Need to know:
- Toxic workplace cultures exist in many UK oganisations, with leaders and managers often to blame.
- Creating a culture where employees can raise concerns is essential to overcoming such environments.
- Organisations need to think about how they react where examples of toxic behaviour do occur.
Allegations of toxicity and harassment at the broadcaster ITV, and of those who raised concerns facing bullying and discrimination, show just how damaging a toxic culture can be, both for those working in an organisation and the brand itself.
But while this may have garnered national attention on the back of presenter Philip Schofield’s exit, the issue of toxic workplaces is common in UK businesses. According to research published by Gleeson Recruitment Group in July 2022, 93% of UK employees have experienced a toxic workplace and 82% say they have left a job because of a toxic boss. Common frustrations include being undermined, inappropriate comments, being micromanaged and facing criticism in front of others.
Failings ultimately lie with leaders or senior managers, says Rebecca Mian, head of human resources at Benenden Health. “The tone from the top often plays a large part, whether this is because those unethical or harmful behaviours are being exhibited by senior leaders themselves, or the behaviours are further down the hierarchy, but the leadership team is unaware of them or chooses not to do anything about them,” she says. “Either way, a business must ensure that they are accountable to their employees and that it does not allow this toxicity to fester.”
Nor does this behaviour need to be the stereotypical image of managers shouting at people. Amrit Sandhar, founder of The Engagement Coach, says: “It’s now less obvious, with passive aggressive behaviours slowly eating away at the confidence and credibility of individuals once considered experienced and competent. Many reasons for cultures such as these still lie with managers and leaders who are either trying to hide their incompetence or looking to expand their power and influence over others.”
Toxic culture symptoms
A toxic workplace culture can manifest itself in a number of ways, including presenteeism, where people feel they have no choice but to go to work even when they are unwell. Tracey Paxton, managing director of The Employee Resilience Company and partner of BHSF, says: “When organisational cultures place high workload pressures on staff and stigmatise sick leave, a culture of toxicity can be fostered, increasing the risk of sickness presenteeism at work. Similarly, ‘leavism’, which refers to how staff may feel pressure to ‘keep the plates spinning’ and continue to work out of hours to stay on top of their workload and demonstrate their worth to the organisation, can also contribute to a toxic workplace culture.”
Other signs of a toxic culture include clock-watching and quiet-quitting, where employees withdraw themselves emotionally and mentally, leading to a diminished work environment and talent loss, says Michael Doolin, group managing director of Clover HR. “A toxic workplace culture is corrosive, affecting trust and hampering teamwork,” he says. “It’s imperative that employers address and eradicate this in order to foster healthy and thriving workplaces.”
There are a number of ways in which businesses can start to do this. Sandhar urges a focus on creating an environment of psychological safety. “Enabling speaking up requires putting in place structures to allow employees to do this without fear,” he says. “Where issues are identified, these should be investigated. By setting out a vision for the future culture, and avenues for employees to identify issues of toxicity, employers will be sending out a strong message of what will, and will not, be tolerated.”
Any initiative needs to come from the top-down. Jonathan Maude, chair of the UK/EU Employment Law Committee at international law firm Vedder Price, and managing partner of its London office, says: “The fault for a toxic workplace culture primarily lies with poor management, and specifically a failure to get on top of the problem quickly enough.
“We bring in external speakers to give talks and engage with our people to quietly emphasise the firm’s approach. We also keep in touch with our people to spot potential problems. Has performance declined in recent weeks? Is office attendance dropping off? A quiet chat in a soft way will find out if, and why, there is a problem in the office.”
Supportive wellbeing tools
Helping employees cope with stress and improve their mental health can create a more positive environment, once the root causes have been dealt with. “For example, employee assistance programmes dedicated to promoting quality care for staff have the power to generate better mental health outcomes, with access to services such as financial support, cash plans, counselling, spousal and dependent support,” says Paxton.
Benefits can help in other ways, too. Chris Rofe, partner, people solutions, at Lockton, says: “Organisations can consider a range of options, such as gender-friendly benefits, extended parental and carer leave, and social governance. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that merely offering employment benefits without confronting a toxic culture head-on is unlikely to yield positive results. The solution lies in avoidance and prevention, rather than a cure.”
It is also important that employees have somewhere to go should they fall victim to workplace toxicity. Mian suggests calling on people specialists, whether that is the HR team or people champions within the organisation. “These specialists should help open up the communication channels with employees, and also have robust anti-bullying and harassment procedures in place to tackle situations which are unable to be handled informally in the first instance,” she says.
“Make sure that managers discuss the wellbeing of their employees in regular one-to-one meetings, rather than keeping the conversation solely about performance. HR teams should also be approachable and make themselves available, adopting an open-door policy for employees so they have somewhere else to go.”
This would be a good option should the toxic behaviour stem from a line manager.
Appropriate mediation processes
Formal HR processes, such as grievances and disciplinaries, will give employees a forum to express their concerns, but may not be the most appropriate route to go down, says Daniel Peyton, employment lawyer and managing partner of the London office of law firm McGuireWoods. “By their nature, such formal processes are intended to have an outcome with ‘winners’ and ‘losers’,” he says. “These processes may be an effective way for employers to manage the potential legal risks that arise from workplace difficulties, but they are rarely helpful in resolving the underlying relationship problems.”
Instead, offering conflict resolution and workplace mediation training to managers can help to prevent a proportion of working relationship problems infecting the wider culture of a workplace. “Encouraging an open and non-confrontational raising of the incidents and differences which can lead to difficult workplace relationships is not only a means to an end, but an end in itself,” he explains. “Such an approach can quickly become a healthy and constructive part of the culture of a workplace.”
In the longer term, organisations need to think about inspiring team members with purpose beyond making profit, says Olly Woodhead, global consulting director, transformation strategy, at Arcadia StoryTrack. “Leaders need to connect daily activities and outcomes to a bigger picture for customers, communities and the planet,” he explains. “When we see how our work contributes to that purpose, we get a huge sense of value and meaning. Leaders need to make the team feel valued and part of the [organisation’s] future.”