Nine rules to root out toxic workplaces

Grace Mole at Culture Amp sets out the rules for ensuring that organisations can avoid developing a toxic workplace culture

 

Toxic workplaces cause untold distress to colleagues, destroy careers, and left unchecked, can destroy brand equity altogether. The average UK payout to litigants suffering bullying is now £381,000.

 

But such problems are wider and more insidious than the high-profile cases in media headlines: two years of enforced hybrid work, management-by-Zoom and companies’ arbitrary policies as they try to survive have created a seedbed for misunderstanding and intimidation – between bosses and employees but also between new and old colleagues, or towards minorities that regularly feel excluded from opportunities to thrive.

 

Workplace surveys show that most employees today are subjected to unpleasant workplaces and often want to quit.

 

Amid our new economy’s obvious constraints, what is to stop workplace bullying? How can company leaders ensure everyone is treated fairly? And how do we keep discussions positive when things go bad? These rules can arrest the rise of toxic workplaces and pull situations back from the brink.

 

Rule #1 – Be clear about what bullying looks like – Each industry or organisation has its own way of working which need to be understood, but unacceptable and discriminatory behaviours should be unequivocally described and there should be zero tolerance of transgressions.

 

Rule #2 – Policies are real, not words on the wall – Organisations need to go beyond ineffectual awareness training ‘every so often’ and build fairness into every day at work. Mandate fairness and non-discriminatory behaviours for contracts and reviews – for old and new team members.

 

Too busy for all this? Employee engagement tools enable company leaders and HR teams to embed education sessions into daily operations, to ensure that change conversations do happen, and company cultures are changed.

 

Rule #3 – Live a fair environment – Company leaders need to embody fairness and transparency, reinforcing these values in their conduct, in meetings and in the presentations they make. Leaders’ transgressions need to be corrected so the workplace offers the psychological safety for people at all levels to admit mistakes and make improvements.

 

Rule #4 – Make it easy to complain – No-one will complain about bullying or ill-treatment if the report has to go through a line manager who is a serial offender. Have a confidential channel for complaints and respond to them quickly and sensitively.

 

You will also need to provide knowledge and training resources for your hotline, since responders will need to listen to, advise and guide people who are on different sides of the incident.

 

Rule #5 – Keep policies updated – ensure colleagues are always updated on legal updates, new regulations and travel rules. Continue with successful early-pandemic tactics like video calls, and informal Q&As to bring policies to life while using precise language.

 

People teams will also need to step up in Zoom calls and town hall sessions to show company leaders and managers on what’s expected of them too.

 

Rule #6 – Context is everything – Don’t rush communicating new rules and regulations. Check with trusted managers and colleagues on the optics and context. The company that announces a new benefits package without this ‘road testing’ might miss the opportunity to communicate genuine benefits and lose trust as a result.

 

Rule #7 – No surprises – No senior manager wants allegations of bullying or discrimination to be a surprise to them. Ensure there is regular upskilling and mentoring to update managers’ behaviours – and involve them in discussions that evolve your organisation’s values over time.

 

When you do identify a problem with a particular manager or employee, your People Team can maintain good conversations not only with that person but also the teams affected. Reinforce this triangulation by bringing the discussion ‘back up the funnel’ and note other managers’ and teams’ perceptions and whether things are improving after agreed interventions.

 

Rule #8 – Don’t outsource – Where you learn of bullying and unacceptable behaviours, you and your people team need to restate your company values, followed by organising education and mentoring for those involved.

 

If a simmering feud between key personnel is undermining productivity, back up education efforts by assigning members of the people team to talk regularly with everyone involved, assess the situation, and act on any changes observed. Change is best coming from within, rather than outside.

 

Rule #9 – Look before you leap – If things have deteriorated and legal process looms, don’t automatically reach for the warning letters; a surprising amount of progress can be made by keeping channels open, mentoring both sides and brokering an agreement.   

 

Fairness means inspiration

Two years of upheaval have tested organisations’ culture and survival tactics to the limit. If many people still chafe at lasting workplace constraints, today’s emerging work models nevertheless provide a golden opportunity for companies to reset their values and build performance systems that ensure emotional safety, fairness and opportunities for everyone.

 

Ensuring that fairness is the state-gate to progression will halt toxicity – and prove inspirational – for organisations, old or new.

 

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Grace Mole, Assoc CIPD, is Senior People Partner at employee experience platform Culture Amp. Working with Culture Amp’s global people & experience team, she helps lead the company’s people initiatives in EMEA, supporting the implementation of high-performing HR practices at scale, with a focus on performance, career development, employment law, and wellbeing.

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com