The Ultimate Signs of a Toxic Work Environment

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Key Takeaways

1. Toxic jobs can affect you socially, emotionally, and physically.

2. A toxic work environment creates high levels of stress and anxiety that can lead to long-term health consequences.

3. With the right planning in place, anyone can leave a toxic job behind them and find a new position better suited to them.

Toxic Job

If you work in an environment that is utterly dysfunctional, causes you persistent stress, and creates angst throughout the day, you have a toxic job. Unlike jobs you simply don’t enjoy, a toxic job is one that is so unhealthy it wreaks havoc on your social, emotional, and physical well-being over time.

I will never forget the way a toxic job once affected me. I can still feel the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach, taste the dryness in my mouth and throat, and feel my hands shaking because my body simply couldn’t calm down no matter what I tried.

I’m not typically a crier, but my toxic job wore me down so much that my body reacted by sobbing at times. The grief I felt having to be there was simply more than I could bear. My toxic job was actually pushing me into a depression at the time, and I couldn’t pull myself out of it.

The frequent headaches I got were debilitating. The stomach issues I would rather not mention. And then the nightmares started up and they replayed night after night, no matter how I tried to soothe myself before heading to bed.

I would wake up to my alarm and my whole body would instantly tense up as I realized that it was yet another day in my personal hell. Every single morning, I felt like I might get out of bed and vomit right there on the floor. I’m certain that’s why I had so many knots in my neck and shoulders when I woke up too.

I was extremely happy outside of work, but when I was at my toxic job or even on the way there, my soul felt like it was trapped in my body, and all I wanted to do was escape.

In all reality, I hope that you’ve never experienced this kind of stress from work. But statistically speaking, you probably already have or you will at some point in the future. Your symptoms may look slightly different than mine, but experiencing a toxic job is something that you will never forget once it happens to you.

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Toxic Work Environment

A toxic work environment is characterized by pervasive hostility—which can include gossip, bullying, favoritism, micromanagement, lack of transparency and support, and unhealthy levels of competition. By definition, toxic work environments negatively affect your health, productivity level, and morale.

Americans are notorious for working far too much and taking care of ourselves far too little. Combine that with a toxic work environment, and you are literally killing yourself with stress little by little each day.

According to The American Institute of Stress, our demanding workloads contribute to 41% of our stress levels, with 32% resulting from issues with people at work, 18% coming from trying to balance our work responsibilities and personal obligations, and the remaining 9% from worrying about job security.

I know that in my toxic work environment, the stress came from a combination of all of the above.

A toxic work environment often forms when:

• A healthy work culture has not been established by management
• A bad manager ruins the vibe of the entire business
• Vindictive co-workers talk behind your back, complain about everything, or take credit for your ideas
• Customers are impossible to appease and you don’t have support from your supervisor

So how do you know if you have normal workplace stress or if you have a toxic job that is making you physically and emotionally sick? Read on to determine if your job is toxic and what you can do about it.

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Workplace Stress and Anxiety

Workplace stress and anxiety refer to the physical and emotional toll a job takes on an individual. Often caused by the demands of the job itself or the environment, workplace stress and anxiety can be found across all industries and around the world.

Here are 30 symptoms that may indicate that you are experiencing workplace stress and anxiety according to CCOHS:

1. Nausea
2. Heartburn
3. Acid reflux
4. Stomachache
5. Dry mouth
6. Nervousness
7. Restlessness
8. Chest pains
9. Headaches
10. Muscle tension
11. Crying
12. Low libido
13. Insomnia
14. Nightmares
15. Feeling weak
16. Exhaustion
17. Lack of motivation
18. Lack of energy
19. Fear
20. Worry
21. Depression
22. Trouble concentrating
23. Sweating
24. Rapid heart rate
25. Increased blood pressure
26. Feeling withdrawn
27. Irritability
28. Defensiveness
29. Angry
30. Weakened immune system

Signs of a Toxic Work Environment

Educating yourself on the signs of a toxic work environment is the first step in determining whether or not you have a toxic job. While there are many signs of a toxic work environment that may indicate this, the overarching theme is that your health and well-being are harmed as a result.

Knowing that you have a toxic job is easy once you know the top 10 signs of a toxic work environment:

1. Communication is Lacking

Clear goals and expectations are not communicated to all staff effectively. Employees are unsure of what they are working toward, how their job duties are contributing to the company as a whole, or how they rate as a member of the team.

