Toxic Employees Quotes

Toxic employees pose a much bigger threat to the success of the company than all of the competitors combined.

Companies are most vulnerable to failure by implosion, not from external competition. Toxic employees pose a much bigger threat to the success of the company than all the competitors combined.

Depressed, ruthless bosses create toxic organizations filled with negative underachievers. But if you’re an upbeat, inspirational leader, you cultivate positive employees who embrace and surmount even the toughest challenges.

Having a good company culture is even more important than policies and procedures. When there's good company culture, employees will make good choices even in the absence of policies and procedures. But if there's a toxic company culture, employees will tend to make bad choices even policies and procedures are well established.

Having a good company culture is even more important than policies and procedures. When there's a good company culture, employees will make good choices even in the absence of policies and procedures. But if there's a toxic company culture, employees will tend to make bad choices even if policies and procedures are well established.

Where do you have the occasion to give life or death with your words? Is it as a father or mother, disciple maker, employee or employer, or husband or wife? Few practices can benefit a relationship more or turn it around faster than becoming a person who praises rather than criticizes or is negative. And remember, those negative words have dramatically more impact than positive words.

The reality is a lot more mundane: design and programming are just professions—sets of skills and practices, just like any other field. Admitting that truth would make tech positions feel a lot more welcoming to diverse employees, but tech can’t tell that story to the masses. If it did, then the industry would seem normal, understandable, and accessible—and that would make everyday people more comfortable pushing back when its ideas are intrusive or unethical.

Just as most American employers give us ‘at will’ employments, our entire existence has become subject to their will. We have arrived at a point where most of our stress is a result of not knowing whether we will get the next paycheck. Exploitative employers love it this way. So long as we are afraid, they are sure to get 100 percent submission from us. We cannot let our toxic way of working be accepted as the norm and as the typical American work ethics. We deserve and can do much, much better than this.

This would not have come as news to Jason Fried, cofounder of the web application company 37signals. For ten years, beginning in 2000, Fried asked hundreds of people (mostly designers, programmers, and writers) where they liked to work when they needed to get something done. He found that they went anywhere but their offices, which were too noisy and full of interruptions. That’s why, of Fried’s sixteen employees, only eight live in Chicago, where 37signals is based, and even they are not required to show up for work, even for meetings. Especially not for meetings, which Fried views as “toxic.” Fried is not anti-collaboration—37signals’ home page touts its products’ ability to make collaboration productive and pleasant. But he prefers passive forms of collaboration like e-mail, instant messaging, and online chat tools. His advice for other employers? “Cancel your next meeting,” he advises. “Don’t reschedule it. Erase it from memory.” He also suggests “No-Talk Thursdays,” one day a week in which employees aren’t allowed to speak to each other.

Setting boundaries and holding people accountable is a lot more work than shaming and blaming. But it’s also much more effective. Shaming and blaming without accountability is toxic to couples, families, organizations, and communities. First, when we shame and blame, it moves the focus from the original behavior in question to our own behavior. By the time this boss is finished shaming and humiliating his employees in front of their colleagues, the only behavior in question is his. Additionally, if we don’t follow through with appropriate consequences, people learn to dismiss our requests—even if they sound like threats or ultimatums. If we ask our kids to keep their clothes off the floor and they know that the only consequence of not doing it is a few minutes of yelling, it’s fair for them to believe that it’s really not that important to us. It’s hard for us to understand that we can be compassionate and accepting while we hold people accountable for their behaviors. We can, and, in fact, it’s the best way to do it. We can confront someone about their behavior, or fire someone, or fail a student, or discipline a child without berating them or putting them down. The key is to separate people from their behaviors—to address what they’re doing, not who they are.

If we are not certain about this then all we need to do is look on line for stories regarding TSA Employees coming down with a variety of Cancers that result from operating these Dangerous and Toxic Airport Insecurity Machines They Are Herding All of Our American Public through like Sheeple!

