How to spot a toxic workplace and what to do about it

How to spot a toxic workplace and what to do about itHow to spot a toxic workplace and what to do about itIssues with the cultures of big companies, including Uber and Google, have recently been in the news, turning the spotlight onto the subject of toxic workplaces. But few are talking about the causes.What are the indicators that a companys culture or workplace could quickly turn toxic?Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe roots of a company culture include rules, expectations, and policies. If these are subjective - left open to interpretation - the company invites differing opinions, which causes conflict, which results in toxicity. Subjective work processes and systems are the sources of most toxic company cultures.How you can spot a potential problemIf you are on the outside of a company looking in, there are some indicators that should encourage you to explore further. Us ing whatever access you have to people in the company and/or company materials such as job descriptions, policies, and procedures, look for subjectivity.For example, if a job description consists of vague phrases such as must be a team player, have strong communication skills, or be a power user of authorware, how are you going to be evaluated on your wertzuwachs in that job? Someone will be making subjective decisions about your performance.When you ask people in the company, even if you are asking during an interview, how to qualify for pay raises or vorrckens and the responses are subjective descriptions such as excel in your job, go the extra mile, stay out of trouble, or keep your quality scores up, you will probably face that same subjectivity when it comes pay raise and promotion time.The more objective the job descriptions, policies, procedures, and processes in a company, the less chance there is for conflict and the workplace turning toxic.What to do if you are already in a schwimmbad situationIf you realize that your workplace, like most workplaces, is already toxic, you may be able to do some damage control - even if you arent the boss. You can make the attempt to bring objectivity to at least your realm of the workplace.Start with your job description. The ideal, objective job description defines thePrimary tasks you accomplish in your jobConditions under which you perform those tasksObjective standards by which your performance on each task is evaluatedTake whichever parts of that formula are lacking to your boss with the humble, sincere intent to turn the subjectivity into objectivity. You do this by taking the fuzzy language out of the job description.Fuzzies can be squeezed out of job descriptions, policies, and processes through a relatively simple process taught by human performance guru, Dr. Robert Mager. He calls it Goal Analysis, but he describes it as defuzzifying fuzzies.Once a fuzzy is discovered, it must be translated to observable p erformances. If done in conversation it sounds something like thisBoss You have to be a team playerEmployee Well said, Boss. When you observe me being a team player, (or whatever the fuzzy is) what actions are you observing?Boss Well, first of all you show up to team meetings on time.Employee Fair enough. What else?Boss You should be volunteering for assignments on the team.Employee Got it. What else?The what else questions continue until the boss decides the list of observable performances describes a team player.Calling this a simple process does not mean this conversation or the efforts to review and revise work processes to rid them of subjectivity are easy. It takes a lot of effort, but the process is not complex.In addition to the job description, some of the processes that you want to be objective, includeYour performance evaluation processHow your pay raises are determinedHow promotion opportunities are evaluatedHow your work is scheduled and assignedHow you are recognized f or the work you do and the innovations you introduceIf any of these are open to interpretation, they are open to the possibility that the interpretation may not be in your favor.The problem with having fuzzies in these processes is that it puts bosses in the tenuous position of being the judge. Yes, you want bosses to have good judgment, but you dont want work processes to cause them to interpret subjective guidance on what should be done, how it should be done, and how it should be evaluated. That opens each situation to conflict, which is a tremendous obstacle to performance in the workplace.When you drill down to the root of most workplace conflict, you will find the disagreement is over a work process that is subjective. Even a good boss will find it difficult to be good when they are trying to defend subjective work processes and systems. As W. Edwards Deming, the acknowledged Father of the Quality Movement, put it, A bad process will beat a good person every time.Rex Conner is the lead partner and owner of Mager Consortium and the author of What if Common Sense Was Common Practice in Business?You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people