more.
In her webinar, How Core Values Drive Change in Toxic Workplaces, HR expert Catherine Mattice shares several practical tips for leaders to address toxicity and improve company culture.
Promote Open Communication
If you’re concerned about workplace toxicity, Mattice says, “doing a survey is a great place to start.” Better yet, HR should run company surveys regularly instead of waiting for problems to arise. Collecting data over a longer time period allows you to track trends in employee satisfaction and engagement.
After running a survey, it’s essential for leadership to report back to employees. Share your key findings, answer questions, and let your team know you take their concerns seriously. Then, make organizational changes based on your employees’ responses. Failing to act on their feedback can severely damage trust.
Lead by Example
In many toxic workplaces, Mattice says, employees and managers fail to live by the company’s core values. She thinks of core values as a company’s code of conduct. In a healthy work environment, these should be expected, rewarded behaviors, not just lofty ideals.
At her company, for instance, self-care is a core value. As the founder, Mattice sometimes gets burned out. When that happens, she says, “I’m going to leave early today” becomes her motto – not just because she needs a break, but because she wants to model that behavior for her team. If her employees saw her ignoring work/life balance and falling asleep at her desk, they’d feel pressure to do the same. As a leader, it’s her responsibility to act in accordance with the company’s values.
Support Your Employees
Worker expectations are higher than ever. For example, a staggering 92% of U.S. workers say it’s important for their employers to support employee mental health (APA). By meeting that one need, HR can work toward several positive outcomes: a larger talent pipeline, lower turnover rates, higher job satisfaction, and better company culture.
Employees also want more opportunities for professional development. Investing in education programs and on-the-job training initiatives empowers your workforce to grow their careers. It also builds trust between junior employees and company leaders by demonstrating you care about their futures, not just their work. This is a powerful way to improve your company culture and future-proof your business at the same time.
Build a Culture of Respect in the Workplace
A toxic workplace can quickly become dangerous for employees – emotionally or even physically. According to Mattice, unresolved workplace bullying and harassment “can certainly escalate into workplace violence.” HR can keep everyone on the team safe by taking these issues seriously, even when they’re happening on a small scale.
Review your employee handbook at least once a year to make sure it has updated policies regarding bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Those policies should define each type of toxic behavior and outline a clear process for employees to report it. Leaders should also hold regular trainings for everyone in HR, so the team is prepared to respond to any complaints.
Recognize and Reward Positive Behavior
“We’re social creatures,” Mattice says, “and we absolutely have to feel valued…it’s just as important as eating or sleeping.” When people don’t feel valued at work, they quickly disengage. They get distracted, which can lead to workplace accidents and injuries. They can even develop serious mental health symptoms.
Pay is one straightforward method to show employees you value them. Make sure your compensation strategy is fair, competitive, and aligned with your company’s core values. But compensation is just one piece of the puzzle. As Mattice says, “Employees quit their jobs because of toxic workplace culture, not pay.”
In addition to pay and benefits, HR can implement company-wide initiatives to recognize employees. And remember, recognition doesn’t have to break the bank. You can easily incentivize employees with skill-sharing opportunities, public recognition in team meetings, or an online peer recognition tool – like the one included in Paycor HR.
Toxic Workplace FAQ
What are the signs of a toxic workplace?
A toxic workplace often exhibits increased conflict, high turnover, and a generally negative atmosphere, creating a bad work environment that can lead to mental health issues for employes.
How can leaders identify the root causes of workplace toxicity?
Leaders can identify root causes by running company-wide surveys and evaluating patterns over time. HR should be ready to address toxic management behaviors and work toward preventing workplace bullying and harassment.
What strategies can leaders use to promote open communication in a toxic workplace?
Leaders can promote open communication by holding open forums, inviting employee feedback through anonymous channels, and implementing leadership trainings. It’s important to address any feedback you receive, or you’ll risk damaging trust.
How can leaders lead by example to drive positive change?
Effective leaders model desired behaviors. They should act in accordance with the company’s core values, take employees’ concerns seriously, and advocate for organizational change.
What role does employee support play in transforming a toxic workplace?
Offering employee support programs for toxic workplaces is crucial. This is an important step in the process of transforming a toxic workplace into a positive one. HR leaders can implement mental healthcare benefits, employee assistance programs (EAPs), and similar programs to give employees the support they need.
How can fostering a culture of respect and inclusion help mitigate workplace toxicity?
Fostering respect and inclusion directly combats toxic work culture. A culture of respect makes employees feel valued and important to the company’s overarching mission. It also empowers employees to stand up for each other when they encounter bullying or harassment.
What are some effective ways to recognize and reward positive behavior in the workplace?
Recognizing and rewarding positive behavior at work is always important, especially when your goal is to create a positive work environment. Bonuses, promotions, public acknowledgment, and other non-financial incentives can all be effective strategies for recognizing your team.
What should leaders do if initial efforts to drive change are unsuccessful?
If initial efforts fail, leaders should revisit their strategies to improve toxic workplace culture. They may need to call in expert consultants to offer unbiased opinions on how to proceed.
How can employees contribute to driving positive change in a toxic workplace?
Employees can contribute to positive change by modeling the behavior they’d like to see from coworkers, sharing their concerns with leaders when they safely can, and taking part in company-wide initiatives to improve toxic workplace culture.
How Paycor Helps
Whether your culture is toxic, supportive, or somewhere in between, Paycor’s HR tools are designed to help improve it. Our Workforce Management Software empowers leaders to automate scheduling workflows, manage labor expenses, and reduce costly errors, so you have the time you need to focus on what matters most: supporting your people.
