Toxic Work Environments

👗"Jingjin, what are you wearing right now?" The question caught me off guard. It was eight years ago. I was in the office preparing for the upcoming QBR, when my phone rang. It was our division VP. “Can you be in a client meeting this afternoon?” he asked. One of the world’s largest automotive OEMs. High stakes. 200 people are working around the clock to close the deal. I had 6 hours to prepare. My heart raced. This was the kind of meeting that could change many things! Of course, I said yes. Then came the pause. And that question: “What are you wearing right now?” "Is there a dress code?" I laughed. "Kind of..." He continued, a bit apologetically yet firmly: “I need to tell you that the president has a reputation for hitting on women. I want you to be prepared.” Suddenly, my job wasn’t just to represent the business. It was to calculate risk. To protect myself in the room. In those five hours, I still worked on my talking points. But I also asked a junior male colleague to join me, as a buffer and braced myself for inappropriate comments. The meeting went well. I delivered. There were no inappropriate comments But that experience never left me. ... If you're a woman in leadership, you need to prepare for two battles: The work, and the room. And if you're a male leader, your silence is complicity. Here’s what I now teach women privately, and what I wish someone told me earlier: 1. 🛡️ Bring your buffer.    Don’t be afraid to request someone in the room with you, not to assist you technically, but to dilute the power imbalance. It’s not weakness. It’s strategy.     2. 🚫 Pre-empt boundary crossing.    If you’re warned someone is inappropriate, name it before it happens. “Just to clarify, I’ll be focused strictly on business today.” Let them know they won’t get away with casual harassment cloaked as banter.     3. 📍Control the setting when you can.    Suggest public venues, group meetings, or shorter time slots. Private dinners and “casual drinks” are not neutral spaces. Stop feeling guilty for adjusting logistics to protect your dignity.     4. 📝 Write it down.    Any inappropriate comment, no matter how subtle, goes in your private log: date, time, what happened, and who else was there. Not because you’re planning to report it. But because memory fades, and patterns matter.     5. ⚖️ Stop normalizing it.    You’re not “too sensitive.”    You’re not imagining it.    You’re managing two jobs: your work, and your safety.    And the latter is unpaid labor.     If you're still wondering whether gender equity has arrived, ask yourself who’s planning their safety before they speak. And who just gets to speak. 👊 Until the answer is “everyone,” we’re not done.

It might sound strange, but some of the best performers are actually hurting your business. Now, I’m not idealistic and believe that everyone should be holding hands and singing Kumbaya - however, if you plan on having a high performance team and in business for a long period of time, then you need to look out for Ass-holes. Rewarding high-performing toxic team members is like injecting poison into the lifeblood of your company culture—no matter the immediate results, the long-term damage is inevitable. Here’s how it usually plays out: 1. Erosion of Trust: When toxic behavior is rewarded, it signals to the rest of the team that results matter more than respect, collaboration, or integrity. This erodes trust between employees and management, fostering an environment where individuals are more focused on survival than success. 2. Decreased Morale: Team members who witness toxic behavior being rewarded will quickly become disillusioned and demotivated. Even your top talent will begin to question whether their hard work and positive contributions are truly valued. 3. Loss of Talent: High performers who maintain a positive attitude and contribute to a healthy work environment are your company's greatest asset. However, if they perceive that toxic behavior is being overlooked or rewarded, they are more likely to leave for a company where their values align with those of leadership. This loss of valuable talent can set your organization back significantly. 5. Damage to Reputation: Word travels fast in professional circles, and a reputation for tolerating or rewarding toxic behavior can damage your company's brand. This makes it harder to attract new talent and can also turn away potential clients or partners who prioritize a healthy and ethical work environment. 6. Increased Turnover Costs: The financial impact of high turnover due to a toxic culture is substantial. Recruiting, hiring, and training new employees is costly, and the loss of institutional knowledge further hinders your company’s performance. So , how do you manage it? * Clear Communication of Expectations: Establish and communicate clear behavioral expectations alongside performance goals. Make it clear that toxicity is not tolerated, regardless of results. * Consistent Accountability: Apply consequences consistently, even for top performers. This demonstrates that no one is above the rules and maintains fairness within the team. * Promote and Reward Positivity: Actively recognize and reward team members who contribute positively to the culture, not just those who meet performance metrics. * Provide Support and Training: Offer coaching or counseling to help potentially toxic individuals improve their behavior. However, be prepared to take decisive action if no improvement is seen. * Foster Open Feedback: Encourage open communication and regularly solicit feedback on team dynamics. This helps identify toxic behavior early and address it before it escalates.

