People! People in positions of authority wish for popularity, they may demand respect in one way or another but, above all, being trusted is perhaps the most desirable. Trust, they say, needs to be won, respect is awaited expectantly but not necessarily given enjoyably, and popularity is fleeting. In the absence of trust and respect, and despite any feelings of friendship or congeniality, toxic environments can prevail even though their obnoxiousness is well known as is the souring effect on human relationships.
Everything, at some point, involves people and relationships of some sort will develop in one way or another. Psychologically speaking, relationships are based on individuals and their personal needs or desires for socialising and maintaining both a physical and emotional balance. The same is also true of groups of people.
These human needs will vary depending on peoples’ culture, their work and home environment as well as their education, profession, socio-economic status, age and gender. But people change with time. They develop intellectually as well as grow older and more experienced. Their tolerance to the environments, conditions, and people that they interact with also change but some relationships last no matter what changes. Others deteriorate.
‘Good’ relationships are those that endure through changed and changing circumstances and are characterised by two essential components, namely trust and respect. Without these two fundamental elements it is unlikely that any relationship will be anything but superficial. And if those fundamentals are lost then any relationship will be at risk in the toxicity that often results.
Trust
Trust comes from the acceptance of a person by the people with whom they interact. This acceptance comes about from people having a firm belief that somebody is who and what they say they are rather than just what they represent. It also comes from believing that the trustees will not only talk about principles but stand by them; actions in trust speak louder than words and words ought to be honest.
Some professions are trusted implicitly, such as medical doctors, based upon their position, experience and qualifications and most people expect to be trusted. However, as it is said, “Trust is hard to earn, easy to lose, and, once lost, nearly impossible to regain”. It can take literally years to earn trust, it’s lost in a heartbeat and may take a lifetime to recover.
Steve Jobs said “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do”. But smartness does not equate to trustworthiness and trust is rarely given immediately or ubiquitously. Unless the ‘hired help’ is a uniquely qualified ‘troubleshooter’ trust is developed incrementally. Individuals tend to be tried and tested before trust is truly established and the risk of trust being undermined is diminished.
Respect
Respect, on the other hand is about how people treat one another and their ‘feelings’ towards them rather than a belief. People, sometimes, have respect instilled in them by learning good manners and practising social niceties. This respect, along with discipline manifests itself initially as outward displays of consideration, courtesy, and politeness but, in reality, such respect may just be well-disguised civility.
Respect can come from admiration or holding somebody in esteem, or even awe. These are often a catalyst for the start of a relationship or even friendship but, like many catalysts they don’t prevail. When we get to really know people their idiosyncrasies, peculiarities and any charismatic predilections are exposed as their character unfolds. The catalyst of novelty eventually fades and initial respect can give way to familiarity which, as we know, breeds contempt and respect is all but forgotten.
Respect is earned based upon behaviour, and consistent behaviour at that. This may be achieved by exhibiting some form of professional skill or ability, or through the quality of work, or a person’s experience and their ability to share it graciously. Treating other people with respect, empathising rather than sympathising, and kindness also help. But, above all there must be a feeling that some value is being generated through the relationship and there is not only ‘take’ but also ‘give’. Respect is symbiotic not parasitic.
Toxicity
Where there is trust and respect it’s highly unlikely that any working environment will be toxic. Toxicity exists where trust has broken down, respect is significant by its absence, and there is, generally, all round unpleasantness for those who must endure such environments. These are characterised by negligent communication with either seemingly endless meetings where attendees listen passively to monologues describing everchanging priorities or providing such a paucity of information that any priorities are established based upon rumour or gossip.
But it’s not just about communication, it’s also about people and their loss of trust and respect in the powers that be who, despite pulling rank fail to provide clear guidance, vision or leadership but perpetuate toxicity. The making of excessive or unrealistic demands and having little, or possibly no regard for people’s personal lives under the auspices of ‘keeping people on their toes’ can constitute bullying. This, possibly coupled with stultifying the potential for individual growth leads to high staff turnover and the creation of a ‘heads down culture’ and a team drained of energy as they battle constant dramas and lies in the form of veiled truths. In the distrust and disrespect that propagate, any nepotism or favouritism for those who kowtow will only add insult to the injury of those who remain.
Toxicity, although recognised by our 21st century management practices as being counterproductive, exists. Prime candidates for toxic work environments are typically results driven and hierarchical and include the military, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, pharmaceuticals…yes, potentially everywhere. The consequence of such toxicity is ultimately some form of business failure but also a failure to do better.
The adverse effects of toxicity on people are far reaching. Apart from the risk of losing good people those that stay may suffer from a multitude of physical problems which include fatigue, stress and high blood pressure leading to insomnia, anxiety, and depression. This leads to paranoia and heart attack or, with the possibility of a negative outlook on life, more than dire consequences. The result is a downward spiral of performance with an increasing risk of further toxicity and decreased moral.
Conclusions
The identification of toxic work environments is relatively easy. Swathes are written about this increasingly unfortunate phenomenon in the workplace as our workforces become, equally increasingly, more emotionally aware as should our managers.
Advice is also proffered as to how to handle these environments, those that seem to thrive in them, and who creates them. However, very little is proffered about how to neutralize the toxicity and convert the negative undertones into productive and positive vibes…but why let the toxicity occur in the first place.
Toxicity is neutralized by trust and respect rather than by popularity or power. Although difficult to establish the fragility of trust and respect should not be underestimated, they can be easily lost. A conscious effort to promote them through open and honest communication with established and maintained norms of acceptable behaviour will help prevent toxicity from the outset. And this requires essential and effective leadership from the start.
With acceptable behaviour then trust and respect can be nurtured, fear of bullying or other forms of abuse can be removed, doubts over certainty of purpose can be obviated, and courage in challenging unacceptability can be encouraged. True trust and real respect are unlikely bedfellows for toxicity…so rather than deal with toxicity why not promote trust and respect.
Bio:
Malcolm Peart is an UK Chartered Engineer & Chartered Geologist with over thirty-five years’ international experience in multicultural environments on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro, hydro, airports, tunnels, roads and bridges. Skills include project management, contract administration & procurement, and design & construction management skills as Client, Consultant, and Contractor.