Photo by Martin Martz on Unsplash
Leaving a toxic job isn't as easy as it might seem—and once you leave, it isn't really over.
Many of us were taught that we could do anything if we put our minds to it. This sounds great until you realize that sometimes, it has nothing to do with you. This is where the problem of toxic jobs comes into play. And unfortunately, it’s becoming more of an issue than ever before.
So much so that in 2022, 60 percent of people reported being emotionally detached at work, and 19 percent reported being downright miserable at their jobs.
If you suspect that you’re working in a toxic work environment and want to make moves to improve your employment situation, this article is for you.
What Is a Toxic Job?
If your job is toxic, you likely experience things like inappropriate leadership, gaslighting, and petty behavior from your colleagues. When your job is toxic, it usually feels like you’re seeing red flags on top of red flags. This is not good for your mental health or your overall well-being.
Whether it's a passive-aggressive boss, inappropriate comments from your coworkers about the person you replaced, or reduced (or non-existent) boundaries, know that you don't deserve the treatment you’re experiencing.
Signs of a Toxic Workplace
Toxic workplaces often have very clear signs to watch out for—including bad bosses, gaslighting, cliques, exclusion, and other toxic behaviors.
The following are your best (or worst) indicators of a toxic culture. If your workplace has one of these, it might be toxic but also fixable. If your workplace has several or even all of these markers, skip the hazmat suit and start looking for a new job.
- A Toxic Workplace May Have Poor Communication
- A Toxic Workplace May Have Cliques, Exclusion + Gossipy Behavior
- A Toxic Workplace May Have Bad Leadership
- A Toxic Workplace Likely Has Unmotivated Coworkers
- A Toxic Workplace May Have Stifled Growth
- A Toxic Workplace Likely Has Rapid Employee Turnover
- A Toxic Workplace Often Has No Work-Life Balance
- A Toxic Workplace Leaves You Battling Burnout
- A Toxic Workplace Has Little or No Forward Movement
- A Toxic Workplace Triggers a Gut Feeling
How to Recover from a Toxic Job
When you have mustered up the courage to let go of your toxic job, there's still work to do. Follow these steps to make sure that you're never subjected to a toxic or hostile work environment again.
Also, please make time to heal and give your mental health the love and attention it might need.
1. Quit the Toxic Job
First and foremost, if your toxic work environment is affecting your mental health and well-being (newsflash: it is), it’s time to quit your job. While it is a privilege to be able to be financially stable enough to leave your job without another prospect in mind, sometimes, a role may be so toxic that it’s worth the stress of having to stretch your budget for a bit until finding something new.
If you are set on finding a new job prior to leaving your old job, set yourself up for a successful (and quick) job search to help you leave your toxic environment ASAP. As for hanging in there while you’re searching for a new role, consider focusing on maintaining your sanity while accomplishing your required tasks.
Once you’re on your way out, deliver an exit interview to shed light on your experience and help others still facing the toxicity of the environment.
Whether you loved your tenure at this particular company or you’re leaving a toxic workplace, this is an incredibly important interview for you, your interviewer, and so many others who won’t be in the room. Conducting an exit interview is a good exit strategy regardless of your experience, but it can be particularly impactful when you had a bad experience with the company culture.
Exit interviews are important because they allow you to give meaningful feedback, typically to HR, that can be used to make serious improvements.
No matter how jaded you might feel in leaving your job, it’s important to communicate what worked, what didn’t work, and what could be done better.
Additionally, exit interviews are your chance to improve working conditions for those employed at the organization and for those who will come after you. While it’s not given that your feedback will be implemented to create a better work environment, you can move on knowing that you attempted to help improve the setting for others.
2. Reflect on What Made It Toxic
Part of being an adult is taking a bad situation and learning from it so you (hopefully) don’t put yourself in a similar situation going forward.
Working in a toxic work environment can be detrimental to your physical and mental health, so it’s important to reflect on what made it toxic and how you can spot the signs early in order to stay away from similarly toxic settings when searching for a new employer.