Many organizations spend time and money on brand marketing, not realizing that one of the biggest threats to their brand is the toxic individuals they keep and protect. When employees come forward or raise the flag on unethical workplace behaviors, a practice many leaders and HR departments adopt is to try to downplay the problem or silence the employee. They do so to protect leadership and the organization's reputation. While these tactics might appear to work to "contain the problem" in the short run, they are not effective down the road. The problem is not with the employees raising the flag of unethical behavior but with the people committing these behaviors within the organization. Toxic individuals do much human damage within organizations. It is impossible to deal with human damage by trying to camouflage a problem and make it look as though the target is the perpetrator. An organization is made of humans. When toxic behaviors are present and tolerated, humans can see and feel them as targets and as bystanders. This will affect their well-being and their motivation to work and stay with the organization, and it will affect their performance. Employees, as humans, are connected; when some are suffering, and the systems in place to protect them are inefficient, they lose trust in leadership and their organization. When employees trust that leadership and the organization want what is best for their employees, invest in their well-being, and are ready to act to protect them and live up to their organizational values, they want to invest in their work and their organization's success. Without trust, there is no emotional engagement; this leads to quiet quitting and turnover. When individuals are not held accountable for their unethical actions, they will keep repeating the same toxic behavior, hurting employees and, inevitably, the organization. Ignoring, hiding, or justifying unacceptable, unethical behaviors in the workplace will only increase the risk of recidivism by the perpetrator and others. We need organizations that genuinely care about their employees and walk the talk regarding creating safe workplaces. Dealing with toxic individuals takes courage and determination. While it might seem easier to ignore problems or blame targets and whistleblowers, these "solutions" are a trap, as they give more power to bullies and fraudsters. These individuals don't care about the organization and its employees; they only care about gaining power, control, and money. They will not hesitate to hurt the organization's reputation if they feel it can help them achieve their personal goals. Protecting them may seem like the "safest" solution; however, when organizations protect toxic individuals, no one is safe, including leaders and the organization's reputation. Creating positive and safe workplaces starts with dealing with unethical behavior and making perpetrators accountable. Take care of yourself and the people around you 💗

