Working in a hostile or toxic setting can quickly have an impact on your job performance, mental health, and wellbeing. It is believed that one in five workers have found themselves in a workplace that has become hostile or threatening. This sort of workplace can be difficult to recognize, with some toxic behaviors being so normalized in recent years.
However, understanding the signs that you are working in a hostile setting could help to alleviate some of the stress you might experience. This post outlines three of the most common signs of working in hostile conditions as well as detailing what the definition is.
What is a Hostile Work Environment?
More than a demanding boss or disagreements with coworkers, a hostile work environment refers to workplace where behaviors or conduct create an abusive, intimidating, and/or offensive setting that upsets an employee’s ability to do their job well. The behaviors displayed in the workplace might include bullying, discrimination, or harassment based on a protected characteristic, like age, gender, race, etc.
Signs of a Hostile Work Environment
If you suspect you are working in a hostile environment, then it is essential you are aware of the signs. Knowing the warning signs can help you address the issue(s) before the situation worsens.
Three of the most common signs of a hostile work environment have been listed below:
Discriminatory Behavior and/or Language
Discriminatory behavior and language will often occur in a hostile work setting. This will see you or your coworkers singled out based on age, disability, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Although not all incidents like this will be related to a toxic environment, this is often one of the most common signs that you should be on the lookout for.
There are numerous examples of discrimination, such as direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination involves someone being treated less favorably due to a protected characteristic, while indirect might see a policy implemented that seems neutral but actually disadvantages a group of people because of protected characteristics. It can also include harassment and victimization.
However, discrimination might also be noticed in the lack of diversity in the workplace or a high employee turnover.
Constant Bullying or Harassment
Although discrimination can be mistaken for bullying, bullying is often not completely related to protected characteristics. This is usually a power imbalance to control or harm others in the workplace. This mistreatment will make the individual feel belittled, humiliated, and insulted. It might include being yelled at, intruding on your privacy, setting you up to fail with impossible deadlines, withholding necessary information, etc.
It is important to understand that bullying or harassment must be a continuous behavior to be determined as a hostile work environment. The bullying must be persistent from a superior or colleague; a one-off incident might not be enough to create a toxic workplace.
Exclusion from Opportunities
The third sign mentioned in this post is the exclusion from opportunities or isolation in the workplace. This might see you excluded from meetings and social interactions. It might be a subtle sign of a hostile work environment, but employees who experience this treatment will quickly feel undervalued and unwelcome.
To conclude, spotting the signs of a hostile work environment early on can help you protect yourself and maintain your overall wellbeing. It is important to understand these signs, as well as the definition of a toxic workplace, to ensure the right action can be taken when such issues arise.
