Some folks lose the motivation to demand their ideal working conditions because of preexisting beliefs about what are acceptable sacrifices related to the workplace. Particularly if you were taught that hard work pays off over time, you may be susceptible to thinking toxic qualities at your workplace are normal. Feeling a great deal of stress, discomfort, or sacrifice by just completing your job to your employer’s standards is not normal.
Even if we understand that we should not feel an exorbitant amount of negative emotions towards our jobs, it is sometimes difficult to identify the red flags indicating that a job may be toxic before we have experienced all the negative energy first-hand for too long. If you find yourself making uncompensated sacrifices in any of the following ways, even if it is week one of your job, your company may be exploiting you:
1. “Paying your dues”: If your employer denies you certain flexibilities because you are a new employee, that is unhealthy. Most commonly, new employees may be told telework privileges are not granted for a certain period of time for positions advertised as hybrid, or leave preference order around holidays may be denied for new employees despite advanced planning. While these tactics are pervasive among U.S. businesses, they are not normal or healthy. If you received a job due to your qualifications, you are not indebted to fulfill a company’s hazing period. If a “paying your dues” culture affects your full enjoyment of benefits, it will likely impact your career progression and pay as well, so get out quickly rather than damaging your entire career trajectory.
2. Working extra hours: This can also affect new employees who feel they need to put in extra time to “get ahead” early in their careers. Putting in extra hours typically does not get the employee ahead. It gets them exploited. If your employer learns that you are willing to work unpaid hours beyond your required workday, you will absolutely receive more work than another employee who leaves on time. You also generally will not receive more compensation. At most, you will receive an embarrassingly small bonus. Additionally, while some executives like to have some employees that stick around late, they may simultaneously view extra hours as evidence that an employee is incapable of doing the job during the regular workday, leading to delays in promotion. (An employer that desires employees to be available at various times can use differential scheduling without exploiting its workers.) Trust in your own abilities enough to stick to your workday, and if your work seems truly impossible to complete in your allotted paid hours, reach out to ask about prioritization.
3. Missing commitments for pop-up work obligations: If something is important enough to miss dinner with your sister, your employer should have it on the calendar in advance unless you work in a role that directly addresses crises. Bluntly, if your employer expects you to work late for “urgent deadlines” where the potential loss is financial, not actual life or ability, go have dinner with your sister instead. The company bottom line is never worth your family, friendships, health, or life priorities. This is a bit different if you are someone in a field like emergency medical services, but folks often extend “urgency” to their field inappropriately. As someone who works in national security, I see this a lot: Many folks who work around me claim our work to be too urgent to fit into 40 hours. However, I work in the part of national security that requires mid- and long-term planning and coordination that is not urgent. If “urgent” means the end of the fiscal year, it is not urgent. If “urgent” means whether ten people will live until tomorrow, it is urgent. Know the difference, and go to dinner with your sister if the damage is only financial or timeline-related.
4. Micro-management: If your supervisor, or any superior or individual training you, micromanages you to the point that you cannot get the time to prioritize your own time and workload, the job is toxic. We all need our own space to be creative and learn and grow at our own pace. While some direction is required initially, if you need guidance and approval for the small things after the typical onboarding period, this should raise concern. If the micro-management comes from only one specific source, it can be worth having a conversation with the individual or seeking a supervisor change before writing off the job entirely. If the micromanagement persists, though, find a place where you have the freedom to grow yourself.
5. Angry people getting away with unprofessional behavior: This can go a lot of different ways, but it is easier to spot than the preceding toxic qualities. If a coworker, supervisor, or anyone at work feels entitled to mistreat you through yelling, rude behavior, or repeated microaggressions without any recourse, get out of the job. You do not need to work with angry people! Angry people are often a sign that your company is treating folks poorly or not particularly good at hiring the type of coworkers that you want to see each day. For your own sanity, protect yourself from the types of people that can ruin your day instantly. One disclaimer on this point: If you are in a service industry, you still may need to deal with angry customers. Your assessment here should be more about whether your workplace adequately backs you up in any inappropriate situation started by a customer. As long as they handle the situation professionally, they are a good company, but if they blame you for erratic customer behavior, be wary.
This list is by no means comprehensive, but these toxic job qualities have sadly become normal workplace behavior in a number of companies and industries. This diminishes the quality of work of folks in these work environments and hurts the productivity of the economy overall. If any of these qualities describe your current job, consider seeking a new one. Your individual well being is more important than success at your current job. Find an employer that allows you to just do your work rather than stress about these distractions.
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