Expert Tips for Navigating a Toxic Workplace Environment

This article provides expert insights and practical tips to help you navigate a toxic workplace environment. Learn how to recognize signs of toxicity, set boundaries, and protect your well‑being. Discover effective communication techniques, ways to build resilience, and when it might be time to move on. With guidance from career and mental health specialists, you’ll gain the tools and strategies needed to stay strong, focused, and confident while managing challenging work situations and environments.

After starting a new job, Lisa Grouette noticed that by Sunday night she no longer felt the sense of dread she used to have before going to work on Mondays. For ten years, she worked at an insurance agency where she says her boss yelled at her, slammed his hands on the desk, criticized her looks, and acted aggressively. According to her, he falsely accused her of stealing money and threatened to withhold a recommendation if she tried to leave.

Although she felt trapped and feared she wouldn’t be able to find another position, she remained in that toxic environment for years. “It felt like I had no way out,” recalled Grouette, now 48. Eventually, she found an opening at a newspaper where she was already working part‑time as a photographer, and she decided to resign from the insurance agency. Even though the new role came with a $400 per month pay cut, she tightened her budget to make it feasible.

“It was worth every dollar,” she said. “That was the best $400 I’ve ever sacrificed. It was a bit tight at first, but it didn’t matter because I felt happy.” Today, as mental health conversations gain momentum, more people are questioning which behaviors are unacceptable and what they’re no longer willing to tolerate just for a paycheck.

“We're finding words now for things like toxic workplaces,” explained Jennifer Tosti‑Kharas, an organizational behavior professor at Babson College in Massachusetts. Younger workers, including millennials and Gen Z, she said, tend to be more assertive about setting boundaries and rejecting mistreatment from colleagues and managers. Reflecting on her early career, Tosti‑Kharas admitted she had a “just put up with it” mentality when faced with a toxic environment. “I don’t think we openly advocated for ourselves or prioritized mental well‑being like we do today,” she added.

While every job has moments of tension, there is a difference between an occasional disagreement and a pattern of mistreatment. “What separates toxic behavior is how widespread and persistent it becomes,” explained Tosti‑Kharas. “It doesn’t get better despite efforts to fix it. It’s deeply ingrained.”

Warning signs of a harmful work culture can include a general fear of speaking openly and a lack of trust across the team, she added. And toxicity doesn’t always take the form of shouting or aggression. According to clinical psychologist Alana Atchison of Chicago, it can also appear in quieter ways, such as managers making indirect jabs, using sarcastic or ambiguous remarks, or isolating staff. “It’s when communication becomes unsafe or unclear, when you can’t say openly what you feel or need, that you’re dealing with a toxic dynamic,” Atchison said.

Trusting your gut can be a valuable tool when assessing a new employer. High turnover and a stream of job postings for the same role can be red flags pointing to deeper cultural issues. Atchison and others also recommend checking online employee reviews. “I read through Glassdoor reviews religiously when I apply for any position because I can’t afford to sacrifice my health for a job anymore,” said Grouette, who was laid off recently after years at the newspaper.

Why do some people behave this way? According to Atchison, toxic behavior often says more about the person acting out than about those targeted. “It can be a way to mask their own insecurities,” she said. “If someone feels threatened or overlooked, they might resort to gossip, sabotage, or putting others down to regain a sense of control.” Since the pandemic, Atchison has noticed an uptick in complaints about toxic workplaces ,a trend she attributes partly to reduced social connections and weaker interpersonal skills caused by lockdowns and isolation.

If you find yourself in a toxic environment, reaching out to friends, colleagues, or a therapist can be an effective way to process your feelings and develop a coping strategy. Stephanie Strausser, 42, a video production manager, said that when she worked for an extreme micromanager whose behavior felt unsafe and manipulative, leaning on friends and family helped her gain clarity. “Talk openly with others. Even if it’s to a trusted person or to ChatGPT,” she advised. “Avoid bottling things up or accepting someone else’s version of reality as fact.”

Amanda Szmuc, an attorney based in Philadelphia, suggests documenting incidents if you suspect an environment may require formal intervention. Writing down instances as they occur and preserving relevant messages or recordings can be vital if you end up involving HR. A solid paper trail can also help protect you from gaslighting and reaffirm your decision to stand up for yourself.

If leaving your role isn’t an option right now, consider finding ways to reduce contact with the person causing harm, such as working different shifts or focusing on separate projects, said Tosti‑Kharas. It can also help to set a deadline for reevaluating your situation, said Szmuc. “Give yourself a timeline: Will things improve in two weeks? Is there a chance for a role shift or another solution within the company?”

In an ideal situation, an employee who feels mistreated can approach HR or a manager armed with evidence of misconduct and expect disciplinary action, said Tosti‑Kharas. However, that doesn’t always happen, and sometimes the person making the complaint finds themselves still working closely with the person causing the problem. In those instances, the only realistic option may be to remove yourself from the environment.

“As much as you’d like to fix things, sometimes you have to accept when it’s time to leave,” she said. “If an inspector found a toxin in your house, you wouldn’t try to live with it. You’d remove it, or remove yourself from it.” Although many can’t afford to walk away from a job immediately, carving out time to search for a new role can be an empowering step toward a healthier future.

“If someone tells you that you’re stuck and can’t leave, that’s almost never true,” said Grouette. “People like that usually don’t have as much influence as they claim. If they treat you badly, you can bet others have noticed too.”

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Source: independent‍