Last Updated on May 21, 2026 by YEO Chuen Chuen
A toxic work environment is marked by fear, micromanagement, poor communication, low psychological safety, and a lack of recognition. Leaders can fix it by building trust, improving communication, prioritizing employee well-being, and creating a safe, inclusive culture where employees feel valued and empowered.
Toxic organizations can sap your energy, both mentally and physically, and spill into your personal life. Here are the signs to watch for and exactly what leaders can do to fix them.
People don’t leave their jobs, they leave toxic work culture.
-Dr. Amina Aitsi-Selmi, Author of the Success Trap
The ideal workplace is where people feel happy, inspired, and valued, yet we still hear people share how they hate their job because of workplace toxicity. Employees need healthy workplaces that encourage them to fulfill their greatest potential and do their best work. However, a survey conducted by Deloitte has shown that 77% of employees experience burnout at their current job. And because managers and leaders play an instrumental role in creating a healthy work environment, it is important to know the signs of a toxic work environment and take proactive steps to address the issue.
The Price of Toxic Work Environments
A toxic workplace breeds fear, hostility, and unreasonable demands. Employees can’t do their best work when they’re worried about penalties instead of performance. The result: burnout spikes, attrition rises, and your employer brand suffers. A Deloitte survey found 77% of employees have experienced burnout, and nearly 70% say their employer isn’t doing enough about it. That’s talent walking out the door.
10 Common Signs of a Toxic Workplace
1. High anxiety about failure
Employees in a toxic workplace live in constant fear of failure, always second-guessing whether their work will pass or fail. When the anxiety peaks, it shows up as sick days and disengagement.
2. Micromanagement
Unhealthy workplace practices include micromanagement, where an employee’s every move is scrutinized to the extent that they feel uncomfortable doing their job. Micro-managed employees have to ask for permission for everything and constantly report to their boss, making them lose their confidence and motivation.
Micromanagement was named one of the top undesirable behaviors of managers in the Leaders People Love Global Survey. Download the full report here.
3. Lack of psychological safety
When employees don’t feel safe speaking up, they stop asking questions, stop pitching ideas, and stop contributing. Research from MIT Sloan Review links a lack of psychological safety directly to witnessed unethical behavior. Over time, creativity and commitment shrink.
4. High absence rate affecting productivity
A negative work environment is not inviting. People dread coming to work and might be late for work or leave early; they may become irritable or moody and stop participating in team activities. A toxic workplace affects your employees’ mental health. A survey from FlexJobs of 15,00 respondents showed that 76% of respondents said that workplace stress affects their mental health, leading to depression or anxiety.
5. Poor work-life balance
Work-life balance is increasingly important to the workforce, with studies showing that nearly 81% of workers experience burnout or mental health issues. A toxic work environment makes employees feel like they no longer have personal space due to excessive demands. This issue is not isolated to employees. According to Gallup, managers have never been more stressed out, where 32% of managers reporting feeling burned out at work very often or always.
6. Lack of recognition
One of the most common problems with a toxic work culture is a lack of recognition. A Gallup study found 81% of leaders don’t treat recognition as a strategic priority. When employees go unacknowledged, morale drops, productivity suffers, and people stop going the extra mile.
7. Limited career growth and progression
It’s tough to visualize a future with the organization if you feel stuck in a job with limited career growth. It occurs when an organization does not prioritize developing employees. However, an SHRM study shows that 52% of workers said they need to learn new skills within the next year to continue working with the same employer. Not investing in employees’ careers hinders their potential and talent retention, as the lack of career development/advancement is often cited as a common reason for someone to resign, according to this article by McKinsey & Company.
8. Workplace Incivility
Workplace incivility can be rude, disrespectful, and offensive behavior directed at an employee by a co-worker or supervisor. In fact, research conducted by Zippia shows that 68%of workers around the world do not feel safe at work. The same study also shows that there are approximately 2 million victims of workplace violence every year.
If present in your company, this practice needs to be addressed as soon as possible, as the MIT Sloan Business Review states that employees who experience workplace incivility perform worse in their jobs and are less helpful to their coworkers.
9. Lack of communication and clarity
Poor communication in the workplace is one of the signs of a toxic work culture. This means that employees have no idea what their managers think about how they’re doing because they don’t get feedback, or managers refuse to communicate with them. When there is a lack of communication, deadlines can be missed, resources can be wasted, and mistakes can be committed. It can also result in frustration, confusion, and friction in the work environment, eventually leading to attrition.
10. Resistance to Change
Toxic workplaces often resist change. Rigid hierarchies block innovation, blame culture discourages ownership, and office politics breeds cliques. The result is chronic stress and a workforce stuck in place.
By understanding the detrimental effects of a toxic environment, leaders can proactively implement strategies to cultivate a more supportive, inclusive, and productive workspace.
Let’s explore ten actionable steps leaders can take to remedy toxic workplace dynamics and foster a culture of growth, collaboration, and well-being.
How Leaders Can Fix a Toxic Environment by Taking the Initiative
Toxic work culture exists, but there are many ways that leaders can help fix a toxic culture in the organization. Leading by example by demonstrating healthy workplace behaviors is often one of the best ways to start. Like encouraging open communication with all stakeholders, management included, about problems and potential solutions. It may make the leaders’ and HR’s lives more complex, but reduce burnout and increase commitment.
