Pt Three of The Workplace Survival Series: The Toxic Workplace

💡 In this segment of my interview on the Suwalif Space I attempt to make an important distinction between:

⭕️ What a toxic workplace really looks like...

⭕️...and where do we have agency and power to shape our own environment and boundaries.

⭕️....where we have the power to step in with our own self-leadership initiative.

⭕️ Rather than throwing blame solely on "the difficult manager", "the unhelpful colleague", or "the toxic culture the management is encouraging"; I pose the question: 'What if it is OUR OWN SELF that we need to work on'.

⭕️ My experience is that there is no ideal 'utopian' workplace so many dream of. Difficult bosses, colleagues or a toxic workplace are unfortunately part of the corporate system we have created or are part of.

⚠️ Now, I don't mean by this that toxic workplace behaviors are okay and acceptable.

To the contrary, by recognising them, setting boundaries early on and dealing with such behavior assertively, we protect ourselves first.

If everything else fails, then you have the absolute right to escalate the issue through the appropriate channels.

⭕️ My point is, by taking agency of the power we hold (no matter how little it is), we grow more resilient and at the same time send a message to the other person(s) that their behavior is unacceptable and won't be tolerated.

You can watch part of the conversation in the video below.