Discussing 4 Toxic Behavioral Traits in Business Setting and How to Deal With Them

Don’t you sometimes believe that toxicity is everywhere? We are witnessing it in our intimate relationships, our friendships, and between family members and more often than not we are the ones to also exhibit a plethora of toxic behaviors both toward other people and ourselves. That said, perhaps it’s no surprise that o many people witness toxicity in their professional life as well. In today’s article, I’d be happy to discuss with you four toxic behavioral trades in a business setting that I believe we should all pay attention to.

What is considered toxic behavior?

Nowadays there’s plenty of information that covers the topic of toxicity.

We have the opportunity to access different types of content that explicitly and generously explains what exactly toxicity is and what we can do in order to spot it and react accordingly. However, there are still people that find themselves quite confused in the maze of human behavior and mutual relationships. So it’s important for everybody to be educated enough on the topic of toxicity because this way we’ll learn how to cope and how to set up healthy boundaries.

We may label a behavior as toxic each time when someone makes us feel thrown out of balance, disregards our boundaries and particularly every type of communication that leaves us with feelings of frustration, overwhelm, anger, anxiety and general discomfort. As we can see, the toxicity palette is quite rich and that’s why it’s important for everybody to be able to quickly see and interpret each type of toxic behavior the moment they witness it.

The truth Is no one is immune to toxicity especially when we are referring to situations that require human interaction such as business settings. Be it your employees, coworkers, managers, etcetera it’s always possible for you to witness toxic behavior or you can participate in a toxic relationship whether you’d be the victim or you’d be the one who participates in the communication in a toxic way. Sadly, when we are engaged in toxic behaviors, this can ultimately disrupt both our productivity and so the image to a point where we might feel slightly burned out or even willing to exit the communication for good.

So each time a communication of yours triggers a negative emotional response in you, my advice is for you to take a step back, reminiscent over the entire situation and that person in particular and try to decide for yourself whether this is a one-time thing or it’s more of frequently happening endeavors that cause you anxiety and discomfort.

Here Are 4 Types of Toxic Behaviors in Business Settings You Need to Be Familiar With

• People guilt-tripping you for not meeting a certain standard. Everyone can make a mistake – what matters most is how their upper management addresses the situation. If their approach is to guilt-trip you for your mistakes instead of spending time to give you further information regarding the mistake as beneficial feedback, then you have every right to access the topic and communicate with them further. Yelling and pointless micromanagement for the sake of getting control over situations and people is by no means a healthy approach to employee management.

• People constantly crossing your boundaries at work is also a big no-no. Whether we’re referring to professional or personal boundaries, they matter in a business setting. For example, if your boss is continuously delegating work tasks out of your competence, you have every right to bring up the question for further discussion. If your request is being dismissed, you can certainly begin to feel neglected and your needs not being met. The same goes for personal boundaries – if you are, let’s say, an introvert, being asked to attend social gatherings at all costs is yet again not okay. In general, you should feel open and stimulated to discuss whatever it is that’s bothering you without fearing the consequences.

• If you’re experiencing turbulent communication with your co-workers, this can again raise your anxiety. We spend so much time at work – it’s really important for this time to be as carefree and positive as possible. Turbulent communication with others can drastically worsen our work-related experience and make us far less productive and unwilling to show up and give our best. So if you’re experiencing problematic relationships, it’s best to reach out and do your best to solve all issues once and for all.

• When people around you focus on negative feedback only, avoiding words of appreciation, this could truly harm your self-image professionally. People both make mistakes and do great at their job but if the upper management is mainly focused on criticism and never offers positive feedback, this could detrimentally kill anyone’s desire to achieve better results. In a way, it’s rather toxic to be fixated on the bad stuff all the time when sometimes praising someone serves as the ultimate boost for their creativity and productivity.

Of course, those are more subtle signs of toxic behavioral traits in a business setting but it’s sometimes the small details we tend to miss from the bigger picture. Paying close attention to both your behavior and that of others is incredibly important and can surely teach you a lot about communication and relationships. What’s more, trying avidly to improve the business setting at work will ultimately lead to success and a lack of burnout and anxiety.