Many mistakenly think that remaining silent until finding another job is the safest and least costly approach, only to find out once at a new job, that the same old game starts all over again. The reason for this is simple: there is no escape. The issue is not about a specific company or corporation, even though it is true that some of them are much more oppressive and unbearable than others. The reason why changing employers never solves the problem is because the problem is systematic, structural, and indeed cultural. The fact that this reality of toxic workplaces has been tolerated for so long has turned it into a normalized and acceptable culture. It is very dangerous when anything becomes an accepted culture or norm. This point is crucial to ponder if we want to resist and change this unhealthy culture. The toxicity of many workplaces in America has been so normalized that people do not even question them anymore. Also, predictably, over time, things normalized become moralized. By moralized I mean that this toxicity is now considered as a moral way of earning one’s living, despite much evidence that it’s at once unhealthy and demoralizing. It is considered moral to work hard to earn your living, and it has become accepted that work is simply what it is and there is nothing you can do about it.

In brief, anyone who has worked at one or two workplaces in America is familiar with that type of middle management or upper management individuals whose job is almost exclusively to create unnecessary tasks and procedures that turn the lives of employees under them into an absolute nightmare. What usually happens under such toxic circumstances? Nothing. A deafening silence from most employees. In fact, many employees not only remain silent out of fear of getting fired, they go as far as putting on fake smiles (or even loud laughter) to survive. Some walk around the office with the attitude of ‘I love my job!’ ‘I love my life!’ ‘I am living the dream!’ to please middle and upper management.

The biologically toxic field of high altitude astronomy was the only employer that sent me on a ‘How to deal with unacceptable employee behavior’ management course.

A question that I have had since I discovered that I have developed High Altitude Observatory Disease (HAOD) is: Did astronomers know about the toxicity of the very high altitude Mauna Kea mountain and willfully damage my health to obtain tainted astronomical data? In 2019, building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop Mauna Kea confirmed that they willfully trashed my health, which breaks OSHA law: The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers.

Toxic bosses do not change and are hard to displace. Even middle-level toxic managers are masterful at massaging the egos at the top of the corporate or leadership ladder and treating the employees under them horribly. That means it can be difficult to get recourse from higher-level leaders.

WE EXPECT COUNSELING centers with their commitments to healing and their high degree of training to be community oases. When those values are violated, it strikes us as very strange. Other organizations dealing with social breakdown and crime often hire less trained employees and sometimes the combustible fumes in the air explode.

When a workplace becomes toxic, its poison spreads beyond its walls and into the lives of its workers and their families. In contrast, positive organizations energize and inspire their workers. When forced to downsize, they try to soften reality’s hard edges. Their leaders know organizations thrive when employees thrive.

In 2014, an executive used the software’s “god view”—which shows customers’ real-time movements, as well as their ride history—to track a journalist who was critical of the company. Other sources have claimed that most corporate employees have unfettered access to customers’ ride data—and have, at times, tracked individual users just for fun.6 In 2012, Uber even published an official blog post bragging about how it can tell when users have had a one-night stand—dubbing them, somewhat grossly, “rides of glory.” (Uber deleted the post a couple years later, when major stories started breaking about its disregard for privacy.)

If employees are not raising their concerns over the obsolete protocols and rigid systems, it simply points towards sluggish and toxic leadership that will gradually bring the company to extinction.

I have personally encountered several Bosnians who shared very negative experiences. Other employees would spew hateful and toxic comments intended to devalue them. They could not tolerate the thought of immigrants and refugees getting bigger paychecks. Many complaints were that Bosnians were easy targets for harassment. Those who harassed them could not pick on people from dominant, powerful, and wealthy socioeconomic classes.

Having a bank account in the United States or China won't make any difference as a business owner but people who don't have enough money and time to travel long distances and test the system for themselves, want to believe in illusions. Many banks are actually happy to steal people's money due to their nationality, like they did with Russian people now. And this while the masses consider it to be normal. Imagine if countries stole your money every time your government did something they don't like! Actually they do, which is why your government promises one thing before being elected and then does another. The employees of these governments and big companies are like little Nazis. They will simply repeat: it's the "policy of the company" or "it's the law". Nobody cares to question laws or policies because they think smart people are the ones who obey. Well, you will get nowhere in life by obeying a system that is manipulated against you, which is why so many frustrated people, seeing others in jet planes and traveling the world, are turning to crime and prostitution. This tendency will keep increasing. Yet if I tell people to learn to use a gun, they will say that a spiritual guru would never say such things. Well, I would never trust any guru or religious person who said to me to wait until someone knocks me off with a hammer or that I must accept the misfortunes of life as an opportunity to meditate on karma. As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I got in all religions where I sought answers to this problem, which means even religions have been corrupted by illusions and ignorance. They empower a very toxic demon around these lies called guilt. But this demon is kept alive with dogma.

