How to combat toxic office environment

These are turbulent times in the labour market, as businesses struggle through late payments, cut budgets, and slow sales growth.

But I have witnessed another problem in the midst of staff pools in recent months, in businesses pressed by cuts, but otherwise relatively secure, as office politics turn more ugly and personalization more brutal.

Yet for managers trying to grapple their businesses back to glowing success, the law isn’t with them in coping with, or addressing, this rise of the nasty.

Robert Sutton, the professor of Management Science at Stanford Engineering School, has spent his own career urging organisations to run a rule simply excluding, banning, and ejecting mean-spirited or nasty people from their midst.

As a management specialist, he holds to the merits of dispute and conflict in the workplace - classing them essential. He certainly doesn’t argue for acquiescence or ignoring tough or controversial issues.

He also allows for humanity, in temporary lapses that see us all say or do the unkind at times.

But his case that consistently mean-spirited people destroy others, and whole businesses too, has been vigorous, and only adds to a body of knowledge that shows organisational success depends on good will.

As a foundation stone of that comes reciprocity: for it is a fact of human nature that small positive acts produce a far greater return in generosity and input. Conversely, hostile actions frequently produce far more brutal and nasty returns.

Thus, ‘do as you would be done by’ is the big glue in any group or society anywhere, and the test of all of us.

Yet, put teams under economic pressure and every individual hits a personal crossroads. Do they keep giving, or get nasty?

In this, hard times truly sort the sheep from the wolves. We can most of us be nice people in a Muthaiga restaurant (although some even fail that test), but it takes a stronger spirit to hold to fairness, kindness, care for others and integrity in a torture camp.

But, when a good-time team of yesteryear has sorted itself into those who remain decent, and fair, and hard working when the chips are down, and those who become vicious, how do managers move from there?

In fact, I have watched several environments now similarly afflicted. The boss is now a hate figure. The bitching is constant, in attitudes that become brain washing. Normal communications and functions are breaking down, resignations rising, enthusiasm plummeting, and output with it.

But the law doesn’t allow for nastiness as grounds for dismissal. I’m not arguing that it should. It is right that the balance of legal protection should be for the employee, as the weaker party in the contract.

Yet where any employee can resign at any time and for no reason, employers are bound to prove cause. And I now see manager after manager dealing with how they match the employment regulation with the reality of a toxic individual.

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For every grappling manager, they all know, too, that it is the sourest, meanest, nastiest people they have who will be the most likely to head to a labour court on the smallest wrinkle in proof of cause.

But the answer, it seems, has to lie in the managers’ strength of spirit in these hard times. Because with greater diligence and greater investment, this squeeze is actually not just a crisis, but an opportunity.

The reality is that a workplace can deteriorate over time. The unforeseen ‘soft side’ of our protracted political process of last year, and deteriorating public finances and private liquidity, is far more people under far more pressure, and adversity is testing character all around.

So managers must stay fair too, and stick with the facts of actions and output: document, warn, and follow due process.

For many, seeing their organisations through this period does mean sifting staff to keep those who are positive and resilient.

So, in this time when redundancies are everywhere, where few companies are recruiting, and most are only downsizing, value good behaviour, document bad behaviour, warn and then cite.

And your organisation will emerge stronger instead of felled.