The office could be like a second home for many people, and because they spend the majority of their working life at the desk and with their colleagues, they have to do what you can to make sure that the work environment that they are in is a healthy one. You deserve to go to work every day and not feel stressed out and like you’re hating the place. You’re busy, and that means learning how to make sure that your vibe is a healthy one. Your co-workers and your team can always be the people that you were interacting with most in your life, but you cannot feel effective in your job because the place you are working is toxic.

Many of us encounter a toxic work environment at least once in life, and being able to recognise that toxic environment could help you along the way. Even if you work from home, a negative working environment can actually impact your health in a negative way, too. When you’re in a toxic environment, it can be difficult to function or feel as if you are effective enough in your job. If you want to think about your working environment and get some help with that, you can learn more about Thomas Law Offices and how you can get the help that you need. One of the best ways that you can get some help is to learn to recognize the signs of a toxic working environment. We’ve got eight of those for you below:

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  • People tell you to feel lucky that you have a job in the first place. If you’re working in an office alongside people that tell you that you are lucky to be there, that should be a red flag. Your boss, especially, should never tell you this, because this makes you feel like you should be begging for the job that you have. It’s actually a means of manipulation and threatening you to stay and this is symptomatic of an organization that often prefers to bully their staff rather than raise them up. You have to remember that you are working a job for other people with a view to improving yourself and hitting your goals. If you’ve been told that you should be lucky you should be there, it’s time to break out the resume and look elsewhere.
  • There’s just no communication. A big sign that you’re in a toxic work environment is that nobody is talking to you. It’s not just the standard office gossip or talking about the TV show from the night before, if your colleagues and bosses are leaving you out of the loop of important information, then there’s a problem. A lack of communication shows that your workplace is a toxic one and if you get little to no feedback about your performance, it’s not a good place to work.
  • There’s just a feeling. When you work with other people, you should be able to work comfortably. If you’re walking into work and everybody around you is miserable, then that’s another red flag that you should look out for. In this office, there is no positivity and there’s nobody coming into work with a smile on their face. You deserve to work somewhere that you feel appreciated and where people are positive and happy.
  • Drama, drama, drama. Let’s be honest; we all love to watch a little bit of office drama. We wouldn’t be human otherwise. However, this should not be a constant thing, and people shouldn’t be engaging in school ground fighting and drama all the time. You should be working in a friendly place, and not a hostile dog eat dog type of office. If there is always gossip around it’s time to go.
  • There is an emphasis on dysfunction. Are your meetings a waste of time? Are you spending more time being dragged places rather than focusing on your job? One of the biggest issues that show that your work environment is unhealthy, is if dysfunction is the main event. Is there a constant change of policies? Are regulations getting added or changed without notice? If your management is never around to help solve the problems, these are symptoms of a disorganized organization.
  • Your boss loves to control. Yes, you need somebody in charge to help you to learn what to do. But if your boss is tyrannical and they are watching everything you are doing, and thrive on controlling and micromanaging everything that you do – it’s time to run.
  • There is no progression. If you have approached your management several times because you’re not being recognised for all the work that you are doing and you cannot see the promotions, and raises that you should be getting, it’s time to leave.
  • Your intuition tells you to run. If going to work every day makes you feel like you have to run a mile – that’s a pretty clear sign that your working environment is unhealthy and you need to leave.