People throw around the word toxic a lot at work these days, but a lot of these ‘harmful’ behaviors are really ordinary job expectations.
The attitude conversation
Toxic positivity is a phrase that’s way too overused these days. Some workers seem to think it’s unfair when a boss asks them to stop rolling their eyes during meetings and ignoring colleagues. These employees think it’s hurtful for a boss to say that.
But it’s actually fine for managers to reasonably expect professional behavior without requiring employees to be constantly happy. You can still have a bad day, of course. You just can’t think it’s okay for you to take it out on everyone else.
The clock doesn’t negotiate
If your shift starts at 9, it might not seem like a big deal walking into work at 9:05 a.m. It’s only five minutes, after all. But those five minutes matter quite a lot for the person who was supposed to finish their shift at 9, as this means they’ve now got to stay a little longer.
Some employees claim that strict punctuality policies are a form of micromanagement. They hate the fact that their bosses keep track of late arrivals. The thing is, businesses need employees to show up when they’re scheduled, and asking someone to arrive on time is hardly unreasonable.
The uncomfortable review
It’s true that sitting through a performance review can be uncomfortable. Nobody wants to hear their boss listing every single thing that they’ve been doing wrong, and it definitely feels awkward. That’s one of the reasons why some employees claim these reviews are toxic.
But managers don’t really have many other options. When someone’s reports keep coming back with incorrect figures, managers have to address those mistakes somehow. There’s a huge difference between a boss humiliating you and a boss telling you that you need to improve your work. The best employees still face criticism now and again.
The office attendance debate
During the pandemic, working from home became normal for millions of people. They got used to skipping the commute and doing their jobs from their kitchen table. Since then, however, many employees have been told to return to the office. It hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
There are a few workers who say that return-to-office policies are unfair. They claim that they’re able to work just as effectively at home, and maybe that’s true. Yet it’s not wrong for a company to ask people to work in the office.
The less glamorous assignments
We all have those little tasks in our jobs that none of us want to do, like organizing a mountain of paperwork or spending an afternoon entering information into spreadsheets. It’s hardly thrilling stuff, but we have to get it done.
However, there are some employees who complain that their bosses are treating them unfairly by giving them these jobs. They’ll act as though the responsibilities aren’t part of their job title. Newsflash, they usually are. Someone has to handle the boring bits, and sometimes that person is you.
Another calendar invitation
Any office worker knows the struggle. You have to go to a meeting that could’ve been an email, and it really grinds on you. It’s even worse when you have actual work to finish, and you’re stuck in a meeting with other team members talking about it for an hour.
That’s why some workers call these compulsory meetings toxic. They say they’re a waste of time. But these conversations have to happen sometimes, as everyone needs to be on the same page regarding team briefings and project updates. They’re annoying, but not evil.
Back to the drawing board
It’s not easy hearing that you need to redo some of your work. You might’ve spent three hours creating a presentation and feeling pretty pleased with it, but then your boss tells you it needs to be redone. A few employees claim that it’s abusive for a manager to say that.
It’s not. Revisions are a normal part of working life, and a business can’t simply accept shoddy work because remaking it would upset the employee. Not every piece of work is perfect on the first try, and that’s okay.
The numbers on the board
Having productivity targets can create pressure on workers. They might feel stressed about achieving these goals, and that’s totally normal. What’s not normal is calling these targets toxic because you think you’re being reduced to statistics.
Businesses have to measure productivity somehow, and they have to see how successful, or unsuccessful, their current work model is. Sure, the way a manager treats people who fail to meet targets might be toxic. But simply having these quotas isn’t harmful.
The daily paper trail
There are many employees who think they shouldn’t have to document what they’ve accomplished. They argue that, since their boss can already see they’re working, there’s no need to use timesheets and daily progress reports. They hate task-tracking systems.
While it might be tedious, these records are really important for businesses. They help them to track completed assignments and bill clients accurately. They’re able to figure out who’s handling what. It’d be way harder to manage large projects if nobody knew which tasks were finished.
The boss who keeps their distance
One of the hardest things for some workers to accept is that their manager isn’t meant to be their friend. No, their manager isn’t going to ask them about their weekend, and no, their manager might not join the office birthday celebrations, either. That doesn’t make the boss toxic.
Managers aren’t there to be everyone’s friends. They have to organize work and offer support, as well as make decisions that aren’t always going to be popular. As long as the boss is respectful and approachable when needed, there’s no issue.
The rulebook nobody loves
After doing a certain task hundreds of times, some people manage to find a much quicker way to complete it. So they do it that way. Then their manager insists that they follow the official procedure when doing this task. It does feel a little annoying. It might even seem controlling.
But that doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary, as many workplace procedures have strict rules for a reason. These rules aren’t there to frustrate the employees. They’re there to make sure that standards are the same across the board, and to keep things running as they should.
The unexpected teaching assignment
Nobody mentioned during your interview that you’re supposed to train the new person starting on Monday. But it happens. You’re left juggling your normal assignments while also making sure the new person knows how all the policies are supposed to work.
Training new colleagues can feel like an extra responsibility that you’re not supposed to have. It’s even worse when you don’t get any extra pay for it. Yet that’s how things work. It’s normal to show someone the ropes when you’re working in a team-based job. The new employee has to figure things out, one way or another.
The applause gets shared
It’s normal that you might feel disappointed after having to share credit for a team accomplishment. You probably did a lot of the difficult parts of the task, so you might feel like you deserve some individual recognition for it.
The truth is, group praise isn’t meant to be an attempt to take away someone’s credit. Everyone likely pulled their weight somehow, and it might not be fair to praise a single person for the group effort. No, it’s not a sign of an abusive work environment.
The emergency follow-up
A family emergency could mean that you have to leave work immediately, even though you have several unfinished assignments. Your manager may ask you when you expect to return, and whether someone else can handle an upcoming deadline. But that’s insensitive, apparently.
According to a few employees, managers should give people lots of space when they’re dealing with personal problems, and shouldn’t expect anything from them. However, the business has to keep working, even when personal issues are going on. The manager can’t stop everything for one worker.
The camera request
Camera-on policies are another reason that some employees call their workplaces toxic. They argue that their bosses don’t have the right to look into their homes, and that they don’t want to stare at their own faces during a meeting.
Yet asking employees to appear on video occasionally isn’t the same as demanding constant surveillance. Managers just want to be able to see their workers. There’s no harm in that, and it’s about time that complaining workers accept it as a normal part of work.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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