HIRING STRATEGY AUDIT FOR FREE HERE
Client LoginToxic behaviour can kill your brand value, company culture and in some circumstances, lead to suicide. Recent studies reveal the devastating impact: workplace toxicity increases employee turnover by 35% and costs UK employers billions annually due to turnover alone.
If I could remove one toxic behaviour from the planet, it would be gaslighting (words not matching actions). Studies show 58% of workers report experiencing gaslighting at work, making it one of the most common forms of workplace toxicity.
Let's paint a picture. Remember that feeling when you started your new job? You are full of enthusiasm and hope, looking forward to diving deep.
Then you start feeling that something isn't right, and you ignore it, trying to bury this for a while. Then comes the self-doubt, you start questioning yourself, your professionalism and if you are capable of doing your work at all.
A daily dose of creeping anxiety and low self-esteem are slowly poisoning your life. Some people even feel suicidal as time goes on and mental abuse becomes more and more unbearable.
Eventually, you wake up, realising that you're not the problem, the environment is the problem and is infected with drama, gossip, unhealthy competition, and nobody is treating each other with respect.
According to research, a single "bad apple" or negative team member can significantly lower a team's performance by up to 40%, meaning one toxic individual can reduce a group's effectiveness by nearly half! Conversely, organisations that maintain high psychological safety show 76% higher engagement and 27% reduction in turnover.
Prevention Strategies
What can we do? Stop employing toxic individuals is one solution; however, traditional hiring methods like contingency, transactional recruitment, preferred supplier lists, 2-3 interview method, allow these individuals to walk right in without detection.
Organisations using behavioural interviewing and cultural assessments report 60% higher success rates in avoiding toxic hires. Here's how we can detect individuals with toxic traits:
👉 Create a candidate journey that fosters connection and engagement.
👉 Have one person at the centre of the process, focusing on human connection.
👉 Use assessment tools, not to test but to engage more with candidates.
👉 Once you get to know someone, only then you can see their true nature.
Additional preventive measures that successful organisations implement include:
👉Establishing clear anti-toxicity policies with specific behavioural examples
👉Implementing regular psychological safety surveys
👉Creating anonymous reporting systems
👉Providing management training on recognising and addressing toxic behaviours
👉Instituting regular culture audits
There is no method or process that is 100% effective; however, the more you engage and connect with someone, the more accurate your observations of that person will be. Creating a culture of psychological safety and accountability is crucial for maintaining a healthy workplace environment.
“Imagine if we measured success by the amount of safety that people feel in our presence.” -Jonathan Louis Dent