Do you know if you have a toxic co-worker on your team? You will be surprised to know that research confirms that bad people can get promoted before you. Are you drained by a negative work environment because of toxic colleagues that hinder your productivity? Well, the hardest thing is knowing how to deal with toxic people in your workplace, be it an employer, employee, co-worker, or customer. Nothing is as stressful as dealing with someone’s toxic behavior when you’re in the same environment with them day in and day out. It can be relatively easy to eliminate bad family members or friends from your life because there is an off button, but the same privilege does not exist in a work environment. However, there are certain things you can do to make your life along with toxic co-workers easier.
Toxic people are emotionally draining in normal scenarios, but they are much worse in a work setting. This is because they can distract you from your duties and leave you with poor job satisfa
What Is A Toxic Work Environment?
A toxic work environment is a workplace made up of mean people who take advantage of their position, status, or knowledge to manipulate decisions and other people for their own gain.
They are usually jealous of your achievements and view you as a threat, thus suppressing your growth in the organisation.
According to research, toxic colleagues exhibit the following behaviors, especially in the work environment:
They are backstabbing about their teammates to upper management.
Toxic co-workers spread rumors about you.
They only focus on their personal goals.
Toxic team members agree to things during meetings but show disagreement later on.
Abusive supervision
Bullying at work
false accusations
They are always trying to make you look bad.
Types of toxic people at work
Here are the types of toxic people most observed at work:
Office flirtation
dictator
abuser
People’s happiness
Stabbing in the back
Know everything
netpicker
procrastinator
Types of toxic people to avoid in life
What are the effects of toxic colleagues on you?
Toxic colleagues can easily get in the way of your daily life and greatly affect your work and personal life.
Here are some of the main influences of toxic co-workers:
Poor work-life balance
Increased stress
Decreased job satisfaction
restless sleep
Low self-confidence
Common signs of toxic co-workers
- They pretend to know everything
At some point, we all have that person at work who thinks they know it all and don’t let anyone else share their opinions. They thrive on other people’s shortcomings and feel superior when they are on top.
How do we create a friendly work environment?
This type of toxic co-worker doesn’t recognize other people’s accomplishments, but rather their own and like to be the only ones who are appreciated. They prey on people they think are weaker and use them to their advantage.
- They like to gossip
There are people at work who like to chat constantly and be in everyone’s affairs. They will be well informed of everything that is happening inside and outside the office. They spend their time talking about that week’s new TV show or office trip.
The problem with these people is that they will get you into trouble by distracting you from your work.
Know that those people who gossip about one person are likely to gossip about you, too. They have no loyalty, and should be avoided.
- The Traitors
These types of toxic employees are the most charming at first but will show for what they really are once they earn your trust.
One day, they’ll be your best friend at the office, and the next they could be a coworker who stabs you in the back and shares your secret with the entire office.
Consider staying away from these people and not giving them any information they can use against you.
- Those who tend to procrastinate
It’s normal to socialize and talk to your co-workers while you’re working, but sometimes it gets embarrassing when your co-worker overreacts by talking about things that aren’t good for you.
Avoid these people, because they will distract you from what’s really important. You will no longer be productive when you are around them and engaging in unnecessary things.
- Soul vampire
These people love to take from you and take from you but never give you anything positive in return. You always feel overwhelmed, negative, and drained when you are around them because they love to complain all the time.
They constantly bring their problems to you, hoping you will solve them but they never ask how you are. It’s always about them, and they never think about others.
- They exhibit unstable behavior
For example, they will smooth things over during a one-on-one discussion and show authority while together in a team meeting. - Toxic coworkers master the blame game
They will always highlight things that are not going well and point a direction to blame you. These types of toxic co-workers will never have second thoughts to go to any lengths to put you in front of others.
One of the reasons they do this is to not allow you to get rewards for any of the tasks you do.
On that note!
- They take credit for your work
Toxic people like to portray things in their own way, which may be far from reality.
This type of fellow will not hesitate to simply steal your happiness so that no one can recognize what you have already achieved.
Real-time actions to tactically deal with toxic co-workers
Now that you know and understand the above signs of toxic co-workers, you can now devise real-time ways and steps to deal with them.
- Create clear boundaries
Working in a toxic work environment can be even worse if you fail to set healthy boundaries with your colleagues and your boss.
As much patience and understanding as you have with your co-worker, you will come to a point where enough is enough and you decide what you will and will not tolerate.
