Being in a work environment that is toxic is a nightmare.
Unfortunately, many of us will go through that eventually.
If we think about a toxic workplace what are we really having in mind?
Yelling, manipulation, discrimination, high stress levels and bullying are probably the worst things that can happen.
There is much more to a bad work environment than the above though.

A lack of trust, little appreciation and an overall unmotivating atmosphere will also eat you up inside. The issue with those things is that they’re happening slowly to us and if we haven’t experienced those situations before, it can take a while until we realize what is going on.
In my opinion there are way too many people who hate their jobs and who are only counting the minutes until their days go by and they can leave.

It’s not only frustrating and will kill your personal life, it’s also potentially dangerous for your mental health.
Anxiety, burnout and other mental health issues are on the rise and have been for the last decades.
Toxic environments are certainly a reason for that.

Years ago people started a job and stayed there until retirement, without even asking themselves why they have been unhappy.
Nowadays it’s normal that people are leaving companies after one year or two.
If you’re unhappy and you feel like your work is negatively effecting your personal life and your mental health it is okay to leave.

Realization is the first step

You are not going to be bullied or threatened in most cases, thankfully.
That doesn’t mean that you’re working at a decent place.
Many signs of a toxic workplace take some time to figure out and you won’t be able to detect them immediately.

Just because you can’t tell from the start that the company you’re working for is bad for your mental health, doesn’t mean that it won’t happen eventually.
It’s important not to be too negative from the start though.
If you’re being too sensitive and you’re only waiting for bad things to happen, you might deny yourself the change of working for a decent company.
Here are some signs you should be aware of when starting off somewhere new.

Signs of a toxic workplace

1. Micromanagement

2. Quiet quitting

3. High turnover

4. No work-life balance
   

Micromanagement:
Micromanagement means that someone is trying to control every step and every little detail. A micromanager is a control freak who tries to not lose control of anything.
This will lead to discouraged employees who won’t feel appreciated and lose creativity.
This behavior is not only proof that there is no trust towards the team, it’s also very time consuming. If it’s obvious that every step is being controlled and predetermined, chances are high that employees are not being trusted by their superiors. That can have multiple reasons but the fact of the matter is that no one can work productively and creatively when every small detail is being looked over.

Quiet quitting:
When we talk about quiet quitting we talk about employees who have given up.
It’s pretty easy to tell if people are motivated or if they are not. Usually new employees tend to be more motivated than the ones who have been around for a while. Generally speaking that is normal.
However, what is not normal is when co-workers are so demotivated that they don’t care about anything that happens.
In some cases it might also be a sign of burnouts that have happened at some point.
Be aware of work environments where people are complaining all the time or don’t care at all about what happens.
If you’re a motivated individual, who is interested in doing a good job, that type of behavior from your colleagues will hold you back immensely and it will ultimately result in your own unhappiness.

High turnover:
As mentioned above work culture has changed over the last years and decades. People are not concerned anymore about switching positions every year. It became standard to change your employer every couple year.
I believe there are many benefits to working for different business and experiencing multiple work environments over the course of your career. It will help you shape your character and become familiar with different types of people. Additionally, it might help you with increasing your salary.
Be conscious about companies where there is a constant change though. If people are leaving a company constantly after months, chances are high that there might be something wrong.

No work-life balance:
Obviously this is hard to detect in the beginning but you’ll figure it out pretty quickly. Depending on your position and the amount of money you’re being paid it is normal to work longer hours here and there. I don’t believe that a strict 9-5 has to be the case everyday. It’s normal that there will be times where you have to work longer hours. On the other hand there also have to be times where you don’t work as much. Like with most things, a balance is key here.
If your boss calls and messages you constantly late at night, something is wrong and you should set strict boundaries.
Watch how your superior reacts once you address the issue. Their reaction will tell you a lot.

In conclusion

It’s good that people are leaving companies when they’re being unhappy. Years ago many didn’t have the courage to do that because they were afraid that it would hurt their reputation or their CV.
It’s important to give new things a chance as well. Just because something happened at your former company, doesn’t mean that it will happen in the future as well.

It’s important to be aware of certain signs.
Many of those are only visible if you’re watching closely.
Remember, it’s okay to leave a company after a couple of months if you’re not happy and it’s also okay to leave a company after 30 years if you feel like you need a change.
Life is way too short to be hating 40 hours of your week.

Thank you for reading.