Managing Toxic & Other Employees Who Have Attitude Issues!

Most organizations have employees who on occasion:
      • Complain & gossip excessively
      • Use inappropriate language
      • Are mildly insubordinate

Toxic Employees have interpersonal styles that demonstrate a pattern of counter-productive work behaviors. While Emotionally Intelligent employees are aware of their feelings & those of others exhibit a pattern of appropriate self-management.

The toxic employee problem is surprisingly prevalent with research showing:
      • 95% of employees have & 64% are currently working with a toxic employee
      • 50% of employees have thought of quitting & 12% did because of a toxic employee
      • 25% of employees have reduced their work effort due to a toxic employee
      • 20% of employees feel they are a target weekly & 10% of employees see toxic behavior daily

Toxic employees cause significant overt, covert, people-related & financial damage, with their visible behavior just being the tip of the iceberg. For example, in one organization the day a former employee left the organization is considered one of their annual holidays.

Managers sometimes attempt to fix this type of problem by addressing a toxic employee's attitude. And while a toxic employee's attitude certainly affects his/her behavior, managers usually find that controlling an employee's attitude is next to impossible. 

Attending the webinar will equip you with the skills to effectively identify and manage toxic employees who use their technical expertise to manipulate and intimidate others. You'll learn how to recognize the subtle tactics these individuals use to manipulate situations, and how organizations can inadvertently promote toxicity. By understanding the specific behaviors that negatively impact the workplace, you will be better prepared to implement strategies that foster a positive work environment, including how to apply appropriate consequences to influence behavior.

You will learn:

To identify how the clever toxic employees:
  • Utilize their technical expertise to intimidate & manipulate
  • Know who to flatter & who they can abuse
  • Turn their toxicity on & off depending on the impression they want to make

How organizations can work against themselves & even promote toxicity by:
  • Restructuring his/her job to accommodate a toxic employee
  • Tolerating toxic employees who have valued expertise
  • Not assertively seeking employee feedback as to whether there is toxic behavior in the
workplace
  • Not communicating to all employees the specific interpersonal behaviors that will not be
tolerated -with the associated consequences

How Managers can be much more effective by:
  • Discussing the specific behaviors that are negatively impacting other employees and/or the
organization
  • Using positive & negative consequences to influence that behavior

Toxic Employees Create:
• Chaos & unnecessary complexity
• Overt damage
• Covert damage
• Strife, stress & emotional damage
• Productivity, quality & financial losses

The A, B, C's Related to Toxic Employees
• Employee attitudes
• Employee behaviors
• Consequences that managers can exert

The Psyche of a Toxic Employee
• Frequently seen toxic behaviors
• Utilize 'star status' & technical expertise to intimidate & manipulate
• Chameleon who knows who to flatter & who he/she can abuse Turn their toxicity on & off depending on the impression they want to make
• Three common forms of toxic behavior

Common Reactions to Toxic Employees That Frequently Don't Work
• Restructuring his/her job to accommodate the toxic employee
• Tolerating toxic employees who bring rare expertise or experience
•Not assertively seeking feedback from employees as to whether there is toxic behavior in the workplace
• Not communicating to all employees, the specific behaviors that will not be tolerated - with associated consequences

Effective Approaches for Addressing & Preventing Toxicity

» Organization-wide strategies:
  • Making positive interpersonal behavior an organizational value
  • Evaluating interpersonal behavior as a part of the performance appraisal system
  • Training leaders on how to address toxic behavior
  • Using behavioral-based interview questions to screen toxic applicants
  • Exit interviewing to identify any toxic behavior in the workplace

» Departmental & team strategies:
  • Defining appropriate interpersonal interactions with behavior-specific descriptions & standards
  • Using team discussions & role plays to clarify the application of the behavioral descriptions & standard
  •Utilizing a 360-degree feedback process to assess the work environment

» One-on-one strategies:
» Stating explicitly that the behavior is not acceptable & why
  • Describing both the unacceptable & acceptable behavior
  • Asking the employee to commit to & describe how he/she will change his/her behavior
  • Frequent, targeted counseling feedback
  • Executive coaches
  • Progressive discipline
  • Termination

» Progressive discipline for dealing with toxic employees Termination But even terminations are not a cure-all because the:
  • Toxic-enabling people & organizational culture tendencies may remain
  • Employees may still be resentful of the way they were treated by the employee & the time it took the organization to react
  • Expertise & experience of the toxic employee are lost

Managing toxic employees is a significant challenge, as they consistently engage in behaviors that harm team dynamics, morale, and productivity. These employees often manipulate others and create hostility, making them difficult to manage. Toxicity in the workplace is common and can lead to financial losses and reduced efficiency, often in subtle ways. Effective management requires recognizing and addressing toxic behaviors while fostering a positive work environment. Organizations must also avoid unintentionally supporting such behaviors and take proactive steps to ensure a healthier, more productive workplace.