Keeping a journal can be a great way to evaluate your feelings and see the problems with your work environment. Talking about it is one thing, but seeing it written on paper can illuminate just how bad things are.
Similar to a personal journal, the goal of a work journal is to provide you with a blank space for your thoughts on your career. These thoughts might include your goals, actions, feedback, plans, interpersonal challenges, or frustrations.
There's a reason why so many people find journaling therapeutic. It really works! And putting your emotions into words—especially if you’re having a hard time with something—can help you work through them faster.
In this case, seeing the toxicity of the environment on paper can help solidify your feelings, especially if you’ve been gaslighted into thinking that your feelings were “not real” or “silly.”
3. Re-Emphasize Your Worth and Your Talents
Whether you’ve been bullied at work, have experienced harassment, or have experienced one of the myriad of other ways a workplace could be toxic, it’s in your best interest to celebrate your wins and re-emphasize your value.
A great way to set yourself up for success and boost your morale is to update your resume. Take note of the accomplishments you’ve made in your career (both in the toxic role and throughout other experiences) to boost your confidence.
Consider what you’ve achieved and the impact those results and achievements made. Did your results impact your clients, your team, or the organization as a whole? If so, show it on your resume! There’s no better way to boost your self-worth than to see how you’ve made an impact on others.
4. Gather Red Flags
Think about an interview like a first date. You and your potential new company are evaluating each other to see if there’s a fit. Here’s how to spot the red flags before accepting a job offer (and long before you’re settled at your new desk).
- Unclear Communication
- Gossip Right Off the Bat
- You Get Gaslighted in an Interview
- Non-Existent HR
- You’re Asked Inappropriate or Illegal Questions
- You immediately See Microaggressions During the Interview
Use this list as a starting point. These are common red flags among many to pay attention to while you’re applying for jobs and within the interview process. If you’re picking up on these red flags, it may not be the right opportunity for you.
This means that you can politely remove yourself from the application process.
5. Focus on Your Mental Health
No matter what stage of your career you’re in, you’ve probably experienced extreme stress and anxiety related to your profession. Becoming successful comes with a lot of worries and hard work.
This is exponentially compounded when you’re working in a toxic environment.
Over time, this can start to wear on you, and mental and physical exhaustion can start to take its toll. If you’ve wondered when (or if) you’ll catch a break, the answer is simple—this is why mental health days exist.
When you feel like you’re at your wits’ end at work, it’s probably time to take a mental health day. And yes, it’s okay. It's more than okay. It is important to prioritize your mental health always, but especially when you're working in a toxic job.
Taking care of yourself, checking in to see what you need to change to improve your mental health, and implementing those changes should always be a top priority. Keep this in mind if you have a boss who is encouraging you to put work (instead of your mental health) first.
6. Take It Easy on Yourself
Last but never least, take it easy on yourself, and give yourself some grace. It’s easy to feel like you need to rush into your next experience, but if you have the financial stability to take time to recover, doing so will likely improve your mental health. This will in turn enable you to put your best self forward into your next role or when going into your job search.
Employer Brand Consultant Marta Riggins explains, “In my experience in the workforce, I've found that when we embark on charge or get thrown into it, society teaches us to quickly find the next thing, versus taking a beat to reflect on the way we are working and living, our relationships, and what is or is not serving us anymore."
Last year, Inc. published an article called "Want to Make a Big Change in Your Life? Spend Some Time in the Neutral Zone," and it resonated with me. After leaving my corporate job a few years ago with no plan or new job to hop to, I took a mini-sabbatical that allowed me to spend time in the "Neutral Zone," ultimately helping me decide to pivot and start my own business versus taking another job in-house.
Any time you’ve found yourself in a negative environment where you repeatedly experience trauma, you’ll need some time to recover and reframe your mindset.
Give yourself the time you need to process and move forward from the negative experience.
