Nurses, Is Your Work Environment Toxic?

Toxic Work Environments, one of the topics less discussed on the web, no employer would ever want their workplace to be described as toxic right? Research has cited that over the years, a toxic work culture is one of the most cited reasons why people quit their jobs. A lot of us do not even realise that the environment is not ideal, because of various reasons, however a survey on the internet by Conductor discovered that web searches for “toxic work environment quiz “increased by over 500% this year.

What is a Toxic Work environment?

According to Forbes:

..toxic means “poisonous” and/or “causing unpleasant feelings; harmful or malicious. ClearForce CEO Tom Miller says it can be anything from bullying or harassment to a company that engages in unethical practices and is dishonest with its employees

Forbes

There are many reasons why many will stay in a not-so-ideal workplace. Some are not really aware that the traits exuded by their superiors or co-workers are toxic until they leave that environment and start working elsewhere. Not to mention the fact that some employers have adopted the “take it or leave it phenomenon” of letting employees know in one way or the other that if they think this environment is not ideal, they are free to leave.

In the African country of Zimbabwe, a woman shared her toxic work environment story and she said she stayed because she was afraid she would not get another job. Unemployment is rife in that country and a lot of people are qualified to do most jobs. For every vacancy, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of applicants. In Scotland, a lady endured in a toxic work environment for years because she needed to gain expereience in her field.

What Can Be Done About Toxic Work Environment?

A week ago, The Guardian published a story that said, the Royal College of Nursing was marred with allegations of:

..bullying, misogyny and a sex_ual culture where women are at risk of “alcohol and power-related exploitation

The Guardian

Given the fact that the Royal College of Nursing is one of the biggest Nurses Union in the world, this further alludes to the fact that, many envrionemnts are probably toxic to many people and the superiors are probaly not aware of it.

Now that we know, its possible to be in a toxic enveronment and not know it, or endure because of various reasons, what can we as nurses do?

1. Take the toxic work envronment quiz on the web and see if you are working in an toxic environment
2. Stand up against any toxic traits you do not like
3. In some cases, switch to agency nursing, you will be working in different work stations and envrionments, you have a chance to cherry pick which place you can go to and which ones to avoid.

In case you need help transitioning to agency nursing, call us on 03300300031 or email info@myshifts.work and we will help you.