Nearly 1 in 5 workers believe their workplace is toxic

Everyone wants to work in a healthy environment, but for some, toxic workplaces are all too familiar. HR can keep an eye out for indicators that their workplace may be toxic and help create policies that ensure a safe environment for all.

The data. A recent poll from the American Psychological Association found that 19% of workers believe their workplace is at least somewhat toxic, and employees in toxic environments are three times more likely to “have experienced harm to their mental health at work” than those in healthy ones.

“Those in toxic work environments likely aren’t thriving in their personal lives, either. These environments don’t stay at work—they often follow employees home and impact their loved ones, sleep, and overall health,” Keren Wasserman, program manager for workplace transformation at Lyra Health, told HR Brew in an email.

Get proactive. HR leaders and management are in the best position to recognize when a workplace is becoming unhealthy, according to Wasserman. They usually track metrics that can be affected by toxicity, like organizational performance, which may sink, and quiet quitting and absenteeism, which may soar.

Anna Tavis, a clinical professor of human capital management at New York University, suggested that HR conduct regular employee pulse surveys and check in with managers to determine employee sentiment and well-being. “[Managers] have to be those people who identify and respond to these initial signs of distress,” she explained, cautioning, however, that “they could be the cause of it.”

Another way to spot signs of workplace toxicity is by keeping an eye on the voluntary departure rate. An uptick in quits may signal an issue, but, “That’s an extreme,” Tavis said, and “you don’t want to get to that level.”

Wasserman said that if HR leaders notice a problem, they should work with team leaders to course-correct. “In addition, having systems in place for internal incident reports or ethics phone lines are important mechanisms to allow team members to provide anonymous feedback and report any misconduct in the workplace,” she said.

“It’s about really creating a culture of psychological safety, where employees should be able to share how they feel,” added Tavis.