I am discussing the negative aspects of office culture today because I spent most of my career in an environment which for most of those years was friendly, inviting, and accommodating. At times, it was also hectic, stressful, and sometimes negative. The negative aspects certainly took a toll on my mental health.

Naturally, when redundancies are announced, the lead-up to this happening, usually means staff don’t experience the same support they once did and there is a negative vibe. Even if this just stems from a feeling that something is not quite right.

The pandemic and how this impacted negative aspects of office culture

The pandemic certainly made us all stop, take stock of our lives and assess the important aspects. We were literally forced to do this because we couldn’t go anywhere. Those who had thrown themselves into work and other distractions were suddenly forced to spend time at home. Family time was essentially forced upon us and I personally came out the other side thinking it wasn’t such a bad thing.

Whilst I’m sure everyone has had a completely unique experience, there is no denying we’ve all had some thinking time to assess our priorities. 

Regardless of the impending redundancy, I look back on these toxic workplace traits as something I just could never allow into my life again. As an introvert and empath with high anxiety levels, I will be looking for a future job role that involves helping people, a charity, a small business and will probably never want to work for a large company ever again. Unless they are amazing (side note – I’ve seen pictures on Linkedin where some big companies are giving wonderful goodie bags to new starters – I think I’ve been in the wrong job!).

Continue reading for a list of the main toxic traits I witnessed in the workplace…

Buzzing around like the world was going to end 

This is top of my list for negative aspects of office culture. I don’t know if our managers just didn’t have a clue what they were doing, or drank 10 cups of coffee that morning. But each day there would be a panic-like buzz. Whispering in the middle of the office, taking one another into meeting rooms. 

Watching this take place was stressful. The body language created a sense of impending doom. What announcement will they land on us today? What could possibly be that bad all this energy is required? I still ask myself what was so urgent. 

Bullying 

I worked in office environments whilst at University. Since then, I’ve unfortunately witnessed bullying. Mainly from managers to employees, but also between employees. Some of it is unconscious bias or someone said, not intending to hurt another individual, but it still happens. 

I hear all too frequently about managers getting away with treating staff poorly and I’m hoping this is something that will change. 

Not understanding our work-life balance 

For years, it’s been quietly expected I will ‘get the job done’. This sometimes meant 12 hour days (I get paid to work 7 hours), working weekends, and doing constant overtime weekly for periods of up to 18 months. 

A work pattern like this suggests something isn’t working, better organisation and management are required. It takes its toll on staff and I am hoping since the pandemic, it’s something that will be addressed by companies. You don’t have time for life when you’re working 12 hour days, 5 days a week.  

In my career, generic statements were used to guilt people into working more than they should – statements like:

you get paid a lot

we need everyone to chip in and help out

once we get past this busy period, things will be better

On the days I worked 12 hours, I had no home life. I couldn’t function or speak, barely ate, and pretty much went straight to bed for not enough hours before the next workday. This isn’t good for anyone’s mental health, especially when you’re contracted to work 7 hours. 

The clique 

You’ve probably all experienced this. For me, it’s the ultimate negative aspect of office culture. The manager’s clique or certain employees being favoured because they are friends with managers. 

I find it so cringe to think about this now! But it impacts employees in offices up and down the country. What about people missing out on opportunities because of this culture?

It reminds me of mean girls or the cool group at school and everyone else is excluded. Just stop it already!

Bad management 

What do they say? Poop rolls downhill in offices. Well, I use the same logic for bad management. 

If the person at the top doesn’t know what they are doing, is inexperienced, or frankly, they don’t care, it stands to reason that poor decision making will be a factor and generally employees will have a lack of direction. 

I’ve experienced this on many occasions. This isn’t good for anyone’s mental health. 

I must also mention I’ve had some amazing, understanding managers as well. The point is, you shouldn’t have to class yourself lucky if you get a good one.

Culture of being afraid to speak up

I know many colleagues who have been afraid to speak up on these issues, for fear of being viewed a certain way by colleagues or risk of losing their job. This is unacceptable and I hope office culture changes in this respect.

Mental health in the workplace

I think this is a good time to talk about how mental health in the workplace can be improved.

From what I see, businesses are starting to incorporate mental health training. My hope is that soon, every manager up and down the country will have the same standard of mental health training and companies will adopt separate absence policies for dealing with people who have suffered from poor mental health. Especially when this poor mental health is linked to workplace stress. After already suffering from mental struggles, you don’t need work pressure added to this burden when you return.

I hope we see change. I am sure you will see me writing about this topic in another future blog post.

Final thoughts

Have you experienced negative aspects of office culture? I would love to hear your experiences in the comments?

Do you think office culture is improving since the pandemic?