You’ve joined your new team, excited to make a fresh start and prove yourself. You’ve read all about the company ethos and there were some nice words on how it values excellence. In particular though, they highlighted they prioritized results, which you expected meant you could demonstrate your worth through your work ethic. Whilst there were some minor warning signs such as lack of consistency on your exact role, you didn’t want to make a fuss about it at the time.
Unfortunately you weren’t aware of what awaited you when you started. Weird and awkward communication styles in the office, rumours of team members not getting along and a boss who you should never disturb. But you’ve signed the contract and rely upon this job for an income, so it would be hard to abandon ship right now.
All of these experiences seem completely at odds with what you’ve heard a workplace should be like, particularly when every other article on LinkedIn is about how important it is to collaborate and speak up.
Sadly, a lot of people don’t realise they are caught up in a dysfunctional workplace until its too late, and are already pushed out the door due to breaking some unwritten rules. If you think you might be in a dysfunctional workplace, here are some ideas to get you through:
Do what you need to to get by – you don’t need to be a martyr.
Unless you don’t really need this job and have a retirement savings account filled with spare $$$, you’ll probably need a job to pay rent. So the dramatic storming into the bosses office, giving him a piece of your mind and leaving in a blaze of glory is probably not a good option.
So understand what you have to lose, and accept that the situation isn’t ideal. Do what you need to to keep your job, and keep your head down to the weird politics happening around you. It is not for you to change a problematic office environment as the newest person, so don’t feel you have to. Indeed this is where many of us can get caught out – we are told how important it is to speak our mind and push for change, not realising many workplaces do not appreciate someone pointing out their faults. So keep your head down if you need to. Your own survival is your main priority.
Understand the terms of your employment
If you’re currently wondering why your working dynamics are so weird, you’re probably not feeling too secure in your current job. In a volatile environment, people disappearing overnight tends to be a fairly common occurrence. So it is important to verify what clauses are in your contract and what exactly you have signed up for.
If you’re unlucky, your employer may have stuck a very unreasonable (and at times legally dubious) clause about ending the contract prematurely. It’s important you understand that this, particularly if you feel anything fishy is going on. A particular note of caution if you’re currently on probation, as this is the easiest point you can be offloaded. So double check any internal policies for how things are meant to be done (if they indeed exist), and if appropriate, consider getting Trade Union membership in case the worst case-scenario happens.
Be careful who you open up to
This is not meant to sound like a spy thriller, however if you’re noticing that people tend to speak to each other in quiet voices, and go silent when certain people walk into the room, you’ve probably got a toxic atmosphere. And if you’re currently feeling stressed by your situation, it’s natural to want to open up.
Unfortunately, opening up to that friendly-looking colleague or your manager can easily come back to bite you. It is surprising how common place it is for managers to relay conversations to their seniors, so what you thought was an anonymous suggestion suddenly becomes seen as a named criticism from you.
If you’re in this situation, it’s even more important that you don’t compound the situation by vocalising your discontent with your manager. You may be tempted to speak to someone else in the team about how your manager is not being particularly open or fair. However, the person who you have said this to is more likely to close ranks against you than help, simply as they have more investment in their relationship with your manager then you. This is an easy way to get brandished a trouble-maker which is an extremely hard title to come back from, particularly when in the world of work your manager is likely to have all power over you and your employment.
Find your escape route
If you’ve kept your head down, you hopefully have passed your probation and have found a corner of the office where you can do what you need to to get to the end of the working day. You may have even found a way of making it more comfortable for yourself.
Either way, this is not a place you’re going to thrive, and you are better off finding a better environment where you can genuinely enjoy being in work (which is genuinely possible, I promise!). It can be quite easy to settle after a while and resign ourselves, however if you take the plunge and find a way out, you’ll most likely be much more happy for it. So don’t lose that ray of hope of finding a better working environment, and keep searching to find it.
For anyone currently in a toxic environment, you do have my sympathies and I hope you manage to make it out alive!