‘Five signs that ring true’

This kind of environment just won’t work.

An expert has revealed the red flags that signal a toxic office culture — and how to avoid those kinds of workplaces.

According to Nina Nesdoly, a work stress and prevention expert from Ottawa, Canada, there are five traits of a toxic work environment, which include cutthroat or unethical behavior.

Speaking with South West News Service, Nesdoly, 31, referred to the MIT Sloan Management Review, which identified “five signs” of a toxic workplace, according to their extensive analysis of Glassdoor reviews.

“These were disrespect, non-inclusive, unethical behavior, cutthroat behavior and abuse,” she told SWNS.

In order to identify and steer clear of those undesirable workplaces, Nesdoly said to read employee reviews of companies on sites like Glassdoor to glean an understanding of the office culture.

“For examples of a non-inclusive environment, we are looking for examples like nepotism, age discrimination and racial inequality,” she explained.

If applicants get to the job interview stage of the hiring process, prospective workers should prepare questions to ask the interviewer. Nesdoly advised asking about the environment and work/life balance.

“The third is to state what you are looking for if your interviewer asks you how you manage stress,” she said.

“If you say you are a work hard, play hard person, you are gonna be there for 75 hours a week, throw all your needs out the window, that is going to put you in a very different environment to if you say you manage stress by getting outside, asking for help or connecting with family members.”

But, if employees find themselves already in a suboptimal situation at work, Nesdoly recommended two different solutions, depending on the scenario.

“Identify the toxic traits and look at whether it is toxicity you are dealing with or elements of high workload or demand that need to be addressed,” she said, adding that talking to a boss or someone in human resources would be the next actionable step.

“If you can control these things and get helpful responses, you can stay in that environment and make those changes.”

But if you aren’t in control, getting help or receiving a response, then it’s best to begin the hunt for something new if you are unable to “tolerate it,” she continued.

“The best thing to do is look for another role, spruce up your resume, and keep your head low as long as you need to be in that environment,” Nesdoly recommended.

“Ultimately, it is going to come to a change in the role if there is nothing in your control.”