Being Black can be so exhausting 😥 The constant justification of our existence, why it's not ok to touch our hair, challenge our ambition or threaten our lives! Secondhand racism might as well be first-hand racism because it has the same impact! I couldn't engage with the Diane Abbott story last week; it was too hard to read the comments that supported the call for her death and the generalisation of her existence leading to hate for all Black women! Every day, we walk into rooms thinking… Is my hair acceptable How can I come across as less threatening Is the bass in a voice too aggressive Will I be the only Black person in this room How can I demonstrate I am excellent There is no room for mistakes Who is my ally To judge all Black women based on an interaction with one Black woman is confirmation bias at its finest 😩 and unjustified racism at its worst😕 Being the first in spaces designed without you in mind can be an interesting dynamic! On the one hand, you can: 🙌🏿 Change the narrative 🙌🏿 Open doors for others 🙌🏿 Stand out and shine 🙌🏿 Recruit allies and sponsors But on the other hand, you can also 👀 Exposure yourself to racism and discrimination 👀 Make noticeable errors and mistakes 👀 Validate stereotypes 👀 Code switch and become unauthentic 👀 Give people an opportunity to feed their conscious bias When you are the only or the first, and you are disliked or make a mistake, the door closes for us all! We all get painted with the same brush, and we all get labelled and dismissed because of the actions of one! We have been campaigning for violence against women to stop for hundreds of years, but what happens when you are Black and a woman? You face both misogyny and racism; this is now described as misogynoir, the active discrimination, prejudice and unchecked fear explicitly aimed at black women. For you to dislike or have interactions with a Black woman, then state that that interaction or her existence makes you hate all Black women is disturbing and triggering for us all because Dianne could be any of us 😕😥👸🏾 in the workplace, at school, university, out shopping 🤷🏾♀️ Unconscious bias, pre-judgement, and stereotyping are all natural emotions that become so engrained they are often unrecognisable! And so we must actively and acutely be aware of our words, gestures, judgements and biases! Above all, we continue to rise, stand firm with our allies and challenge all the stereotypes and judgments made against us! That is not to say it's not tiring, traumatising and unfortunate to observe! More to do… 😔 📷 Grace Mansah-Owusu, PhD #unconsciousbias #bias #inclusion #confirmationbias #equity #diversityandinclusion #racism #discrimination

Bullies exist in boardrooms too. Over the past few months, I’ve seen a rise in clients being bullied by their boss. The troubling part? Many of these bullies look like high performers on paper. They lead teams. They smile in meetings. They hit targets and close deals. And because they deliver, they’re often protected. Corporate systems are designed to reward results, not integrity. They celebrate what is produced, not how leaders behave. It’s also common for bullies to target someone of the same sex. Early in my career, I worked with a senior female director who bullied me and several other women on a project. So many team members resigned. I was terrified to go to work and too scared to report her. Workplace bullying isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like: – Taking credit for your work – Withholding information so you fail – “Feedback” that’s actually public humiliation – Excluding you from key decisions or meetings Over time, your confidence erodes. Your performance suffers. Your career stalls. And yet, people still say: “Just ignore them.” How are we supposed to do that? Here’s a better approach: 1. Speak in impact terms – Regulate emotions. Use business language. – Link behavior to risks or missed targets. 2. Document everything – Keep a private log. Save emails, chats, meeting notes. 3. Build your allies – Strengthen relationships beyond your team. – Share wins with those who outrank your boss. 4. Get support – From HR. From a lawyer, if needed. – From a coach to plan your next move. Your confidence, career, and well-being matter. You are not the problem. And if the company won’t protect you, do what you need to protect yourself. What other advice would you give? ♻️ Repost to help your network. ➕ Follow Deena Priest for more career and leadership insights. --- Image Credit: Andrea Petrone

#1 danger most employees overlook in the beginning: Toxic Work Culture. Most candidates focus on: ↳ Salary. ↳ Job responsibilities. ↳ Benefits and team activities. I used to do the same. And yes, these things matter. But none of it will matter if you step into a toxic environment. What’s easy to spot in the first few weeks: ➟ High turnover ➟ Unmotivated employees ➟ Quiet quitting What’s beneath the surface: ➟ Micromanagement ➟ Favoritism ➟ Incompetent leadership ➟ Blame culture ➟ Lack of trust ➟ No growth opportunities ➟ Overwork and burnout ➟ Unrealistic expectations ➟ No flexibility ➟ Feeling undervalued ➟ Gossip and office politics ➟ Poor communication ➟ Stagnant salaries Culture isn’t just what’s visible — it’s what’s felt. A thriving team isn’t built on surface-level perks. It’s built on trust, respect, and an environment where people want to stay. The real question: What’s beneath the surface of your workplace? Have you ever taken a job only to realize the culture was toxic? What were the warning signs? ♻️ Share this with your network. ☝️ For more valuable insights, follow me, Victoria Repa.

