Is My Workplace Toxic? Identifying & Surviving Toxic Work Environment

A toxic workplace is more common than we think. While toxic workplaces have existed all over the world for time immemorial, the issue is in the spotlight after several well-known companies in Singapore were in recent years accused of having such a work environment.

• Do you dread going to work each day with bosses or colleagues who drive you crazy with their behaviours?
• Do you wish you could have a magic wand that makes all the toxic people in your workplace magically disappear from your life?
• Are you suffering from low energy and frustration dealing with all the negativity at work?

If you answer yes to the above questions, you could well be working in a toxic workplace. A toxic work environment causes more than just some bad days at work. Research has shown that toxic workplaces can lead to stress, burnout, depression, self-doubt and illness. It also damper one’s motivation and energy as one struggles out of bed each day to get to work to face the same negativity and toxicity daily.

Warning Signs of Toxic Workplaces

How can an employee tell whether a toxic work culture indeed exists in his or her organisation, as opposed to acts of a few rogue colleagues? NUS Professor Mak Yuen Teen shared these key indicators of toxic work culture.

• Favouritism: Certain employees receive special treatment and are not held to rules that apply to everyone else, and given opportunities not because of their abilities.
• Fear and harassment: Bullying behaviour and harassment in various forms are tolerated. Employees constantly fear being rebuked or fired. Communication is one-way and top-down and there is no healthy debate.
• Bad behaviour: Employees compete rather than collaborate and engage in cutthroat behaviour to get ahead. There is no courtesy and respect but negativity.
• Lack of development: Management does not see the value of training and developing employees.
• Working in silos: There is no information sharing to help employees do their jobs. The organisation is very compartmentalised and one department does not know what the others are doing.
• Lack of accountability: When there are transgressions, they are ignored. There are no consequences for rule-breaking and in fact, rule breakers may be rewarded.
• In extreme cases, there would be shouting, using vulgar language or signs, and getting physical, including the throwing of items.

So How Do We Stay Sane and Rise above Toxicity?

How toxic is your workplace? Do you face negative communication patterns, toxic leaders, and dysfunctional colleagues? Is your workplace sapping your energy and mental health? Join Wellness and Organizational Coach, Ms Angie Toh in this refreshing and enriching 1 Day workshop on addressing these issues once and for all.

• Identify signs of a toxic work culture in a range of different scenarios
• Understand the behaviour of the toxic people
• Understand the underlying that contribute to a toxic work culture
• Learn how to stand up for yourself with effective communication skill
• Build resilience in the workplace to overcome toxic culture
• Develop a healthy, non-toxic culture that emphasise kindness, respect, fairness, trust and psychological safety
• Apply the techniques and strategies to overcome toxic work culture

This workshop is designed for

• Senior Executives and officers from both public and private organizations who are involved in managing teams, departments, projects
• HOD and leaders who want to improve capabilities in organizational outcomes, retention, and engagement
• Consultant, Coaches and Trainers seeking to upgrade their skills and knowledge

“Angie is a person of intelligence, integrity and strong values, who would give 100% to anything she put her mind to. She was always an exceptional team member, and more importantly, an exceptional human being.” – David Rock, Founder and CEO, NeuroLeadership Group

“Angie has a good depth of knowledge and understanding of human processes and is quite focused on holistic contribution balancing business and self-development. Angie practices and comes up with unique ways of addressing business and human needs. I recommend Angie to anyone who is looking for a REAL coach.” – Makarand Tare, Chief Human Resource Officer, Singapore

Course Leader: Ms. Angie Toh, Peak Performance Coach

Angie's last corporate role was with Neuroleadership Group as the Director of Coach Certification. She was heading the coaching division for the organization in Asia as well as leading a team of sales staff globally.

In 2012, she decided to leave the corporate world to focus on full-time training and coaching. With her strong background in sales, marketing, business and personal development, Angie‘s passion is to support professionals to succeed at their own terms and achieve breakthroughs in their personal and professional life.

Having received training in Advanced Certificate in Learning & Performance, Breathwork, Enneagram, NLP, Coaching, Laughter Yoga, Sound Therapy and Tantra, Angie will customize her coaching and training based on the needs of her clients.

Angie was interviewed on Channel News Asia, Channel 5, Money FM and 938Live. She has facilitated many workshops covering areas of Leadership, Mindfulness, Enneagram, Sales Mastery, Stress and Emotional Management, Personal Effectiveness in Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and China.