Evolve a work culture that is intolerant of toxic workplace -Oduh
Elizabeth Olagunju
Promise Oduh, Business Director at Media Reach OMD Nigeria, has called on organisations to put in place a work culture that has zero-tolerance for toxic work environments. The marketing professional made this call while fielding questions from our reporter in Lagos recently.
According to him, toxicity in a work environment is a negative corporate culture that stunts the growth of any organisation.
“Toxicity does not emanate just from the offices. It is a reflection of what you find in most homes; it is a reflection of frustration, disappointment, which are actually emanating from different spheres of life. Unfortunately, some Managers have not been able to control their emotions, and these things find their way into the offices. A lot of managers lack control and allow their emotions to express themselves in the offices where they work. Such things affect relationships and sometimes even frustrate the company’s human resources. It can impinge on their work and capacity to deliver.
“A toxic work environment can never be a culture. It is a negative subculture. There should be mutual respect in the office and a toxic environment does not engender mutual respect. It tends to disrespect the other person. This disrespect is manifested in the way the toxic manager talks down, shouts at, insults, or bullies their subordinates. Such things reduce productivity and at the end of the day, the organization will suffer the most”, he said.
He, therefore, enjoined organisations to forestall any tendency towards toxicity by putting in place, work policies and culture that discourages it, rather than wait for it to happen. “Companies can even go further and begin to look at penalties for acts that foster toxicity.”
Continuing he said: “Start a work culture that celebrates people, a work culture that creates an atmosphere that naturally takes away any intention to express or experience toxicity in a work environment. If you create a positive environment, you celebrate your people, you reward competence and help people to grow, you’re growing a happy environment and so naturally toxicity will become an alien in such an environment. When people grow with that happy culture, you have solved the problem, you are developing a foundation that will naturally stamp out a toxic environment”
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