Tag: bad leadership

 Why do toxic workplaces exist in the first place?

 Is it poor leadership? Bad hiring choices? Or is it simply a case of management being unaware of what’s actually going on?

A friend of mine recently shared a situation that really illustrates the issue. Her boss approached her and said that someone had spoken to a higher-up, complaining that she had prevented them from raising an issue or making a change. This incident, supposedly, happened months ago. No name was given. No date. No written complaint. Just vague hearsay.

Here’s the kicker—my friend wasn’t even involved in the situation the complaint was about. She’s not responsible for the area in question and has no authority over it. Plus, her office promotes an “open door” policy—everyone has everyone’s contact info. So why was this brought up at all, and in such an unclear way?

What upset her most was the lack of clarity and transparency. She couldn’t defend herself because there were no facts to respond to—just a murky accusation floating in the air. Now, she’s left wondering which colleague might be talking behind her back, and whether leadership believes the claim. Trust has eroded.

This, to me, is a perfect example of what toxic environments look like in action—not just overt bullying or blatant discrimination, but subtle moments that breed fear, mistrust, and isolation.

When leadership fails to address conflict with transparency, and instead spreads vague complaints with no accountability, they don’t solve problems—they create them.

Have you experienced something like this in your workplace? How do you think companies can do better?

#ToxicWorkplace #OfficePolitics #WorkplaceTransparency #EmployeeStories #LeadershipMatters #TrustAtWork #WorkLife

When Employees Feel Unheard

There is nothing worse than feeling unheard at your workplace. It makes you feel invisible, like just another cog in the machine. Each year, you receive an anonymous survey where you are supposed to express your concerns in hopes of being heard. Yet, year after year, nothing changes.

We all experience this feeling, whether we work in a large corporation or a small family-run business. We have good ideas that could benefit the company, yet they often go ignored. Worse still, when we alert management about misbehavior or processes that harm employees and create unnecessary work, we are dismissed or told we are wrong.

When it’s just you, it’s easy to question your own perceptions. However, when multiple employees share similar feelings, it becomes clear that there may be validity in those concerns. Granted, employers are not obligated to heed employees’ suggestions, even when they are valid. Both big corporations and small family-owned businesses typically owe employees little more than a salary—at least, that’s how many of us feel.

Feeling unheard leads to feelings of unappreciation, which do not simply vanish. Instead, they foster resentment and unhappiness with our jobs. We begin to question our motivations for working, prompting us to dust off that old resume and update it. On a particularly bad day, we might even tweak our LinkedIn profiles and browse job boards. When just one employee feels this way, the company might not notice. But when multiple employees feel unheard and unhappy, the company faces a significant problem.

In a workplace suffering from corporate deafness, can anything be done? Probably. The real question is whether anyone is willing to listen and act on employee feedback. One part of the solution lies in training: equipping managers to be effective leaders who genuinely pay attention to their employees. This is fixable if there is the will to make it happen.

Another challenge arises when management is indifferent—whether because they believe the current economic climate means no one will leave, or because a manager feels untouchable as part of the family business. Some companies simply do not care, assuming they can always hire someone new. While it’s true that we are all replaceable, this mindset overlooks the costs involved. Training new employees takes time and money, and high turnover leads to inefficiency and inconsistency in work. Ultimately, management should care.

Can you force anyone to listen or to care? No. However, when undervalued employees reach their breaking point, they may simply choose to leave, taking their knowledge and great ideas with them.

Is quiet firing really new?

This Labor day morning I was enjoying my morning coffee when an article caught my eye, the title of the article was “quiet firing”, we all heard about the great resignation & quiet quitting so naturally i had to read it as it intrigued my curiosity.

Quiet firing means that an employer will make your work life miserable by demoting, adding extra unpaid work and generally mistreating you  so you will quit, this way the employer does not have to pay you severance as they did not fire you. There is no need to prove that your performance was bad,  involving HR or paper work. 

The article spoke about this as a new trend, but as being employed for many years, I know it has always been there. We have all seen it in our professional life and sadly general life. Instead of quiet firing we all need to call it in its true name – a hostile work environment .

This is not caused by one person, the article kept talking about the work place’s behavior, but workplaces/ companies are not some anonymous entity, they are built with people who are not only demonstrating bad leadership but are also letting the rest of their employees know that they are condoning it. Should we stay and suffer? Look for a new job while being mistreated or just start speaking about it publicly? I have no answers as each person has their own decision to make.