When you’re always available to someone, they’ll take advantage of it. You must draw a line between what you accept and what you don’t.
- Try not to get sucked into their drama
toxic coworkers feed on drama; Therefore, you should not indulge them by getting involved. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
It would be best not to waste your time with these people or get emotionally involved in their toxicity.
Try as much as possible to avoid them even though it may seem impossible sometimes because you are in the same work environment. Take a step back and show them that you don’t care.
The best way to do this is to limit your interactions with these people.
If they come to you, interrupt your conversation by making an excuse like a meeting or something else.
- Recognizing and rewarding good behavior
Another way to strategically deal with toxic co-workers is to do so indirectly by rewarding their good behavior, if any, to show them that you won’t associate yourself with someone with bad intentions.
You can do this by spending time with people who are generally good and positive. This will send a message about what you will and will not tolerate. You can also acknowledge positive behavior by agreeing with the person who did it.
You can also intentionally ignore or avoid a toxic person, and the more times you do this, the louder the message gets.
- Don’t give them power over you
No one can make you feel a certain way unless you allow them to. You can’t control how a person acts or treats you, but you can always control how you interact with them.
Don’t give negative people power over you.
Take back your personal power by knowing that toxic people will do whatever they want to do, like it or not, and you should stop taking everything they do personally.
- Face them
If all else fails, you must confront them. Know that you can’t change someone’s behavior, but you can talk to them about it. You have to talk to them and make it clear that you don’t like the way they are doing things or talking about you.
Let them know you’re not ready for this.
Toxic people don’t know what it means to set boundaries and are likely to get upset, but you shouldn’t mind that.
What can I do to deal with a toxic work environment?
While it can be difficult to learn how to deal with bad co-workers in a toxic work environment, it’s not the end of the road.
They may try to make you hate your job and fear coming to work every day.
However, there are some things you can do for yourself to ease the situation, namely:
- Try to distance yourself physically
It is important to distance yourself from this toxic co-worker.
Negative feelings are contagious, and it gets to a point where the person’s bad behavior starts to affect you, and you start acting that way too.
If you think this is difficult, you can try wearing headphones while working, which will send the message that you are not available to talk or gossip.
- Take care of yourself
Toxic behavior can negatively affect your physical and emotional health. Don’t let such environments affect you.
Your work is not supposed to suck the life out of you, it is to satisfy you, and once that happens, you have to take a step back, evaluate and make a change.
Your well-being comes first, and you can’t do that in a toxic environment. Don’t suffer silently or alone. There is a lot of help out there, and the first thing you should do is take care of yourself.
- Meditation
It is a proven fact that meditation can help you deal with stress. When you’re in a toxic work environment that’s draining you, the best thing you can do for yourself is to meditate.
This helps you focus on the fact that nothing is permanent, that negativity will pass too, you should not focus on it but let it pass.
- Focus on the positive
Gratitude is very vital because it reminds you of what you have and what you should be thankful for.
It’s important to count your blessings by showing what you really love about your job and what makes you stay in it.
During this process, you can also seek help from people who care about you to better deal with these circumstances.
- Move on and get a new job
If you think that this daily dose of negativity and stress is inevitable, remember that there is always an exit strategy, and you are free to follow it.
You can start by moving away from this toxic person and their negativity. This can be done by leaving your current stressful and energy-consuming job and getting another job.
Your happiness should always come first. Don’t stay in misery to please someone else.
How do you talk to your boss about a toxic co-worker?
If you want to talk to your boss about a toxic co-worker and how it’s affecting your productivity at work, take it one step at a time and don’t rush it.
Here are step-by-step instructions for reporting a toxic co-worker to your boss:
You first have to define the problem. Sometimes, what you think is a problem isn’t actually a problem.
You should find the time to discuss it with your boss so that you can have his full attention.
You should know exactly what you are going to say and prepare for it in advance.
Tell your boss about all your other co-workers who may also have grievances and suggest a solution.
Then leave it up to your boss to find the right solution that will benefit all parties.
How do you avoid toxic people?
Besides the strategies already mentioned, you always have ways to avoid toxic people.
Since toxic people tend to be manipulative, the first thing you can do to avoid them is to identify the toxic type. Because without identifying their pattern, you cannot break it.
You have to realize that it is not your job to save anyone.
Stop trying to be so nice to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
When you make a decision, be firm about it and don’t back down.
Agree to respectfully disagree.
Smoothly resolve conflicts with toxic co-workers.