When is the Denver Police Department going to start prosecuting Denver based fraudulent Frontier Airlines and its toxic employees for its illegal activities it blatantly engages in with law abiding passengers?

One of the worst cases of employee abuse that I witnessed in the workplace was a toxic manager holding employees captive in a remote location against their will to complete a project that was behind schedule. It was verging on kidnapping the employees.

The irony is, in the midst of the pressure this creates for both companies and employees, employees also want a culture of accountability. Cultures with a poor accountability structure create a toxic work environment that under-values star performers, incorrectly rewards poor performers, and leaves leaders feeling confused and overwhelmed. In the end, the best employees leave for a culture with greater accountability so that they are no longer adopting the slack of employees who are not being held sufficiently accountable.

DOLINSKY’S IMPERATIVE: “Individuals must take it upon themselves to form and grow bubbles of civility within and external to their organizations. Doing so creates new and deeper relationships across stakeholders. It prevents bureaucratic claptrap and friction from descending like a toxic cloud of dissatisfaction. Friction is reduced, and the spread of the workplace zombie virus is slowed.

DOLINSKY’S IMPERATIVE: Individuals must take it upon themselves to form and grow bubbles of civility within and external to their organizations. Doing so creates new and deeper relationships across stakeholders. It prevents bureaucratic claptrap and friction from descending like a toxic cloud of dissatisfaction. Friction is reduced, and the spread of the workplace zombie virus is slowed.

Communicate throughout Let employees know how things are going during the entire progress.  They need to know what has transpired and what will occur next.  This helps maintain focus on the task at hand, and it keeps employees interested.  It is achieved by providing information, facts, data, and accomplishments.

Hazel began to utter strange notions about Alice’s role, including the idea that she needed to do something to demonstrate her loyalty. I hadn’t heard this schtick outside of Mafia movies. She verbalized at one point that “I want her to prove her loyalty. She should be willing to do anything I tell her to do. She’s got to prove she wants to be on my team.

Contemporaneous notes, as they’re called, assist in fighting what’s known as “memory decay” and may pay dividends at some point if you are being attacked by a coworker and need to document your experiences.

Ask about turnover rates. The average turnover rate at US companies is between 11 and 12 percent. Some industries have lower rates and others much higher. Ask your interviewers how long they have worked for the company and the length of time people in the department you’re interested in have worked for the company. Ask about the history of the position you are interviewing for. Have other people been in this role, or is it newly created? If it’s an existing job, ask why the last person left,

As she approached the table, I rose to my feet and shook her hand. “Thanks for coming, Hazel,” I said. “Thank you for inviting me,” she replied, giving me a head-to-toe look as we shook hands.

The Belittlers—These people hurl insults and putdowns at every opportunity. They’re better than you and their work is, too—just ask them!

Then there’s absenteeism. Absenteeism is a purposeful and intentional skipping of work because of conditions people are facing at the job. It’s glorified hooky. It’s a significant financial hit. And it’s rampant in toxic workplaces because people have an oversized need to get out of the office. How expensive is absenteeism? Kaiser Permanente analyzed employee absenteeism and estimated it costs businesses $ 1,685 per employee per year.

Of the employees whose managers were described as incompetent, inconsiderate, secretive, and uncommunicative, a whopping 60 percent suffered heart attacks or other life-threatening cardiac conditions.

When you know an employee is toxic to your culture, get rid of them right away. Otherwise, that toxicity will spread in your culture and take over, infecting others.

Dayna emphasized that the main challenge for companies deciding whether to adopt biomimetic solutions hinges on value generation. Profit is usually the only metric that is used, and while she recognizes the tremendous potential for profit offered by biomimicry, she stressed that there are also highly valuable, albeit less easily measured, benefits for companies that adopt biomimicry into their practices. Employees see real purpose and personal mission in their work. It creates passion, loyalty, creativity, and team building. Biomimetic product development starts from a nontoxic, nonharmful stance. Rather than designing for end effect and then compensating for toxicity and waste management, it also saves adopters considerable money on increasingly arduous and expensive environmental regulations-and future remediation liability.

