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Are you facing a toxic workplace challenge? If yes, then relax because help is at hand.

In my series on Leadership Challenges in 2024, one of the challenges I addressed was that of psychological safety in the workplace. It included a personal experience that impacted a once happy team.

Psychological safety is part of a healthy workplace.

Toxic work culture does more harm to us than we might imagine.

Take for example a recent case where ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok has been sued by a content moderator in the UK alleging disability discrimination and a toxic work environment.

Olivia Anton Altamirano worked on TikTok’s Badness Project meant to weed out harmful content from the platform. She alleges that she felt offended, harassed and degraded in a toxic work environment. This stress allegedly led to anxiety, depression and complications in her pregnancy.

This isn’t an isolated case. The American Psychological Association’s s 2024 Work in America survey reveal that most workers are generally satisfied with their jobs. They feel good about their performance and productivity, especially in workplaces that foster “psychological safety.”

Despite most workers’ job satisfaction, 15% reported a somewhat or very “toxic” workplace, lacking in psychological safety.

Not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority (89%) of this group also reported experiencing lower psychological safety at work.

For such individuals, work life appears to be a source of significant psychological distress.

Traliant surveyed over 1,000 U.S. employees for Fear Factors: A 2024 Employee Survey Report on Workplace Violence, Harassment and Mental Health.

They found that mental health is a major area employers need to focus on in 2024. A full 86% of the respondents either strongly or somewhat agreed that employers need to do more to address mental health needs in the workplace.

Some of the top contributors were burnout and toxic management practices, in addition to wage stagnation. This signals that macroeconomic factors are contributing to employees’ mental health concerns.

This situation isn’t unique to the U.S.

Toxic work culture exists even in India, with the culture of cliques and gossip, subtle workplace bullying and unequal enforcement of policies.

Even now, there is a toxic hustle culture where grueling work hours and hard work are a norm.

Trust me, I went through it for 2 years before my wakeup call. I decided that while I loved my job, I loved myself and my life outside the workplace.

I chose to live rather than collapse in the office. Nobody in their right mind wants to leave behind a life that has so much to offer other than working like mill horse.

What’s the use of a fat bank balance if there’s nothing worth mentioning in your obituary?

Of course, we all want a job that we love.

We want something to aspire to and to get out of bed in the morning and be as productive as we can be.

Unfortunately, some workplaces can be toxic, and the idea of even going into the office can fill us with dread. We can quickly become shells of our former selves, lose our confidence, and start to resent work.

However, change can happen.

You don’t have to be a designated leader by position to be a change catalyst.

The first base of leadership is self-leadership. This means making sure that you’re not adding to the toxic environment.

Armed with this self-awareness, it’s time to apply the skill of social awareness. Identify who are key the players in the toxic workplace game. What are the rules of their game and how does it look in action?

I’ve got an entire mini-course on detoxing the toxic workplace that covers handling the toxic boss and co-workers on a strong assertive footing.

But what if you need some quick moves – like yesterday?

Let’s explore how you might be able to banish those workplace blues!

4 simple ways for managing the Toxic Workplace

Always be polite

The first way to deal with a toxic workplace is to always be polite.

• Never lose your nerve and always stay professional. Even if there is a conflict between your colleagues or a boss who isn’t supporting you, it’s essential that you remain polite.

• People will always remember a friendly person. You will have more respect for yourself and be respected more by your colleagues if you are patient, friendly, and fair.

• You shouldn’t allow your judgment and behavior to be clouded by people making your workplace unpleasant.

Avoid office politics and gossip

We’ve all been there. You walk into the staff room, and everyone is talking about someone else.

• It may be an awkward situation and, just like the playground at school, there will always be one person talking negatively about another. It can cause workplace rifts and make the whole situation very negative, uncomfortable, and unpleasant.

• Regardless of your feelings and thoughts on a situation, remain neutral. If you want to defend a friend against an unfair comment or situation, go for it. Remember to be polite, fair, nuanced, and balanced to show your careful judgment and maturity.

• Avoid taking sides, spreading gossip, or calling people names. You should maintain your dignity and integrity.

Inform the relevant departments

If a manager is causing you problems and you don’t know how to deal with it, consider contacting a department in your workplace that can offer immediate support.

• Let them know what has been going on, how it makes you feel, and ask them to support you.

• Be firm but fair, and do not accuse any individual of anything false. State the facts as you see them and how you would like the situation to progress. Remember, professionalism is the key here.

Schedule a meeting with your boss

If it’s possible, it may be worth scheduling a meeting with your boss to discuss your issues.

• Consider having a team meeting so you can discuss your grievances together. It may well be that other members of staff have the same concerns as you but have not been comfortable voicing them.

• Be fair, be firm, give everyone a chance to speak, and work out a positive action plan so you all know how to move forward.

Nobody wants to deal with a toxic workplace. S0, make sure you deal with situations as they arise responsibly and maturely. That’s what true leaders do.

There are ways to handle a toxic workplace to make the job more bearable. We can turn the workplace into a healthy environment where everyone can do the jobs that they love.

If you really want to be a change maker and make a contribution to detoxing your toxic workplace, then click here for the right way to do it.