5 HR Tips To Fix A Toxic Workplace Culture

“When a workplace becomes toxic, its poison spreads beyond its walls and into the lives of its workers and their families.” – Gary Chapman

Unfortunately, that's not always the case and too many companies still have a toxic workplace culture. However, there are ways to fix this and create a safe environment and these 5 tips will help you do so. 

Identify the causes

Before you can find the solution to toxic workplace culture, you need to identify the root of the problem. Toxic cultures can present themselves in different ways across workplaces, which is why it’s important to understand yours so you can tailor your solution according to the problem.

You can achieve this by getting employees’ opinions on the workplace culture. A good way to ensure you get true, helpful answers is to make the feedback process anonymous so employees can feel free to be honest. Once you identify the causes of a toxic culture, you can start working on solutions specific to those.

Tackle toxic behavior immediately

If you recognize toxic behavior in certain employees that are contributing to an unhealthy work environment, it’s best to address it immediately. Dealing with the problem quickly helps to eliminate it before it becomes a bigger issue. 

In addition, fast resolution of problematic behavior helps to set a precedent. Everyone will know that the company has zero-tolerance for such behavior and will refrain from acting that way to avoid disciplinary action.

Read more: 4 Ways To Make Peace After An Argument

Involve employees

Employees are a major part of your company. They have a big impact on your workplace culture and are the ones most affected by it. As such, they’re the best people to help you find solutions to fix the problem.

In addition, sharing your ideas with them helps them feel seen. They’re also more likely to implement those solutions when they feel involved in the decision-making process. 

Update employee guidelines

Employee guidelines help to guide behavior in the workplace by outlining what’s acceptable and what’s not. Once you recognize causes of toxic workplace culture prevalent in your company, you can update your policies to include statutes related to these.

It’ll be easier to ensure a healthy work environment when employees know what to avoid and the consequences of behaving in a way that contradicts these guidelines. 

Read more: Why Workplace Lunches Matter for Health and Collaboration

Introduce a culture of gratitude

Saying thank you is one of the easiest ways to fix a toxic workplace culture. Gratitude improves people’s moods, according to scientific studies, and makes them feel happier. A happy workplace is less likely to have any toxicity issues. 

You can encourage employees to show gratitude to each other by leading by example. Say thank you for anything and everything, big or small, and encourage everyone to follow suit. Implementing an employee rewards program is a great idea, and easier than ever before thanks to free corporate gifting platforms such as Gifted.co.

“Take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in a thousand ways.” – Bob Nelson