Battling work life stress in a toxic workplace

Layoffs continue to run rampant across the media landscape. This week I was bombarded with a slew of saddened workers in this sector. They shared  their dismay at the lack of transparency on the part of the company as to the real story behind the scenes. This lack of confidence in management and company values only perpetuates poor morale, thus creating a toxic workplace. The lack of communication then fuels consternation, water cooler gossip and general bad vibes between the rank and file.

Ultimately this is poor for morale and productivity. It amazes me that companies don’t see the worth of coming clean when changes are coming down the pike, if only to put out the fires of gossip that grow like a festering wound, infecting the mindset of employees. 

For workers who are faced with such conditions, it’s easy  to fall prey to the negativity around them. A good personal mental detox is an antidote to be able to survive and eventually thrive. I wrote about this in my blog post: Work Life Detox Helps to Cultivate Resilience. There are some tips to detoxify your work life scenario. Here are some tips to stave off the toxic behavior in the moment of impact while at work or in business:

1. Avoid water cooler gossip: Get your splash of juice and promise yourself not to engage in gossip. Literally walk away from the conversation simply excusing yourself.  
2. Don’t spread the bad vibe: Most of us might have lent an ear to the gossip, but don’t spend any energy spreading it. It’s understandable that you might want to share the information with other colleagues who might be impacted, but you risk spreading erroneous information.
3. Being a fear monger breeds more fear: Once you open the door to the nasty rumors that are spreading, you become a magnet and magnifier of it. It becomes addictive.
4. Revenge is not sweet: You might not be happy with the way the company is handling things, but if you think leaking the information to others outside of the company is going to make you feel good, think again. It will likely just tarnish your image.
5. Leave the toxic words in the office: When you leave work, even in our WorkLife Nation, try to leave the bad stuff behind. It will eventually work itself out – or not – whether you ruminate about it off hours – or not.