It's Likely You Have a Toxic Workplace. Now What?

Most employers would never describe their workplace as “toxic,” but—at least in the eyes of employees—toxic workplaces are much more common than many organizations may think.

Nearly 7 in 10 workers (67%) feel they work in a toxic environment, according to an April 2024 poll by jobs site Monster. And roughly three-quarters (74%) say their mental health at work is poor, with 62% saying a toxic work culture is to blame.

“It’s a really, really big problem, more than people think it is,” said Janet Harvey, CEO of inviteCHANGE, a coaching and human development organization outside Seattle, and author of From Tension to Transformation: A Leader’s Guide to Generative Change (Advantage Media Group, 2024).

That can fester into big problems for not only employees but employers at large, leading to absenteeism, incivility, productivity issues, attrition, and more. SHRM’s 2024 report, The State of Global Workplace Culture finds that, in addition to inadequate pay, workers’ top reasons for leaving their organization are linked to poor or terrible workplace cultures—some of these reasons include poor management, unfair treatment, insufficient regard for employee well-being, and a lack of empathetic leadership.

It all points to one thing: The toxic work environment is ripe for change.                

Defining a Toxic Environment

Several attributes point to a toxic workplace, industry experts say.

They are defined by the presence of rude co-workers, bosses, and clients; a lack of respect and acknowledgment; favoritism; bullying; and more, said Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster.

“It can be a toxic culture and/or toxic boss or leadership,” she explained. “Unfair or underpaid compensation, discrimination, harassment, gaslighting, abuse, unsafe working conditions, bullying, and excessive gossip are significant red flags pointing to a toxic workplace.”

Additional signs include a boss or co-worker taking credit for your work, blaming you for mistakes, or demonstrating poor values, Salemi added. Ineffective solutions and a lack of understanding are also big contributors, she said, “such as when you have three workloads and might approach your boss for a viable solution, and your boss says something abruptly like, ‘Deal with it, be glad you have a job.’ ”

Oftentimes, a toxic environment is subtle.

“Toxic workplaces aren’t always loud with conflict—they can be quiet, insidious, and corrosive,” Harvey explained. High turnover, absenteeism, and disengaged employees who “do the job” but avoid creativity and risk-taking are all symptoms of toxic workplaces, she said.

Heavy workloads, constant workplace changes (such as new rules or priorities, reorganizations, and leadership and team shifts), and workers feeling underappreciated are also part of the problem.

“The incessant push for more and more and more and more and more—no matter what it costs—is costing employers in invisible ways,” Harvey said. “The things that affect the workforce, productivity, and therefore profitability, are not captured on a [profit and loss statement], and they have to do with incivility.

“There’s a ‘scarcity’ mindset at work of, ‘We’re not enough. No matter how well we perform, we’re not enough,’ ” she said. “That can be really triggering.”

Leadership expert Susan Leger Ferraro, author of SuperLoop: How Understanding Beliefs, Biology, and Behavior Creates a Business That Works for Every One (Advantage Media Group, 2024), agreed, adding that employees, writ large, are having a hard time balancing all aspects of their life—including work.

“The people that make up the workplace are struggling really hard right now,” she said. “And they don’t feel like they are getting the right support.”

The Employee-Employer Disconnect                 

One of the biggest problems is the large divide between what workers think and what company leaders—as well as managers—think, Salemi said.

Company leaders may believe their workforce is thriving, engaged, happy, and feeling respected, but the opposite could be playing out. In fact, employee engagement in the U.S. sank to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees being engaged, according to Gallup. Meanwhile, a separate January Gallup report found that fewer U.S. employees feel respected at work, returning to a record low reported in 2022.

“Part of the disconnect can be attributed to blind spots,” Salemi said. “Employers may think they treat their employees with utmost respect and fairness, and they may assume their culture is incredible, but in reality, it’s not.”

Similarly, company leaders often fail to notice how workers treat each other.

