Small Business Toxic Work Environment

This coaching tip was originally published in the Coaching for Excellence newsletter.

I’ve seen toxic work environments in corporations and small businesses. An HR department may reduce the severity, but it doesn’t prevent it. That’s because a toxic work culture is enabled by leadership. HR provides guidance, but management leads the way.

Bad behavior ranges from small passive-aggressive actions (intentionally ignoring someone) to big actions (getting in someone’s face). Allowing individuals to continue bad behavior impacts the well-being and performance of the team.

There are several reasons for toxic work environments in small businesses.

• Founders are active participants. They lack the self-awareness to see how their behavior has a ripple effect. When the team sees behavior as acceptable, they are likely to repeat it.
• Founders are afraid to lose a top performer. As a result, their bad behavior is enabled. The teammates either mimic the bad behavior or leave.
• Founders don’t know how to address it. They may lack the courage, skills, or tools to swiftly address and stop the bad behavior.

I’ve seen individuals become timid, cower, and accept rude behavior instead of saying anything. When they repeatedly are exposed to a toxic work environment their health suffers. They may show up late because they dread coming to work. They might have headaches or other somatic symptoms.

When bad behavior is left unaddressed it can escalate to the point where individuals retaliate. This could be workplace sabotage or violence. Being under stress, having personal issues, etc doesn’t justify bad behavior.

Great leaders have zero tolerance for bad behavior and address it immediately. The individual corrects the behavior or finds a new place of employment. If you find yourself in a difficult situation and need guidance on how to address individual behavior, let’s chat.

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