Does Your Warehouse Have a Toxic Workplace?

Posted August 21, 2019

You've probably heard, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

However, even a so-called 'dream job' has workplace stress. The typical workplace has occasional periods of increased pressure over goals or quotas, but there's a big difference between periods of higher stress and a toxic work environment.

A toxic work environments is any workplace that lacks good communication, is swimming in negativity, and has unsupportive leadership. In addition to being damaging to morale and productivity, toxic work cultures can be damaging to personal health. Prolonged exposure to a toxic environment can cause everything from hypertension, to anxiety and depression.

Crucially, it is important to determine if your workplace is a toxic environment. We have all thought about not going to work in the morning today, but employees should not dread going to work every single morning.

The following factors should be considered when trying to determine if your employees are trying to do their jobs in a toxic workplace.

Leadership

String leadership is key to developing a positive work culture. Leadership should support employee goals and ideas, as well as show appreciation for good work.

The company should also have well-developed core values that are carried through all aspects of the business, from the top down. Leadership should prize consistency, communication and mutual respect. They should want their employees to feel as though they matter and they are making positive contributions to the goals of the company.

Communication

Communication should be positive and constructive. In a toxic workplace, there is irregular feedback on work and what is given is often negative or unconstructive.

Communication is also important to keep employees abreast of changes being made or new projects on the horizon. This helps to give employees a better sense of ownership in their company and discourage an environment in which employees feel they are separate from management.

Proper Workloads

In a toxic workplace, employees are often given an abundance of tasks and responsibilities, causing feelings of being overworked, overwhelmed or underappreciated. This can lead to resentment towards the company, especially if that excessive workload causes an upset of work-life balance.

Work-life balance means not feeling like work is pushing you beyond your limitations. Work should not negatively impact your personal life. If you are experiencing these feelings, your physical and mental health can be negatively affected. Work should not make you sick, if you are feeling this way on a regular basis, it is a sign you are working in a toxic workplace.

Tone

Does everyone around you have a negative outlook? If your company shows some of these signs we have talked about, it is likely the overall vibe of the team is going to be negative. There will be higher turnover and lack of employee engagement.

We Can Help Support a Positive Work Culture

At Ambassador, we help our clients support a positive work culture by providing them with the talent they need. Please contact us today to work with a full-service staffing firm to find out how we can support a productive and engaged environment in your organization.