Let me guess. Your job leaves you feeling exhausted and drained of energy. It’s been weeks since you’ve seen any of your friends. You constantly feel like you’re behind even though you’re putting in as many hours as humanly possible. And to top it all off, you don’t even feel appreciated for your efforts. In the pit of your stomach, there is a feeling of dread as you go to sleep with another workday looming.
You’ve just about it HAD IT and can’t stop dreaming about putting in your two weeks’ notice.
Your workplace might be toxic if you feel unsafe/insecure about:
o Making a mistake
o Having a life outside of work
o Taking a break – even for lunch
o Staying home sick
o Falling out of favour
o Information being kept from you
o Your work not being perfect enough
o Keeping your job
In a healthy workplace, good work is celebrated. People help each other, because they aren’t afraid of what happens if they don’t get enough individual credit. Working unreasonably long hours isn’t expected or required.
Think about it – working long hours does not mean someone is doing a better job or more work. It is telling of only one thing – that the person is present in the office for long periods of time each day. Toxic workplaces care more about optics than good work or efficiency.
In a toxic workplace, you are constantly reminded that there are other people who would love to have your job and that you are absolutely replaceable. Your colleagues are always stating how busy they are to make sure that no one starts to think their role is dispensable.
In toxic workplaces, everyone works hard to make themselves look good – teamwork and collaboration fall to the wayside because everyone is concerned with how they appear as an individual.
The good news is that no matter how stuck you feel, you really can turn it around. If you feel tired, drained and living for the weekend, click here to find out how you can start to take steps towards change.
If you have been let go from your job, feel anxious about starting over, and need help finding a new job, click here.