Stop celebrating 'hustle culture' at work. It's killing your best employees. The most toxic workplace trait isn't what you think - and you might be guilty of it. I watched it happen at my last company. Top performers burning out. Talented people quitting. Mental health crumbling. Get Jobs & Internship Updates Join Below:- . WhatsApp👉 https://lnkd.in/ghPTzV6m . Telegram👉 https://lnkd.in/ePxtYkFH . But here's what successful companies are doing differently in 2025: 1. They've killed the "always-on" culture • Flexible work arrangements are the norm • After-hours emails are discouraged • Mental health days are celebrated, not judged 2. They've redefined success • Quality of work > Hours logged • Personal growth is prioritized • Side projects are encouraged 3. They've transformed their culture • Psychological safety is non-negotiable • Real work-life integration (not just balance) • Recognition goes beyond performance metrics The results? • Higher productivity • Better retention • Increased innovation • Stronger team morale Here's the truth: The most successful companies aren't winning because they work more. They're winning because they work smarter. They understand that sustainable success comes from: • Respecting boundaries • Supporting mental health • Encouraging real breaks • Valuing personal time The era of toxic productivity is over. What's one toxic workplace habit you think needs to end? Share below 👇

I once got feedback that I was “intimidating.” I took it to heart. I spent the next few years trying to be as approachable, warm, and agreeable as I could be. I assumed this was a character flaw that I needed to fix. But years later, I realized something: this feedback wasn’t about me. It was about the system - one that judges women more harshly and polices their personalities more than their performance. And the numbers back this up. 👇🏽 🎯 Women are 7x more likely to receive negative personality-based feedback than men. 🎯 56% of women have been called "unlikeable" in reviews (vs. 16% of men). 🎯 Harvard Business Review found that 76% of “aggressive” labels in one company’s reviews were given to women (vs. 24% to men). This Is the Leadership Double Bind: Speak up? You’re “too aggressive.” Stay quiet? You “lack confidence.” Show ambition? You’re “unlikeable.” Ask for a promotion? You’re “too pushy.” And here’s the kicker - it’s worst for high-performing women. This is why women... ↳  Hesitate to showcase ambition. ↳  Are reluctant to ask for opportunities. ↳  Are leaving workplaces faster than others. So, what can we do? Here are 3 ways we can start changing this narrative today: ✅ Check your language. Is the feedback about personality or performance? If you wouldn’t give the same critique to a man, please reconsider. ✅ Challenge vague feedback. “You need to be more confident” isn’t actionable. Women deserve the same clear, growth-oriented feedback as men. ✅ Support women’s ambition. If certain leadership traits (ex. being assertive) are seen as strengths in men, they should be seen as strengths in women too. Have you ever received unfair feedback? What’s one piece of feedback you’ve had to unlearn? 👇🏽 ♻️ Please share to help end unfair feedback. 🔔 Follow Bhavna Toor (She/Her) for more insights on conscious leadership. Source: Textio 'Language Bias in Feedback' Study, 2023 & 2024 #EndUnFairFeedback #IWD2025

Hands up if you’ve been told that pain is a normal part of being a woman 🙋🏻♀️ I was 6 when I was first told “Beauty is pain” I heard this phrase so many times growing up: 🪡Getting my ears pierced 👩🏻🦱 My hair braided 🤨 Having my eyebrows plucked 👠 Learning to walk in high heels I felt like I was terrible at being a girl for not enjoying being in pain 🙈 But as i got older the message became embedded: “pain is just part of being a woman” From period pains to cervical smears, to childbirth, breastfeeding and beyond women are told that pain is normal. Our pain is ignored, normalised, dismissed. So much so that women are enduring surgical procedures with no anesthetic. Pain should never be dismissed, especially when it comes to women's health. Just because it's being normalised doesnt make it normal Our pain matters. It's time to break the cycle of silence and stigma surrounding women's pain. Raise your voice, share your story, and let's make a change. We deserve better. — #womenshealth #genderpaingap #femtech #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth