A toxic environment is a business owner’s worst nightmare and causes employee morale to dip quite a bit. Toxic environments in the office can also mean that your employees lose the motivation to get their work done, which means your office’s to-do list isn’t completed on time.
If work isn’t turned in on time, this can spell disaster for the entire office. This can happen even if only one person didn’t turn in their completed work by the deadline you imposed. The big question that comes out of this kind of situation is tantamount to a business’s success.
How can we prevent this from happening to you or anyone else? Let’s take a look at what we can do to prevent a toxic work environment for you and your business.
Appreciate Your Employees and Co-workers
One of the biggest things we can do as female business owners is to make sure our employees know how much we appreciate all their hard work. In fact, an Inc article talks about the seven signs of a toxic work environment.
One of those signs is called the “all sticks and no carrots.” What this means is that the boss of the company will focus solely on what employees are doing incorrectly instead of praising them for work they’ve done correctly. This means the carrots are going out to the best performers while everyone else is getting a stick.
If we don’t show that appreciation, the employee we hired to help us might very well become miserable, which could lead to the employee quitting altogether.
How can we show that appreciation?
We want to make sure they realize that we appreciate their help at the end of the day. How can we show this appreciation? Here are some ways to do just that:
- Having an Employee Appreciation Day
- Outright telling them that we appreciate their work
- Letting them work in a way that makes them more comfortable
The list could go on from there, and it’s up to you to decide how to make them feel more appreciated. Even the smaller things you do make an impact on the lives of the people who work for you and alongside you.
Ending Workplace Toxicity with Respect
I’ve been in a situation where a co-worker was chewed out by our boss in front of everyone. We were run into the ground by the management, and the toxic environment culminated in us not showing respect toward each other. Because of this situation, a lesson here is to show respect to everyone working for you or with you.
Showing respect is easy.
Showing respect can be easy, and there are several ways we can do that. Here are some of those ways:
- Taking their suggestions on topics of conversations into consideration.
- Do not cut them off when they are speaking to you or someone else.
- Take complaints within the office very seriously.
Being able to respect and appreciate our employees can be a huge step toward alleviating the toxicity that can ruin many an office environment. How are you doing that for your business as you start to outsource your work?
Lizzie Fourman
Lizzie Fourman is the blogging maven behind The Fearless Gamer Chick, where she helps women entrepreneurs up their blogging game. She is on a mission to give valuable tips for her fellow business owners so they can stand out in a hectic environment.
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