Halloween may be the time to jump a little at the ghouls and goblins showing up at your front door, but there is never a time where any employee should feel scared, unsafe, disrespected or not valued in the workplace. Unfortunately, many employees across the nation report feeling this way due to toxic employees and are actively trying to leave their workplace because of the hostile environment. This will end up costing employers significant time and money to continually replace the employees who will constantly leave due to the reign of morale-sucking individuals.
The problem? It can be often hard for managers to clearly identify the source of the problem, as toxic employees can be hard to pick out, as they wear several different costumes.
Here are the most common toxic employees and how to work with them to create a healthier workplace.
The Pirate
This employee is often a mid-level manager who claims employees' work as their own. It's easy to see when you're only hearing from one member of a team on progress updates and no other team members' contributions are noted. They may be intimidating so no one speaks up about the apparent theft of others' hard work.
The Skeleton
Do you have no idea what this employee does? Do they show up to work but make few to no contributions to projects or goals? They might be a skeleton. The skeleton employee is probably kind enough, but their lack of contribution makes it hard for other team members to make progress, as others are constantly picking up the slack for the skeleton.
The Clown
On the surface, this toxic employee may appear to be the exact opposite. Do they make people laugh and improve morale? Absolutely. Are they a drain on productivity? Most likely. While there is a time and place for humor and conversation in the workplace, the clown is probably hiding low productivity and poor performance behind their workplace comedy show.
The Vampire
Is there a negative employee on your workforce that sucks the energy out of your employees? Do you notice members of your workforce actively avoiding interactions with this particular team member? They may be a vampire. Vampires are known for destroying company culture and draining positive morale and may be one of the root causes of turnover on your workforce.
The Ghost
This one may be the most obvious. While not overtly hurting anyone but themselves, this toxic employee disappears frequently without warning, or as soon as the boss leaves for the day. While work should be measured by productivity and not just by sheer hours worked, it's not ideal for an employee to be leaving whenever they feel like it for no reason, as it can bring the rest of the team down with them, or set a dangerous precedent for new employees.
How Do I Fix It?
Prevention is key to fighting the power of toxic employees. Make sure your policies for reporting work are in place and employees are aware of procedures. For example: skeletons, clowns and pirates all have a problem with doing their own work, so be sure that employees are either turning in work directly to responsible managers or that the entire email chain or paper trail is sent to the responsible manager. Another option is to have an ongoing spreadsheet that documents which employee is doing what. This keeps everyone accountable for their own responsibilities and leaves no room for work theft or negligence.
Making sure policies surrounding attendance are clear to ensure that your ghosts are aware of the expectations and make plans to be there when they need to be. Another option may also be to have another manager keep an eye on their attendance in extreme situations to ensure that they aren't leaving whenever you're not around.
Vampires are all about culture. If your culture tolerates that much negativity and unhealthy criticism, these soul-sucking employees will thrive and more will pop up along the way. If you create a culture that doesn't tolerate these things, they'll be exposed to the light and cease to exist. Start by recognizing employees for positive contributions and making a conscious effort to do team activities in order to stop them in their tracks. After all, it's hard to be grumpy at a company picnic or happy hour.
Toxic employees wear many costumes, but at the end of the day, they are just costumes. Under each toxic employee is an engaged, productive, positive employee waiting to be encouraged. By knowing these costumes, understanding how to work with the employees under them and making decisions with your whole workforce in mind, you can help these employees shed their costumes and be the best employees they can be.
