Why are most, if not all workplaces so toxic?

Planet_Switzerland

Where I work is very toxic. It's the sort of company that says one thing and does the other. If you come with a positive attitude and good work ethic they will soon suck it out of you. 

Thinking about it though, I think everywhere I've worked has been toxic. There are maybe 1 or 2 places I can't complain about but that's because I didn't work there long enough to find out. I get that you go to work to do a job and it's not supposed to be fun. But it seems somebody doing a bunch of boring tasks isn't enough to justify the paycheck, you have to make sure they're as miserable as possible whilst they're doing the tasks as well. That pretty much sums up everywhere I've worked

Comms69

I've found the more you bring to the role, the better you are treated.

Competence is king.

TELLIT01

Comms69 said:

I've found the more you bring to the role, the better you are treated.

Competence is king.

I wish that was always the case.  Some people seem threatened by new staff who do come in with a positive attitude.  I worked for a subsidiary of a major financial institution and one of the guys who worked for me put in many, many hours outside work hours in order to obtain formal IT qualifications, all of which were directly relevant to the job. The training was funded by our subsidiary but required a lot of work to be done outside office hours. Following a restructuring in the parent bank, all IT was taken under their control, and my team transferred into that environment.  Initially some other managers refused to accept that he could possibly have obtained the qualifications he had, at his comparatively young age.  When evidence was provided, instead of welcoming the expertise there was a sustained attitude of negativity towards him.  Various projects came along and despite his ability he was never given a place on any of them.  Just as an example of the way he would put effort in to achieve whatever he wanted to do, he paid off his mortgage in 7 years by sheer hard work.

Comms69

TELLIT01 said:

Comms69 said:

I've found the more you bring to the role, the better you are treated.

Competence is king.

I wish that was always the case.  Some people seem threatened by new staff who do come in with a positive attitude.  I worked for a subsidiary of a major financial institution and one of the guys who worked for me put in many, many hours outside work hours in order to obtain formal IT qualifications, all of which were directly relevant to the job. The training was funded by our subsidiary but required a lot of work to be done outside office hours. Following a restructuring in the parent bank, all IT was taken under their control, and my team transferred into that environment.  Initially some other managers refused to accept that he could possibly have obtained the qualifications he had, at his comparatively young age.  When evidence was provided, instead of welcoming the expertise there was a sustained attitude of negativity towards him.  Various projects came along and despite his ability he was never given a place on any of them.  Just as an example of the way he would put effort in to achieve whatever he wanted to do, he paid off his mortgage in 7 years by sheer hard work.

Definitely not always the case. There are bad employers, of course. Bad managers etc.

But sounds like this chap was more than qualified to find work where his skills were appreciated.

mowg

Lots of reasons, but in my experience the main ones are nepotism and cronyism leading to people being overpromoted into roles they're not capable of doing.

theoretica

I expect the more toxic work places have more staff turnover, so are more likely to have vacancies.

Martin_the_Unjust

If all the places you have worked have, or would have, been toxic maybe you should have a think about the common denominator?

Dox

Planet_Switzerland said:

TELLIT01 said:

Comms69 said:

I've found the more you bring to the role, the better you are treated.

Competence is king.

I wish that was always the case.  Some people seem threatened by new staff who do come in with a positive attitude.  I worked for a subsidiary of a major financial institution and one of the guys who worked for me put in many, many hours outside work hours in order to obtain formal IT qualifications, all of which were directly relevant to the job. The training was funded by our subsidiary but required a lot of work to be done outside office hours. Following a restructuring in the parent bank, all IT was taken under their control, and my team transferred into that environment.  Initially some other managers refused to accept that he could possibly have obtained the qualifications he had, at his comparatively young age.  When evidence was provided, instead of welcoming the expertise there was a sustained attitude of negativity towards him.  Various projects came along and despite his ability he was never given a place on any of them.  Just as an example of the way he would put effort in to achieve whatever he wanted to do, he paid off his mortgage in 7 years by sheer hard work.

That sounds quite similar to my story in a way, though I don't work in IT. When I first joined the company I was the only person in my department who did my job. There was one area of my job I became particularly good at and there became a lot of demand for me to do said work. After a while though I wanted to develop in other areas of my occupation as my job was becoming a bit one dimensional. Then I was moved departments to work for someone who specialised in these other areas, but he kept telling me to stick to what I'm good at and wouldn't let me near the work I was interested in doing, so my job didn't really change. Then I changed teams again, this time I had to stop doing all the work I was doing before. I did learn a few new things, but the work was a bit patchy and some of what I was tasked with wasn't challenging at all. Then I ended up with a manager who wanted me to stop everything I'm doing and spend 100% of my time on a particular project. Since that project ended I hardly ever get any work given to me by my manager, I've had to force myself onto other peoples projects. If somebody from my old department asks for my help, I'm not allowed to help them.

