If you find your workday consists of rude colleagues, petty seniors, and an overall feeling of walking through a minefield, you’re probably in a toxic work environment. This can be a harrowing experience for an employee. Sadly, there usually isn’t much one person can do to change the entire office culture, but there are some things you can do to help you stay sane.
At HiCounselor, we want everyone to get the best out of their professional lives. That’s why we’ve created this guide to surviving a toxic work culture. If you’re looking for a job and would like expert assistance, get in touch with us and let us help you find better opportunities!
1. Don’t Play
If you find yourself surrounded by negativity at work, you can try to simply tune it out. Even if everyone else is joining in in bashing someone, you don’t have to partake in it. You can simply put your headphones on and listen to some music. Or you can pretend you have tons of work to do and don’t really have the time to talk.
2. Don’t Bite Back
If you’re in a toxic work culture, sooner or later you might become someone’s target. It can be very tempting to stoop to the other person’s level when they’re being mean to you. If you stay neutral, your colleague might get tired of taking potshots. If not, they won’t be able to make any complaints about your behavior to the higher-ups.
3. Don’t Carry it Around
Being in a toxic office environment can be a big drain on our emotional health. Sometimes we need to vent just to get things off our chest. Try, for the most part, to avoid bringing the negativity home with you. You’ll only increase the importance of the experience if you keep dwelling on it. Others in your life also might get tired of listening to such negative talk.
4. Build Positive Connections
There are bound to be some other coworkers who aren’t part of the toxic work culture in your office. Keep an eye out for those who don’t badmouth others or take sides in conflicts. You can build friendships with them, so you have someone to talk to while at work. Try to make sure these relationships stay positive and trustworthy.
5. Build a Positive Space
You’ll probably spend a big part of your workday at your desk. You can put up positive messages, images and pics in your workspace. Looking at things you like and love can make you remember why you’re working here to begin with. Positive quotes have a way of uplifting us when we’re down so put up something you find inspiring.
6. Take Breaks
Being in a toxic work culture can make you feel tired and overwhelmed. To avoid feeling burned out, you should take frequent breaks. You can go for a short walk, talk to a friend on the phone, or even just sit in your car in meditative silence. You need these little time-outs to make sure your mental health doesn’t suffer too much.
7. Work-Life Balance Helps
When we’re in a toxic office environment, we often feel exhausted and unmotivated. We can start to stay in and avoid outings. However, it’s better to put more effort into your personal life as it’ll help balance out the negativity. Try new hobbies, join a dance or cooking class, meet up with friends and family to remind yourself there’s more to life than work.
8. Confront if Required
Sometimes you just can’t lay low and avoid the toxic work culture. If you find someone constantly crossing boundaries, you might have to confront them. Don’t do so in the heat of the moment. It’s better to have your points planned out so you can try to solve the problem. If you don’t trust your colleague to hold a civil conversation, send an email.
9. Talk to HR
If all else has failed, it might be time to ask for assistance. Human Resources is there to help solve employee issues so you can approach them for help. Make sure you put your points across in a calm and collected manner. You can ask for a department switch if that’s an option. It’ll help if you have proof of your statements.
10. Look for Something Better
Despite all your efforts to handle the toxic work culture, things might not get sorted out. In such a case, it’s best to start looking for a new job. Staying too long in a toxic office can affect your mental health and no job is worth that. Luckily, you have job portals and career accelerators like HiCounselor to help you get your professional life back on track.
We hope these tips can be of some use to you! If you’d rather look for greener pastures, contact HiCounselor and have a word with one of our helpful mentors. The best part about choosing us is we only take payments after we’ve gotten you a job. You can read our reviews to see how we’ve helped others to help you make up your mind!
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