Thriving in a Toxic Work Environment: There have been so many articles and commentaries on toxic work environments. I’ve been in offices and classrooms and passed by smoking areas (I don’t smoke) where sooner or later, the conversation turns to a company or office where the staff and employees consider the work environment around that workplace to be toxic, so to speak. I am sure that 90% of us have worked in work environments that have been less than ideal.
We have all worked for a manager or assistant manager (notice the absence of the word leader) who has not been capable enough to lead. This leads to a workplace dynamic that lends itself to favoritism and not fairness. Oftentimes, there may be workplace bullying and dirty politics involved as well. I am going to ask you to walk with me. We will depart on a journey of 5 questions over the next 5 weeks that will not only help you to survive the toxic work environment and difficult people that show up there daily but also transform other aspects of your life and allow you to be more of the person you want to be and allow your best version of you to continue to show up in every place you go.
Many people think that the work environment and home life in which they have been assigned is just life happening to them. I believe if it can happen to you, then it can happen for you. But it is strictly up to you, and you must be resolute in your decision for your life to be better. Career management and career counseling are indeed growing businesses.
Victor D Latson: Thriving in a Toxic Work Environment
There are so many job portals, CV Writers, and training academies; everyone has become a technical expert on getting you to the next best job of your life, promotion qualification, raises, and other perks, but what does all that do you for you in the end? Starting today, we will not only assist you in navigating your workplace, but we will begin the transformation journey together so that what was a place where even plastic flowers died will now become a place where you are able to grow and foster growth through your leadership. Leadership?
But I am not in charge, and you don’t have to be in charge or even assigned the role to be the workplace leader. I know that I have personally done it and that too more than once. Now that I have your attention let’s get to it. Here are the 5 questions you need to answer to better understand yourself to perform at your highest levels and achieve the desired effect.
- Who are you?
- Where are you? Are you in the right room?
- What are you bringing to the table?
- What is in your hand?
- What’s hindering you from being better?
- What’s your maximum capacity? (Bonus Question!)
Also Read: Victor D Latson And REFEED Paving Ways Towards Worldwide Transformation
Have you ever been to an event or social gathering, and you’ve had the opportunity to talk to people that are not familiar with you, and the question that everyone ponders about everyone else in the room is, “who are you? Everyone in the room begins the ice dance of answering that question in a way that makes them less dull and boring.
Many people defined themselves by their company, position, family status, or job. If I were to ask you this question, you would mostly start with your national identity. I’ve been in meetings both on the civilian and military sides where people have been tripped up on this very simple question like it’s a tripwire on a landmine. It is also a question with which we must be comfortable and confident in answering ourselves. Who are you? Many of you are probably wondering why and how this question would be important to one’s ability to navigate a toxic workplace?
P-E theories use two constructions to denote the P-E combination: fit and interaction. Fit refers to the degree to which P characteristics correspond to E characteristics assessed across commensurate (parallel or matching) dimensions. For example, different workers (P) have different sets of skills, and different jobs (E) require different sets of skills. Fit means that some workers have the set of skills that a job requires but other workers do not, or some jobs require the set of skills that a worker has, but other jobs do not (P represents Person and E represents environment or workplace) (Lent, 2005).
So now, as we return to the question, we understand that who you are or how you identify yourself is key to your interaction in your work environment. In other words, who you are in your workplace matters, and the confidence, competence, and ability you bring to your workplace matters. To be more matter of fact about this subject as well as give you an example of how this applies. When I was in school, I took a typing course. The instructor teaching the course taught us the basics of typing, including the proper use of home keys. At the end of the course, we had to type out a full-page document within a certain time span.
That timespan would equate to a minimum of 30 words per minute. I goofed around in the class, didn’t take it seriously, and failed the typing test. Because I was a senior, the teacher graded my work on a curve, and I passed the class. Now, imagine me taking my diploma with this passing mark in typing, getting my diploma attested, and then using that typing certification to attain a job in an office as an office administrator. This is the situation we find ourselves in as career consultants and recruiters.
On paper, individuals have documented skills that lead employers to believe that these individual candidates are qualified for the positions in which they are being hired. In reality, however, the candidates often have copied and pasted someone else’s credentials, or if the candidate does hold the actual experience, it is to a limited degree. Who are you? What are the core traits, characteristics, and behaviors that allow others to identify with you and with which you identify yourself? What is your anchor or foundation? What is the very core thing in you that, when all else fails, you will hold on to in order to make it through whatever situation may arise in your life, career, workplace, etc.?
This is the key to not only surviving a toxic workplace but also to getting up again after an event or circumstance in life has knocked you down. It is important that you learn this about yourself if you are currently unsure. Many of us must make compromises and sacrifices, but if we compromise or sacrifice too much, then we find ourselves with no anchor in the middle of a rough sea, wondering if we are going to survive. For instance, when we travel to a distant land to find work and our search is unsuccessful, what do we do? How do we handle that situation?
Without an anchor or an identity, most are willing to do whatever it takes, no matter who it hurts, including themselves. This is the same mentality and attitude exhibited by co-workers operating in a toxic work environment. Once you have identified your anchor and settled on your identity, you can operate in a more meaningful and competent way in your workspace but also in life itself. Take an opportunity to sit down and journal or brainstorm a list of your key characteristics, good and bad.
As you make this list, pick an item on your good list and your bad list and begin working to improve each. This is important because as you begin to improve these areas, you will begin to see how your workplace will begin to change. Who Are You? It seems like an easy or basic question, but it takes time to reflect on some of your past behaviors, reflect on your ideals, remember your original goals, and then write. At some point, you may become disappointed, you may be disgusted with yourself, or you fall on the other end of the spectrum and think everything is ok.
The reason why this exercise is helpful and, in my opinion, worth doing is that through this exercise, you will become self-aware. You will notice unhelpful words and behaviors, you will identify faulty thought patterns, and you will begin to guard your mind, which in turn will improve your behavior, change the words you release, and improve your mood. Our thoughts and thought patterns are directly connected to our well-being.
Modern society teaches us that it is wrong to be self-centered or self-focused, but the truth of the matter is that for us to get the best out of those around us, we must give them the best of us. It is no longer enough for us to just show up to work. The job market is too competitive, and many companies are saving money through outsourcing redundancy. This creates a competitive atmosphere at work and a by any means necessary attitude amongst co-workers.
With all of this in play, you can still thrive and bring the best version of yourself to the workplace every single day. There is a part in the movie the Matrix at the end when Neo finally believes that he is the one, the whole environment around him flexed because of his presence.
This is the result we should expect from our interaction within the confines of our work environment as we begin to walk in the identity that we discover about ourselves. Instead of watering down who you are in order to blend in, it is time to step up and bring flavor to your work environment by being purposefully and intentionally you. Until next time, WHO ARE YOU?
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