There Are Two Root Causes To Any Toxic Work Environment And Both Have To Do With The Person In Charge
She explained that the only way to improve work environments is to look at how the people in charge are running their teams.
fizkes / Shutterstock A woman has shared the reason why so many working-class adults have issues in their work environment. In a TikTok video, Amanda Browne, a content creator who specializes in management consulting, leadership development, and training, revealed the two root causes in a company that leads to a toxic workplace for everyone involved.
She admitted that companies being led by 'hypocrites with fragile egos' contribute to a toxic work environment.
"Hypocrites are people who say one thing and then do something differently, right? They lack integrity and authenticity. So, if you are a company that says you prioritize self-care and yet you are constantly asking employees to do tasks outside of their scope of work, or are not respecting their time off, or don't really give time off, you're untrustworthy," Browne bluntly stated.
She continued, saying that countless managers at various companies undermine the emerging leaders on their teams, or refuse to give out promotions, bonuses, or raises. She acknowledged that it can be hard to do so, especially if places are funded by grants, the government, or insurance, but that there's no excuse and employers need to start getting creative to keep their employees happy and not have a high turnover rate.
"You need to understand what's happening, and this is where the fragile egos come in because places where that doesn't happen or part of why that doesn't happen is because people don't know how to take feedback," she said. "If you have a manager who isn't receptive to any kind of criticism or quick to judge and jump to the defensive, I hate to break it to you, but your ego might be a little fragile."
Browne explained the best way to work around having a fragile ego so that a company doesn't suffer.
"The only way to get around that is to be honest with yourself and do individual work to figure that out and also learning how to both provide and receive feedback because that is a skill," Browne informed viewers. "Some people aren't always great at how they deliver feedback and can put you automatically on the defense."
Browne pointed out that attitudes like that are understandable, but if multiple people are coming up to an employer and voicing their grievances, and their response is to say one thing but nothing's actually happening or being done to fix it, then they don't have the appropriate feedback mechanism.
"You need to have a way of assessing what's happening and making changes. If you have a team that is uncomfortable with change and therefore refuses to do anything about it, you need to figure out how to work with them and support them through that process."
Browne also offered advice for people in managerial positions who may be good at their jobs but aren't so good at leading other people.
To that, she advises that people offer support and training for them instead of forcing them to learn on the job.
"If you wanna save a lot of time and turnover, and promote a healthy workplace culture, I wouldn't do it that way," Browne said. "Stop being hypocritical and don't be so fragile. That's not always helpful."
Browne's assessment holds weight, especially when looking at the amount of working-class adults who are mostly unhappy with their management and work environments. In a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 84% of U.S. workers say poorly trained managers create a lot of unnecessary work and stress. On top of that, 57% of American workers say managers in their workplace could benefit from training on how to be better people managers, and 50% admitted that they would feel their own performance would improve if their direct supervisor received additional training in people management.
To create a healthy work environment filled with employees who want to come in every day and put their best foot forward when it comes to the jobs they do, employers, managers, and other senior-level workers need to understand just how vital it is to constantly strive for better performances when it comes to their leadership skills.
It's important that just like other employees in a company, managers have self-awareness to realize when their attitudes and behaviors are bringing down the other people who work either with them or under them. By being able to create a more nurturing and supportive work environment, companies can drastically reduce their turnover rates and quickly see a vast improvement among their employees.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.