“Companies may not realize or even know it’s going on,” Salemi said. “Especially as it relates to bullying, sometimes it falls in a shade of gray. As many workers are remote, bullying still happens remotely, but there may be fewer witnesses, and throwing shade may be backhanded compliments done more subtly. Gaslighting occurs when reality gets distorted because the environment, even remotely, is so unhealthy.”

Worse yet, some managers and supervisors may be intensifying the problem.

The latest SHRM Civility Index—a quarterly pulse survey designed to gauge the levels of civility and incivility in the workplace and in society—found that U.S. workers who personally experienced or witnessed incivility at work said managers may be creating work environments that breed incivility.

Nearly three-quarters of the 1,611 workers surveyed by SHRM (74%) agreed that managers and supervisors could have done more to prevent incivility. Additionally, 68% agreed that managers and supervisors care more about business objectives than how people are treated in their workplace. And 62% of workers said that managers and supervisors have ignored acts of incivility in the workplace.

“Ignoring is one of the top ways people respond to incivility, but managers have a responsibility to their workers to overcome this instinct,” said SHRM Lead Researcher Derrick Scheetz. “We often say leaders are critical to creating positive workplace cultures, but inaction to correct unwanted behaviors sends a signal that these behaviors are acceptable, which leads to a toxic culture before you know it.”

Even when employees do speak up, Salemi said, “company leaders may think, ‘If they don’t like it here, they should leave,’ rather than addressing the issue directly.”

Much of this mindset needs to change, industry experts say.

Be Reflective

Step one to fixing a toxic culture is assessing the situation to see what employees think, then acknowledging problems that exist.

“It often is a leadership failure,” Harvey said. “Toxicity thrives in the blind spots of leadership.”

Harvey said one of the biggest questions to ask is, “What did I not notice? And for how long have I not noticed?”  

“It’s our failure to notice that we fail to notice. It makes it difficult for us to identify what we want to change, if not impossible.

“Leaders must first be willing to ask hard questions, like, ‘Am I creating a space where my team feels safe to express themselves?’ ” Harvey said. “As a leader, when I can admit that I’m part of the problem, that also means I’m part of the solution.”

Get Feedback from Employees, Then Use It

Leaders—including HR, executive team members, and individual managers and supervisors—should take active steps to engage employees in authentic conversations, “seeking feedback not just to collect data, but to learn and understand underlying emotions and needs,” Salemi said.

“Companies should get to the root of the problems,” she added. “Ask employees in a variety of ways, such as individually with their manager, anonymous tip lines, and anonymous upward feedback surveys.” Employees also need to be assured there will not be negative ramifications for speaking up, she said.

While providing avenues and channels for open, honest communication is important, the next step is even more crucial—actually acting on that feedback.

After listening to workers and reviewing the feedback, employers could conduct internal investigations if necessary; circle back to employees with open, honest communication; and begin to move the needle on company culture, Salemi said—all steps that are “crucial.”

Another vital strategy is addressing, and disciplining, any bad actors—including bad bosses.

If continued, negative feedback points to a specific manager, “companies need to address the bad behavior and either coach the manager to change their behavior or, if it’s egregious and unacceptable, they need to fire them,” Salemi said. “Companies cannot and should not look the other way—period.”

Equipping managers with generative leadership tools, such as coaching skills and conflict resolution strategies, can also help, Harvey said.

It’s Not Over

One of the biggest things for an organization not to say regarding culture is, “Mission accomplished.” Cultivating a happy and productive workplace and a good company culture should be an ongoing initiative, experts said.

“We can’t be lazy about it,” Ferraro said.

Changing toxic cultures “doesn’t happen overnight,” Salemi said. “And it may involve hiring external consultants to help through cultural change.”

Organizations will want to continually monitor and address a toxic workplace, experts said—or risk falling behind their competitors.

“Failing to address these issues could lead to talent attrition and hinder organizational growth,” Harvey said. “They will not attract the talent required to sustain their business, and they won’t retain workers.

“There is a huge risk [in not addressing culture] in which organizations are going to find themselves unable to grow. They won’t be able to scale whatever they’re working on because the folks that are there are burned out, and they’re not attracting the new talent that has what’s necessary to operate in this next generation of the workplace.”