The obvious thing to do is find another job and I've been looking for over 2 years now, but 25 interviews later I've had no job offer. That's not to mention the interviews I had beforehand when I wasn't actively looking. 

25 interviews and no offers...do you think there's a message there, particularly taken in conjunction with your hyper-critical attitude to your workplaces?

Dox

Planet_Switzerland said:

Dox said:

Planet_Switzerland said:

TELLIT01 said:

Comms69 said:

I've found the more you bring to the role, the better you are treated.

Competence is king.

I wish that was always the case.  Some people seem threatened by new staff who do come in with a positive attitude.  I worked for a subsidiary of a major financial institution and one of the guys who worked for me put in many, many hours outside work hours in order to obtain formal IT qualifications, all of which were directly relevant to the job. The training was funded by our subsidiary but required a lot of work to be done outside office hours. Following a restructuring in the parent bank, all IT was taken under their control, and my team transferred into that environment.  Initially some other managers refused to accept that he could possibly have obtained the qualifications he had, at his comparatively young age.  When evidence was provided, instead of welcoming the expertise there was a sustained attitude of negativity towards him.  Various projects came along and despite his ability he was never given a place on any of them.  Just as an example of the way he would put effort in to achieve whatever he wanted to do, he paid off his mortgage in 7 years by sheer hard work.

That sounds quite similar to my story in a way, though I don't work in IT. When I first joined the company I was the only person in my department who did my job. There was one area of my job I became particularly good at and there became a lot of demand for me to do said work. After a while though I wanted to develop in other areas of my occupation as my job was becoming a bit one dimensional. Then I was moved departments to work for someone who specialised in these other areas, but he kept telling me to stick to what I'm good at and wouldn't let me near the work I was interested in doing, so my job didn't really change. Then I changed teams again, this time I had to stop doing all the work I was doing before. I did learn a few new things, but the work was a bit patchy and some of what I was tasked with wasn't challenging at all. Then I ended up with a manager who wanted me to stop everything I'm doing and spend 100% of my time on a particular project. Since that project ended I hardly ever get any work given to me by my manager, I've had to force myself onto other peoples projects. If somebody from my old department asks for my help, I'm not allowed to help them.

The obvious thing to do is find another job and I've been looking for over 2 years now, but 25 interviews later I've had no job offer. That's not to mention the interviews I had beforehand when I wasn't actively looking. 

25 interviews and no offers...do you think there's a message there, particularly taken in conjunction with your hyper-critical attitude to your workplaces?

Well I'm never critical of my workplace at job interviews, I say positive things about it. What would you do if you were in my situation then?

1. Get feedback from failed interviews wherever possible
2. Consider how you are coming across at interview - something is clearly not working in your favour
3. You may not be critical of your workplace, but it's not difficult to read between the lines, particularly for an experienced interviewer. Think hard about whether that could be true; for example, what are you giving as your reason for wanting to abscond?
4. Look again at your own behaviour - that's under your control, so you can work on changing it. The behaviour of others might be open to influence, but that's all
5. Based on your post (which is all anyone here has to go on), you do seem to cast yourself in the role of victim. Could it be that your current and previous employers weren't thrilled with that stance?
6. If you believe that all workplaces are toxic (whatever that means - bit of a meaningless buzz word), set up your own and work for yourself.

Savvy_Sue

Martin_the_Unjust said:

If all the places you have worked have, or would have, been toxic maybe you should have a think about the common denominator?

I was hestitating to suggest this, but although I've worked in some difficult places, I'd never describe any of them as toxic. I've had too much to do, I've had not enough to do, I've had supportive managers, I've had less supportive managers, I've been expected to do things for which I haven't been trained, I've not been allowed to do things for which I have been trained. I've very very occasionally seen colleagues behave in ways which shocked and surprised me, and I've spoken out in support of those who've been affected by that. 

John_

Planet_Switzerland said:

Where I work is very toxic. It's the sort of company that says one thing and does the other. If you come with a positive attitude and good work ethic they will soon suck it out of you. 

Thinking about it though, I think everywhere I've worked has been toxic. There are maybe 1 or 2 places I can't complain about but that's because I didn't work there long enough to find out. I get that you go to work to do a job and it's not supposed to be fun. But it seems somebody doing a bunch of boring tasks isn't enough to justify the paycheck, you have to make sure they're as miserable as possible whilst they're doing the tasks as well. That pretty much sums up everywhere I've worked

What’s been the common factor in all of the places that you’ve worked? I’ve been in a fair few different jobs, and most have been fine. My current one is great, the boss takes a real interest in the well-being of the team, there is a real sense of camaraderie, and a lot of the guys like socialising too.

It’s a high pressure job, and well paid on the whole, with long hours, but a really enjoyable one.