The poison from toxic workplace can spread

THE EDITOR: When a workplace becomes toxic, its poison spreads beyond its walls and into the lives of its workers and their families (Gary Chapman, 2014). According to statistics, 28 per cent of employees say there is a decrease in the quality of their work in a toxic work environment.

This concept of a “toxic workplace” is no stranger to Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, it is fairly common. A toxic workplace is one where bullying, incivility, harassment and job burnout are common.

Interestingly, the country’s GDP per capita has drastically declined since 2008 and terrible working conditions could be a major contributor to this decline. The mental health of employees can be affected when they are criticised, excessively monitored, humiliated and are constantly blamed. Unfortunately, humiliation in front of customers is a normal occurrence, as well as constant criticism.

Additionally, workplace harassment may see some employees being humiliated or discriminated against because of their race, age, religion or belief. This leads to a loss of morale and, by extension, a reduction in organisational productivity (Rasool, 2018).

Job burnout is yet another issue first proposed by Freudenberger. It was characterised by low motivation and emotional exhaustion. It is ultimately the emotional detachment that leads to dissatisfaction of an employee with their personal life, achievements and encourages work-life conflicts.

Job burnout often leads to absenteeism and constant tardiness. Consequently, employees who suffer job burnout often experience mental health problems which then lead to extra time off from work. These issues are so common that they have become the norm.

Meanwhile, the economy is very much dependent on said employees. Therefore, better working conditions should be a priority for managers and even employers. Unhealthy/toxic work environments can put additional pressure on the health sector, decrease productivity levels in the country and even affect an employer’s business.

More must be done to provide better conditions for workers and to achieve a boost in the country’s productivity levels. Otherwise, consider a business without employees.

VERONICA RAJAHRAM

via e-mail