Do you have a boss or manager that you consider very unreasonable? Do you have a boss who you try to avoid because of how unpleasant they are to interact with? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions then I encourage you to read on.
Toxic Leadership and Organizational Culture is a Sign of Our Times
As life gets ever more stressful for most people in our world, that stress is keenly felt throughout all kinds of work and business cultures. Unfortunately, many managers and bosses wind up passing down their stress to rank-and-file employees. This can take the form of unreasonable demands, contradictory messaging, or outright verbal and emotional abuse.
How to Tell If Your Boss or Organizational Culture is Toxic
The two questions above are meant to identify toxic leadership and cultures, as well as high levels of burnout within an organization, as well as significant levels of turnover within an organization also. You have your felt experience of being within the organization, and that is key to understanding whether it is traumatizing or not. Regardless of what others in the company say, it’s important to pay attention to your own experience within the organization.
Signs You Are in a Toxic Organizational Culture
Some of these include difficulty sleeping, having significant amounts of emotional upset during the workday or stress that spills out into your family and personal life. Appetite changes, as well as some other symptoms of depression can also go with this, such as lack of enjoyment, feelings of sadness, hopelessness, feelings of shame and guilt, and even thought of suicide.. The main thing is that you probably feel somehow not your best self in this organizational situation. If taken to an extreme, then the work situation can become traumatizing.
How Trauma Happens Within the Workplace
Most often people are traumatized by situations within the workplace that echo experiences of childhood trauma and abuse. While these experiences are not traumatizing most of the time by themselves, they can invariably be re-traumatizing to the extent that you haven’t processed or recovered from the initial trauma from your family of origin. Then being able to address childhood trauma can become unnecessary focus, but regardless, it’s important to realize that you continue to experience a pattern of abuse in the workplace like you did growing up. Asking yourself the question whether your boss or another higher up reminds you of one of your parents or an abusive caregiver can give much insight into the situation. If the answer is yes, then you are onto something important.
When to Get Help for Toxic Leadership and Company Culture
If you realize you were experiencing any of the above mentioned symptoms, it’s a good idea to get help for this kind of trauma. Many times people don’t seek help until they’ve already left a toxic workplace or management situation, but regardless, it’s something important to address going forward. I’ve been helping my clients and recovering from the effects of all kinds of trauma for my entire career, and I would be happy to talk to you in a free 15 minute phone consultation to give you a better idea about whether I can help you or not. Just call the number at the top of the screen, click on the schedule consultation button above, or fill out the inquiry form below, and I’ll get back to you ASAP if you live in MD or VA to schedule the consultation. You deserve a work situation that helps you to thrive as well as to earn a living!
Visit our page on trauma therapy to find out how Scott can help you with workplace trauma.
About the author: Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland. He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin, Texas. He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.