How to integrate, build and evolve your work place rather than unconsciously destroy and cast out. – Vol 1/2

By Mina Ayoub, Communications Executive at EFG Hermes.

Your job is, arguably, where you spend most of your time. Ranging from 8 to possibly 12 hours daily for 5 days a week, seeing the same faces and interacting with the same people every day. Some of us find a second home in the office, others meet their greatest fears.

With our jobs being where we spend a larger portion of our time, it is only natural that the work environment affects us. Unfortunately, toxic people are more common than we think and their results are even more powerful than we allow ourselves to admit.

Toxic peers come in many forms, they can either present themselves as office bullies, high-level competitors, abusive behavior, unrealistic and uncalculated constant expectations and the list goes on.

Here are a few points why toxic behavior is a problem, understanding where it comes from and later on in volume 2, possible ways to deal with it constructively.

Why is it a problem, really?

Long-term business failure, health risks, and even reported cases of depression. The real issue with toxic behavior is in its discreteness. Many who suffer from bullying for example, won’t talk about it, fearing further consequences. Those who fall prey to bad management styles feel trapped, fearing losing their jobs if they speak up. For reasons like these, those who suffer the effect suffer in silence. They will start to lose their motivation, the stress will throw off their sleeping patterns and they will start losing confidence and immerse themselves into self-doubt, questioning their worth.

What is the problem?

It is important to understand that hostile behavior is only the result of human nature. In social psychology, bullying is known as Social Dominance Theory, which in essence explains an imbalance of power among a group of people. Some individuals will try to overpower their peers by trying to push them down, when the victims seem to be affected and react emotionally; this boosts the bully’s ego further.

Many people will attempt to gain this dominance status due to internal conflicts or their own issues of self-doubt and lack of true self-worth. People will generally displace their anger and frustration on those they deem weaker than themselves to try and give themselves a greater sense of worth. It’s easy to be on top when you push everyone else down and it’s much easier to criticize others than focus on evolving yourself.

It is worth noticing that while toxic people should not be tolerated, they should not be cast out and considered a lost cause either. In fact, it is crucial to understand where these misplaced actions are coming from and provide a healthy solution to re-adjust their views and interactions within a workplace. Better to integrate, build and evolve rather than unconsciously destroy and cast out. It is not simply about punishment, it is about enhancing awareness which in turn, encourages improved actions and cultivates a culture standing on a value system that does not condone such behavior.

In our next volume we will be talking about ways to constructively help the issue.