2. Leadership is Poor

Managers who lack effective leadership skills can be completely absent, unwilling to support their employees, or confrontational and verbally abusive. Employees do not feel secure in their jobs or as if they are a valuable asset to the company when leadership is poor.

3. Co-Workers Are Unmotivated

When co-workers are unmotivated, the bulk of the workload tends to get placed on the desks of the few hard-working employees who are present. Those employees then start to feel underappreciated, unfairly treated, and overworked. Drama then ensues.

4. Competition is Cutthroat

When employers push for ever-increasing and often unattainable goals, competition can become cutthroat among employees. This fierce competition can lead people to cut corners, cheat, or even steal work or clients from one another

5. Exclusions Are Obvious

Cliques do not always end in high school. Many toxic work environments have certain groups of employees who are excluded from social invitations, decision-making, and/or promotions based on gender, ethnicity, religion, age, or sexual orientation.

6. Appreciation is Missing

Feeling appreciated for the time and effort it takes to do the job right is something that all employees need in order to feel successful. When appreciation is missing, employees tend to feel worthless, unseen, or like their work has no purpose.

7. No Opportunities for Advancement

Professional development training and promotional opportunities are an important part of employee growth. When these opportunities do not exist, employees start to feel stuck because there is nothing positive to look forward to.

8. Work-Life Balance is Neglected

There is nothing more important in a job than having a healthy work-life balance. When employees are forced to choose between keeping their jobs and maintaining their personal lives, those long hours and high demands will begin to take a toll.

9. Turnover is High

High turnover is a huge problem for employees who remain at work. It causes an increased workload on them and is a huge red flag that the employer is not taking care of its employees.

10. Anxiety is Commonplace

When anxiety at work becomes commonplace, it’s a major indicator that the current position is not an ideal one. Short-term stress at work can be normal at times, but long-term anxiety with physical and emotional symptoms is not normal, and it is a huge sign of a toxic workplace.

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How to Quit a Toxic Job

Learning how to quit a toxic job is easier than you may think. With the right preparation beforehand, anyone can discover how to quit a toxic job without any damage to their professional reputation or their financial picture.

Here are the top 10 steps for how to quit a toxic job the right way:

1. Make a list of what you are looking for in a new job.
2. Save as much money as possible.
3. Brush up on your skills and obtain new certifications relevant to your career.
4. Update your resume and cover letter template.
5. Set your social media accounts to private and don’t post anything controversial on them.
6. Start networking with people in the industry that you will be applying to.
7. Ask people you trust to write letters of recommendation and to be references for you.
8. Do your research and apply to jobs that you think will benefit your life.
9. Research potential interview questions for your industry and have someone hold a mock interview with you.
10. Make self-care a priority immediately and work on ways to relieve your stress.

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Healing After Leaving a Toxic Job

Healing after leaving a toxic job is a priority that you should take seriously. Having a toxic job for any length of time has impacted you, so it’s important to focus on healing after leaving a toxic job so that you can start fresh in your new position when the time comes.

Here are 16 dos and don’ts for healing after leaving a toxic job:

Do

• Realize that you deserve freedom and happiness in all aspects of your life.
• Accept that you can find happiness at work again.
• Remember that a job does not define who you are as a person.
• Understand that there are plenty of other jobs available.
• Believe that you have a lot to offer.
• Put in the effort to showcase your talents with an updated resume and cover letter.
• Look for an employer who appreciates your experiences and skills.
• Take your time finding a new job that fulfills you.

Don’t

• Think that constant stress and anxiety at work is normal.
• Feel stuck in this career path forever.
• Feel trapped by debt and obligations.
• Let this job make you feel like a failure.
• Believe that your next job will be just as bad.
• Let the fear of the unknown stop you.
• Take the first job you can get out of desperation.
• Give up.

FAQs

1. What is a toxic job?

A toxic job is any position that negatively affects your overall well-being. While all jobs are stressful at times, a toxic job damages you physically and emotionally more often than not and can even lead to long-term health consequences.

2. How do you deal with a toxic job?

The best way to deal with a toxic job is to make self-care a priority. Remind yourself that your job does not define you as a person, take care of your physical and emotional needs, and make a plan to escape your toxic job in the near future.

3. Should I quit my toxic job?

Once you recognize that you have a toxic job, it’s best to start planning for your future. Toxic work environments do a lot of harm to those who work there and it’s best to move on to a job that aligns with your current wants and needs.

Sources

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: Workplace Stress-General
• NCC: Quick Ways to Relieve Your Stress at Work
• The American Institute of Stress: Workplace Stress

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What’s the worst job experience you’ve ever had? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.