Revise the essay

Healthy or Toxic Work Environments

According to (Stark, 2003), toxicity is the pain that strips people of their self-esteem and disconnects them from work. The five elements of toxic leadership are; poor leadership, un-professionalism, lack of appreciation and good communication, apathy and failure to work and achieve the laid out goals and commitments.

I believe that the toxicity in work environments is wrong since worst leaders tend to abuse power at the expense of the organization. In many cases, organizations tend to follow all the information that top leaders formulate. Nevertheless, employees have the right not to perform activities that are likely to be detrimental to the organization. Toxicity in workplaces is dangerous since it promotes the prevalence of bad practices in workplaces.

Not understanding the essence behind enhancing healthy work practices among employees makes the top leaders take advantage thereby promoting bad practices within the organization. A proper moral understanding within an organization is paramount in promoting productivity within the organization.

Poor leadership is a key factor in determining the toxicity of an organization. If the top management is toxic thereby self-centered, it is hard for the other employees to be efficient in carrying out their tasks. Poor leadership makes a toxic leader gain profits while nontoxic leaders generate productivity losses thus ending up being sacked. I believe that excellent leadership is imperative in making good decisions within an organization. Therefore, organizations ought to practice healthy business practices thereby fishing out any leaders and employees that practice toxic organizational behaviors.

Warren, (2003) Poor leadership in most instances leads to un-professionalism. Un-professionalism promotes absenteeism and poor work performance in workplaces. Toxic leaders promote un-professionalism while nontoxic leaders condemn it. On the other hand, lack of appreciation and good communication from the leaders to the employees, promotes deviant behaviors amongst the employees thereby reducing productivity (Warren, 2003). It assists toxic leaders not to take other peoples’ opinion while it affects the nontoxic leaders are not able to put into consideration such opinions. I believe that the prevention of un-professionalism within workplaces is necessary since it will enable both the top leaders and the employees to adhere to a code of conduct and ethics.

Failure to work and achieve the organization’s goals and commitments is as a result of top leaders’ attitudes. However, employees may also decide to work less in order to make their views relevant. It manifests in toxic leaders via self-gains while nontoxic leaders experience losses. Apathy propels failure to support employees by toxic leaders. Subsequently, nontoxic leaders have a chance to offer real support. Therefore, both leaders and employees ought to focus on business practices that promote the overall performance of the organization.

Many people believe that good organizational behaviors play a vital role in determining the productivity of the organization. However, it is important to note that good organizational behaviors in a toxic environment are of no significance since the toxicity prevails over healthy behavior. Proper businesses practices within organizations ought to be encouraged in order to ensure consistency and efficacy at all times. Similarly, employees should realize that they have a mandate to change the prevalent toxic behaviors among top leaders via either demoting them or dismissing them via a vote of no confidence (Graen, G. B., Novak, M. A., & Sommerkamp, P. 1982). Such acts will ensure that the toxic leaders change their ways in order to avoid such actions.

Kickul, J., & Neuman, G. (2000) significant organizational relationships between leaders and employees promote the emergence of efficient traits such as open-mindedness within the organization thus preventing toxicity. Training and encouragement also motivate both employees and top leaders into ensuring that they practice healthy business practices. Therefore, organizations should encourage their employees to uphold efficient business practices in order to curb toxicity.

If you are just beginning to institute an organization in the corporate world, training of employees and setting out appropriate rules and procedures is paramount in enhancing healthy business practices. Such enhancement is due to the nurturing of the employees and leaders into the organization in the best-suited way thus keeping toxicity a bay.

Healthy work environments prevent the existence of toxic leaders or employees within the organization. Therefore, in order to enhance good leadership styles and activities, organizations should set out appropriate motivation and appreciation policies that will ensure that equality is paramount irrespective of an individual’s job description (Scouller, J. 2011). The enforcement of such rules enables all the members within the organization to practice mutual respect and co-existence thus preventing toxicity. It also shows the individuals that you do not have to be in the top positions for your opinions and ideas to be relevant and helpful to the institution.

I spoke with several leaders and employees from different organizations, here are some points they made as to why healthy business practices are imperative and beneficial;

· Healthy business practices promote co-existence and harmony in the organization.

· It is a way of increasing the productivity of an organization.

· Subject to putting into practice these healthy business practices, toxicity can be an issue of the past thereby promoting profits within the organization since un-professionalism, absenteeism and poor performance are not present in the workplaces. Although, low levels of toxicity are inevitable within work environments, the prevalence of healthy behaviors ensures that the toxicity reduces to insignificant levels thus enhancing the development. The introduction of policies that cater for every individual prevents the individuals from engaging in toxic behaviors thus enhancing the development within the organization.

· For toxicity to vanish within an organization completely, all individuals have to work together in order to ensure that there healthy business practices are emphasized.

· Subject to the recognition of toxicity within an organization, members within it should ensure that they work towards eliminating it completely and changing the members who possess it in order to prevent it from spreading.

Conclusion

It may be quicker to state that toxicity is a bad habit affecting organizations, but does it emanate from leaders only or also employees play a part? The same ways of dealing with toxicity may not work for all organizations, but it is important for them to try hard in order to ensure that the bad practices are no longer existent thereby encouraging the practice of good business practices.

References Graen, G. B., Novak, M. A., & Sommerkamp, P. (1982). ‘The effects of leader-member exchange and job design on productivity and satisfaction: Testing a dual attachment model.’ Organizational Behavior & Human Performance, 30(1): 109–131.

Kickul, J., & Neuman, G. (2000). ‘Emergence leadership behaviors: The function of personality and cognitive ability in determining teamwork performance and KSAs.’ Journal of Business and Psychology, 15: 27–51.

Scouller, J. (2011). ‘The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill.’ Cirencester: Management Books 2000.

Stark, M. (2003). ‘Time to Treat Toxic Emotions at Work, Working Knowledge for Business Leaders Archive,’ Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, March 10.

Warren, D.E. (2003), ‘‘Constructive and the destructive deviance in organizations’’, Academy of Management, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 622-32.

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