Recently the conversation about toxic work environments came up among my friend groups. We all agreed that there were specific markers of a toxic work environment. We settled on a definition. A toxic work environment is an atmosphere that negatively impacts an employee’s health, happiness, wellbeing, and overall productivity.
We’re good at calling out overt toxic work environments. You know, the ones where bosses yell, put-downs, and blatant manipulation are the norm. Don’t get me started on the bullying, the gossiping, the rumors, and the lack of transparency + cohesion.
But, all this chatter got me thinking, how does a toxic work environment become a toxic work environment? I’ve been part of work environments that felt deliberately harmful and dysfunctional by design. And some characteristics seem to be on a rinse repeat cycle. See my top three observations below.
Three Contributing Factors to a Toxic Work Environment.
- Sleight of Hand. Using deception to create a toxic work environment keeps people distracted. Deception occurs when a person misrepresents information to create a false sense of reality. Distracted people are not able to fully assess their environment. How might this play out? An incompetent manager might outright lie or purposefully alter information disseminated to colleagues. The incompetent manager might rely on distraction to position themselves as the “hero” OR to take credit for the work of their subordinates. This environment usually causes an employee to feel stress and anxiety, making it difficult to assess the whole picture or focus on their work tasks.
- Revolving Door. Having a high turnover rate ensures that the employer does not have to invest in staff. And let’s be real when the “high performers” leave, you’re in trouble. There is nothing more frustrating than being led by the clueless.
- Lack of Accountability and Transparency. When these core elements are missing, employees operate as disjointed pieces rather than as a cohesive unit. We can see this with the absence of meaningful policies, procedures, and systems, resulting in inconsistencies. It means favoritism will be at play, and getting your questions or concerns addressed will be difficult. Answers may differ depending on who you ask or when you ask.
What do these three factors have in common? They ALL lead to low employee morale. What happens when employees experience low morale? They produce work that is uninspiring and lacking innovation. Lack of innovation means stagnation, nothing new is being produced, the status quo is maintained.
Now that we know of three contributing factors, more questions arise. Who is responsible for a toxic work environment? Is there a bunch of people who are intentionally wreaking havoc in the workplace? Perhaps. Is it the doings of an individual or a group of individuals? Maybe. Who would want to sabotage an organization in this way? Perhaps you can name a few people off the top of your head. Are we, as humans, that vile and nasty? I want to think that isn’t the case.
As I pondered over my questions, it occurred to me that all environments have some level of chaos to them. Perfection is an illusion. Good intentions unknowingly create chaos at some point or crosssection — for example, updating a policy’s wording to be more inclusive might unknowingly undermind other stable segments of the policy. I started doing some research on chaos and stumbled upon the Chaos Theory.
Chaos Theory.
Mathematician Henri Poincare is considered the pioneer of Chaos Theory. Poincare demonstrated that simple systems could produce complex systems that are unexpected and unpredictable. Can we use Chaos Theory to understand the toxic workplace environment? Most Definitely.
Are toxic work environments intentionally created, or is it an unexpected and unpredictable byproduct of innovation? Not as simple of a question, is it? Why? Because there are layers and nuances to each situation. For example, an Administrator might implement a policy to streamline the arrival process of students, requiring an “all hands on deck approach.” Unbeknownst to the Administrator, this innovative policy takes away several key personnel responsible for brainstorming and discussing school culture. These AM meetings were used to implement various initiatives and innovations. This policy now has the potential to disrupt or have a domino effect in multiple areas. Hence the birth of chaos.
How can we conceptualize this? Check out this neat YouTube video by MinuteLabs.io that explains the crux of Chaos Theory.
Takeaways.
Chaotic systems are everywhere! Beware. I am just kidding. Now that we know how easy it is to create a chaotic system, how can we apply this knowledge to improve the workplace better? See some suggestions below:
- Leadership. It takes good leadership to have foresight. Leadership that’s vested in reducing or mitigating the effects of a chaotic system.
- Patience. It may not always be obvious. It may take time to see the effects of a chaotic system. Which in turn means that it will take time to develop a response.
- Pivot. We need to have a level of flexibility and grace when dealing with chaotic systems. Only when applicable, and this should be done selectively.
What are your thoughts on Chaos Theory, and how can we apply it to the workplace?