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Toxic workplace

A workplace where disrespect, hostility, unfairness or abuse are common enough to harm the people who work there; some of that conduct is also unlawful.

What It Means

A toxic workplace is one where disrespect, hostility, unfairness or abuse are a normal part of the job, to the point that they harm the people working there. MIT Sloan Management Review research by Donald Sull and colleagues sums up the usual features as the "Toxic Five": disrespectful, noninclusive, unethical, cutthroat and abusive. Some of it is unhealthy without breaking any law, and some crosses into conduct the law forbids, such as harassment based on a protected characteristic, discrimination and retaliation.

Try It: Unhealthy, or Possibly Unlawful?

Pick what's happening. This sorts it using EEOC guidance and MIT Sloan's research; only the EEOC or a court decides a real case.

How it sorts

Unhealthy

MIT Sloan's research calls this cutthroat, one of the Toxic Five. Raise it with your manager or HR.

How People Say It at Work

  • "I dread Sunday nights because of that job."
  • "Everyone's afraid to speak up in meetings."
  • "Three people quit this quarter and nobody's talking about why."

The Breakdown

The Toxic Five, from MIT Sloan Management Review research

FeatureWhat it looks like
DisrespectfulPeople are talked down to or ignored
NoninclusiveSome groups are treated unfairly or left out of decisions
UnethicalIntegrity and honesty are missing
CutthroatCoworkers undermine each other
AbusiveManagers bully, yell at or belittle people over time

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2022 Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being puts Protection from Harm first among its five essentials, alongside Connection and Community, Work-Life Harmony, Mattering at Work and Opportunity for Growth. Its idea of safety covers injury and illness, and also discrimination, bullying and harassment.

What to do (Buhata's suggestion)

  1. Write down what happens: the date, what was said or done, who was there.
  2. Sort it: unhealthy, or possibly unlawful (harassment based on a protected characteristic, discrimination, retaliation).
  3. Report unlawful treatment to HR in writing, and keep a copy.
  4. If HR doesn't act, or HR is part of the problem, contact the EEOC and talk to an employment lawyer.
  5. For what's unhealthy but legal, raise it with your manager, or theirs, with specific examples.
  6. Look after yourself meanwhile: rest, people outside work, and your doctor if it's affecting your health.

Try it today. Start a private, dated log of incidents, kept somewhere other than a work device.

Good to Know

The EEOC treats harassment as unlawful when it's based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information, and either putting up with it becomes a condition of keeping the job or it's severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would find the workplace intimidating, hostile or abusive. Punishing someone for reporting discrimination or taking part in an investigation is retaliation, which is also prohibited. Report unlawful treatment to HR or the EEOC, check the EEOC's site for how and when to file, and talk to an employment lawyer about your situation. If you're thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988. Call 911 in an emergency.

FAQ

What are the signs of a toxic workplace?

MIT Sloan Management Review's research groups them as the Toxic Five: disrespectful, noninclusive, unethical, cutthroat and abusive. Its authors found toxic culture was by far the strongest predictor of people quitting, around 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more times more important than pay.

Is a toxic workplace illegal?

The laws the EEOC enforces cover specific conduct: harassment based on a protected characteristic, discrimination and retaliation, which some toxic workplaces include. The EEOC says petty slights and isolated incidents generally aren't unlawful unless extremely serious.

Who do I report a toxic workplace to?

Start with HR, in writing. For harassment, discrimination or retaliation you can also contact the EEOC, and an employment lawyer can advise on your situation.

Do It in Buhata

Notes (Premium) and Calendar

Keep a dated incident log on each day's page in Notes (Premium), which stays private to you even in a shared Space, and put any filing or follow-up dates on the Calendar.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Burnout at work

    Exhaustion, cynicism about your job and a drop in how effective you feel, which WHO links to chronic workplace stress that hasn't been managed.

  • Psychological safety

    A shared belief on a team that it's safe to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes and disagree without being embarrassed or punished.

  • Boundaries at work

    Limits a person sets and tells others about at work, covering their time, workload, availability and how they're treated.

  • Work-life balance

    How your time and energy divide between paid work and the rest of your life, such as family, rest, health and interests.

Work, career and remote life

Sources

Donald Sull and colleagues, "Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great Resignation," MIT Sloan Management Review; Donald Sull and colleagues, "Why Every Leader Needs to Worry About Toxic Culture," MIT Sloan Management Review; U.S. Surgeon General, "Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being" (2022); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "U.S. Surgeon General Releases New Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace" (October 20, 2022); U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Harassment"; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Retaliation"; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Last updated .