Here are some ways leaders can go about fixing a toxic work environment.
1. Focus on employee experience and be human-centered
There is a spectrum of how bad the problems are in a workplace, and it is important to take a closer look at the specific needs of your employees when it comes to dealing with workplace problems. Put in structures to engage your employees in safe conversations, ask them for honest feedback, and act on it. You want to create a workplace culture that invites employees to come to work, so listening to their needs is important.
For more strategies, read the Theme: Creating Human-centered Workplaces in Leaders People Love
2. Promote diversity and inclusion
People tend to be more creative and innovative when they feel they belong and understand each other better. It is only possible if there is diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Look into meeting routines and how to facilitate inclusive conversations such that all voices are heard, and new ideas can be shared safely.
For more strategies, read the Theme: Encouraging Neurodiversity and Inclusion in Leaders People Love.
3. Create a psychologically safe system where people can speak up
Eliminate toxic culture by allowing employees to air their complaints without fear of retribution or negative consequences. Make sure your company has policies in place for employee engagement and feedback. Train your leaders and managers to be curious and open to new ideas and alternative perspectives because their initial disapproval often reduces psychological safety.
4. Develop a strengths-focused collaborative culture
People have an advantage if they’re already good at what they’re doing. Finding ways to use their strengths will allow them to do what they excel at and often result in the best outcome for them and the company.
Gallup studies reveal that “people who use their strengths every day are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive, and 15% less likely to quit their jobs.”
Discover strengths-focused leadership under CAPTAIN in our five-part Agile Leadership Framework. Check it out here.
5. Prioritize mental health and work-life balance
Mental health is an important topic that any business should take seriously. It not only negatively affects individuals but also the workplace and employees. This is why businesses need to ensure their employees are mentally healthy. Some small actions you can start with are being sensitive to people working across time zones, offering to support others, demonstrating self-care, and creatively managing schedules to ensure optimal performance. For example, you could share some of your self-care strategies and how to negotiate deadlines with your team. Institute code of conduct policy
6. Make Safe, Fair, and Inclusive Workplaces a Priority
By establishing workplace discrimination laws, you can help create a positive work environment for everyone who works at your company. Reducing office gossip to the minimum is one possible goal. Another one is to eradicate all unfair workplace practices, protect workers, and abolish poor behavior by making sure that everyone is treated with respect. You don’t want physical violence, workplace harassment, or verbal abuse in your workplace culture. Institute a system where employees, even senior leaders, who exhibit undesirable behavior are called out and counseled promptly.
7. Develop leaders to lead by inspiring, not micro-managing
Leaders’ mindsets are a core part of a good work environment. Many toxic workplaces result from outdated leadership models where leaders believe they need to lead by command and control.
This manner of leading is no longer effective in the current context. In some ways, forceful managers are often seen as toxic employees. But to expect a change overnight is impossible and unreasonable.
Instead, support the managers and all employees in developing their leadership so that you get more good and loyal employees, elevate the employer brand, and become the employer of choice.
Enhance your Agility and Leadership Skills with ACESENCE Executive Coaching. Click here.
8. Make career development part of your strategy
Employees need to be equipped with the appropriate skills to thrive in their careers. Training can help employees learn how to communicate effectively and handle difficult situations. It can also help them understand their rights and what they can do to improve the situation.
Need to equip your managers with facilitation and coaching skills.
Talk to us.
9. Make the Workplace a Place where Civility is Valued
Contrary to incivility, civility is the ability to treat others with respect even when you disagree with them. If leaders want their company to be seen as a place where civility is valued, they need to work on how they interact with employees.
Make mutual respect a core value. Leaders can listen more than they speak and ask curious questions instead of giving orders. Leading with the coaching mindset is one good way to start. This way, you take your organization off the list of toxic workplaces.
Managers Must Take Action to Abolish Toxic Workplaces
Ignoring toxicity doesn’t make it disappear; it lets it spread. Unchecked, toxic behaviors damage morale, performance, and your employer brand. Leaders who act early protect their people, their culture, and their ability to attract top talent. Don’t wait for a resignation wave to take action.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the signs of a toxic workplace?
Signs that a toxic workplace is present include high anxiety about failure, micromanagement, lack of psychological safety, poor work-life balance, no recognition, limited career growth, workplace incivility, poor communication, and resistance to change. Employees in toxic environments often show high absenteeism, disengagement, and burnout.
How does a toxic work environment affect you?
A toxic work environment causes chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression. It reduces productivity, lowers self-esteem, and damages work-life balance. Over time, employees in a toxic environment become disengaged, underperform, and are more likely to quit, taking their skills and institutional knowledge with them.
How do you fix a toxic work environment?
Fix a toxic work environment by building psychological safety, improving communication, recognizing employee contributions, and investing in career development. Leaders should model respectful behavior, eliminate micromanagement, promote inclusion, and create clear channels for feedback. Change starts with leadership commitment and consistent action, not one-time initiatives.
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