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How To Identify A Toxic Workplace Before Accepting a Job There

Chances are, you have worked or currently work for a toxic workplace. They are hard to avoid – it feels like you can’t swing your laptop-bag without knocking over three toxic companies along the way.

One could assume you are trying to avoid another toxic workplace in your next job. No one wants to go from one bad situation to another. Not only does it waste your time, it breaks down your mental health, and makes you feel stuck in the role, as you do not want to look like a job hopper.

So, let’s first break down what makes a workplace toxic:

  • Cultural factors such as bullying, harassment, manipulation, poor communication, broken trust and unethical behaviour.
  • Structure such as the management style (micro-management), lack of opportunities to grow, high pressure and burnout, no space to share ideas or speak up with opinions, unrealistic goals, unrealistic workload, etc.

 

Of course, how one defines a toxic work environment is personal – what does not align with your values, may not be a concern for someone else. However, majority of us align with what institutes a toxic, negative working culture.

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What To Look Out For

High turn-over: You can easily jump onto LinkedIn and see how many staff used to work there, and how many of them are new. If a lot of the staff are new, then there has been a massive re-shuffle and or change. This rings alarm bells. To have one new employee join the team is great, but 5 in the last month…I would question that.

Employee Feedback: Platforms such as Seek, Glassdoor, Indeed, Firsthand, and Joberty,. See what they have to say. Read more than one review, as one persons opinion is not fact, and everyone has different thresholds. If there is a constant and common review by majority of ex-employees, then you can deduce that this is the reality of the workplace.

Ask the right questions: At your next job interview, you have the chance to ask questions. Make them count. Asking questions such as “why is this role available?” “How do you provide feedback?” “What up-skilling initiative do you have in place?” “What type of person are you looking for?” “What does success look like in this role?”

Asking these forms of questions can give you an insight into the culture, what they value and how they treat their employees. It is important to learn how to read body language of a hiring manager when you ask these questions – because what they say, and how they say it might be competition messages. This is not easy and over time, you will start to see the signs and micro tail-tells. If you need assistance with this, check out our Interview Coaching services – we break down the psychology behind an interview and how to effectively read the hiring manager.

At the end of the day, no matter how prepared you are or how much research you’ve done, there’s still a chance you could walk into a bad situation.

The key is to listen to your gut. Don’t second-guess yourself. If it does not feel right, then it is not right.

Turnover can be circumstantial; other employees’ opinions are just that —opinions, not facts —and a hiring manager might not have all the answers for you. This is why we cannot tell you these three methods will be foolproof. Nothing ever is in this case. The only way to gain an accurate insight is by having someone on the inside whom you trust, who shares your values and ideas regarding culture and career goals.

Nonetheless, these three methods are still beneficial to practice as it will significantly reduce your chances in accepting a job role that does not align with you.

The very last point we want to make is – do not concern yourself by looking like a job hopper. Your mental and physical health is more important than your resume displaying short job stints. If you need help in creating a positive, stand out resume, then send us a email today – info@mycareerangels.com.au – we have you covered.

 

 

My Career Angels…become who you want to be