A Toxic Workplace Can Impact the Workforce and Productivity

THE PANDEMIC PROVIDED A BREAK FROM TOXIC WORKPLACES

The pandemic changed many aspects of our society when it arrived in the form of lockdowns and distancing requirements. For some, the required distancing rule meant you could not be around loved ones if they were not living in your home. It was damaging to the soul, especially if you were old and living alone.

For others, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise when it meant just working from home if it was available. That home office became a place of peace unless you had kids running around the house making tons of noise and leaving a mess in their wake. There was also homeschooling to conduct as well. Even so, it was considered better than facing a toxic workplace.

Dealing with office politics, brown nosers, gossipers, and toxic people who thrive on destroying other people’s lives, while looking innocent about the whole thing, can drive you crazy. Many workers, when coming back to the same people in the same office, found they could not handle it any longer. Hence, the birth of the Great Resignation where people resigned from their jobs in droves.

If an employer sees a rise in employee departures, then it is time for a review of the business to see where the problems are. It is not always about finding a higher salary or that someone has not had a promotion in the last three years. It is about workers trying to save their state of mind.  and leaving is the best option. Where there is a toxic workplace, there are mental health issues occurring and, if not dealt with quickly, will overflow.

MENTAL HEALTH ON THE JOB

Workers who stay in toxic workplaces may be able to rise above what is going on by keeping busy and avoiding gossip and avoiding certain groups of people. Other workers with fewer defenses in place and, likely, a victim/targets of toxic people, begin to wear down and enter a depressive state. If it goes on long enough, there could be violent outcomes stemming from the abuse.

Many employers, according to research conducted by McKinsey Health Institute, consider burnout a top priority and provide wellness programs for alleviating job-related stress. But understanding whether it is the job that is stressful or that it is toxic people who are the problem could determine how restructuring a workplace could happen in a better way.

A toxic workplace can also be when people are overloaded with tasks, receive unfair treatment, have low autonomy, have social alienation, and have no recognition for their hard work. Consider nurses who have had to pick up a load of other nurses (and doctors) leaving the system for this very reason. The pandemic was hard on healthcare workers, and nurses, mainly women, took the biggest brunt of the outcome.

Lack of incoming resources of required masks and protective suits for isolation wards, lack of medical supplies, and lack of mental health resources, were common problems during the pandemic, and afterward. One outcome is that many nurses have now left their position and their profession altogether.

MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Mental health issues derived from a toxic workplace should receive workers’ compensation benefits when a mental evaluation is conducted. Such injuries to the mind can take longer to overcome, more so than physical injuries, other than those that are permanent. If you need to know more about getting a mental health evaluation for your workers’ compensation claim, call an Arizona workers’ compensation attorney to get the help you need.

GETTING THE HELP YOU NEED FOR A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM

Arizona Injury Law Group offers experienced and Certified workers’ compensation lawyers and legal services for injured workers. Call for your free consultation! (602) 346-9009.