TOXIC WORKPLACE

Four in seven (83%) HR Professionals have experienced working in a organisation they will call a toxic culture. In a culture shock, statistic shows that 30% reported that they either currently work or have worked at an organisation with a highly toxic culture, 53% said they currently work in a somewhat toxic culture. Only 17% said they have never worked at such an organisation.

For must organisations, their cultures are made up of sub-cultures, even in company with a decent reputation they can have pockets of toxicity. However, even If there is consistent organisational culture, people’s experience in different team can be really different. How certain teams like to work together varies too, for example what a human resources team wants compared to a marketing team can be different. Which meant that their culture naturally differs.

Now the question for HR professionals is: do they speak truth to power? You would hope they do at HRD level but its about how they cascade that down. HR needs to be front centre, not only to put in place policies, but to create the culture that sits behind them.

In a possibly tense workplace situation it may be tempting to dissipate stress through humour, sometimes at somebody else’s expense, often the aim is to strengthen bonds and not to offend. But business leaders and professionals, when is it time to step in and ensure banters isn’t offensive? And ofcourse how can we ensure we don’t render workplaces free of humour altogether?

The first step is to encourage a safe environment where team members can be open and honest with each other. A safe environment with engender feelings of mutual respect, encourage banter to be kept within social norms, alleviate power inequality between members of the team that can risk banter being or being perceived as bullying, and enable banter to be self-controlled by encouraging individuals to speak out immediately if and when boundaries have been or look like they are being crossed.

But how exactly is a safe environment best encouraged? Study shows time key skills and behaviours makes huge contribution. Highly successful groups, whether consciously or sub-consciously, tend to exhibit clear skills and behaviours that facilitates and encourage the development of safe connections. These skills and behaviours tend to include proximity, eye contact, energy, mimicry, turn taking, body language, verbal pitch, attention, consistency of emphasis and constructive communication between all team members, in such groups of which banters and teasing can be used naturally and effectively to improve group cohesion, productivity and success.

In conculsion, it is hoped that common sense will prevail and that constructive humour, banters and teasing are not to be banished from the workplace. If they were, not only would the workplace become a more sterile environment, the ability of team members to interact freely in a positive and cohesive way to the success of the overall organisation would be negatively affected. At its root, ensuring that banters does not cause offence is about using emotional intelligence, kindness is key. Try to prevent offence in the first place, but nevertheless be vigilant for it and nip it in the bud!