No child can avoid emotional pain while growing up, and likewise emotional toxicity seems to be a normal by-product of organizational life—people are fired, unfair policies come from headquarters, frustrated employees turn in anger on others. The causes are legion: abusive bosses or unpleasant coworkers, frustrating procedures, chaotic change. Reactions range from anguish and rage, to lost confidence or hopelessness. Perhaps luckily, we do not have to depend only on the boss. Colleagues, a work team, friends at work, and even the organization itself can create the sense of having a secure base. Everyone in a given workplace contributes to the emotional stew, the sum total of the moods that emerge as they interact through the workday. No matter what our designated role may be, how we do our work, interact, and make each other feel adds to the overall emotional tone. Whether it’s a supervisor or fellow worker who we can turn to when upset, their mere existence has a tonic benefit. For many working people, coworkers become something like a “family,” a group in which members feel a strong emotional attachment for one another. This makes them especially loyal to each other as a team. The stronger the emotional bonds among workers, the more motivated, productive, and satisfied with their work they are. Our sense of engagement and satisfaction at work results in large part from the hundreds and hundreds of daily interactions we have while there, whether with a supervisor, colleagues, or customers. The accumulation and frequency of positive versus negative moments largely determines our satisfaction and ability to perform; small exchanges—a compliment on work well done, a word of support after a setback—add up to how we feel on the job.28

There is plenty of research and data clearly demonstrating that while employees may choose to join an organization because of the brand, benefits, and other perceived rewards, they invariably choose to leave an organization because of their relationship with their immediate supervisor. I would also suggest that people choose to leave when they experience a toxic work environment and when they do not have a strong relationship (an Ally) among their peers. Employees, especially talented high performers, always have a

Employees are people who live in communities. Let's stop pretending workplaces are separate from community, places where robots go to die.

Shaming and blaming without accountability is toxic to couples, families, organizations, and communities. First, when we shame and blame, it moves the focus from the original behavior in question to our own behavior. By the time this boss is finished shaming and humiliating his employees in front of their colleagues, the only behavior in question is his. Additionally, if we don’t follow through with appropriate consequences, people learn to dismiss our requests—even if they sound like threats or ultimatums. If

Effect On Culture Organizations are made up of people. Those people work and “live” there with other people at least 40 hours per week. Like the connective tissue that begins to form when we are injured or when we are healing and becomes a part of who we are, team members are a part of the connective tissue of the organization. What happens when we remove or tear out a piece of that tissue? Not only does it hurt a lot, it causes heavy bleeding. If it doesn’t heal properly, there are complications. We may never regain our function in that area. When good productive people leave, we feel the pain and so does the culture of the team. The only way to mend the tissue permanently is to do the right things to engage and retain them. Spillover Effect We don’t talk about this much, but there is a psychological impact on other productive and engaged employees when they are forced to work with disengaged employees. Whether it is during water cooler talk or just in combined work spaces, the negative energy that disengaged employees pass to the entire team and organization can be toxic. Oftentimes, the disengaged employees are the scapegoats to deeper organizational issues. When we do not look at what is causing them to be disengaged, we enable the spillover effect to continue. Organizations that want a thriving workplace must rid themselves of disengaged employees, not necessarily by termination, but by living by the Laws found in this book. Negative Word Of Mouth Remember that unhappy employees don’t make for good promoters of your brand. In fact, disengaged employees are likely to tell more people and blurt it out all over social media and at every party. Reputationally, this negative word of mouth works against your brand promise. Who are you out in the world to your customers? Whatever that is, it must match who you are to your employees. Loss Of Organizational Stability Stop for a minute and think about what it says to your customers, partners, and investors when your employees keep walking out the door. Potentially, they could be in the middle of a complex project implementation and having a consistent point of contact through that process is key.

If you are in a toxic environment, you will waste away.

Of twenty employees, Carlos says he was the only one who hadn't slept with the receptionist. Talk about a dysfunctional workplace! However, he couldn't immediately quit. How did Carlos survive? “I just did my job,” he told us.