Your workplace might be toxic—not because of mold or chemicals, but because of poisonous people. Psychologist and author Dr. Paul White joins us to talk about – the title of his book co-written with Dr. Gary Chapman. He presents a toolkit full of strategies to rise above the conflict, fear, and anger.
What makes a workplace toxic? Dr. Paul offers four contributors:
– Poor communication
– Manipulation
– A lack of honesty & integrity
– Negativity
Perhaps you observe traces of these in your own workplace, yet you’re not sure whether it’s time to leave your job. Dr. Paul suggests visiting www.appreciationatwork.com for some helpful resources on working through that vital question.
In situations Dr. Paul has studied, there’s often a healthy & effective leader at the top of an organization, but there is a supervisor or middle manager who is creating a challenging working environment.
We can form unrealistic expectations of what life on the job ought to be like.
“Our culture is focused on happiness, but the scriptures focus a lot on contentment.”
We learn about some key questions we can ask about our situation at work:
“Is what is going on here good for the organization?
Is it good for person?
And is it healthy as an employee?”
It’s easy to hone in on those who we believe to be creating a bad situation at work, yet we can forget how powerful our response to that situation can be. We are a major factor as well!
When approaching a situation like this, we need to be hearing wise counsel from people we trust. We also should be taking care of ourselves in a manner that won’t allow toxic individuals to see us a target.
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