Toxic companies – Take 15

Bullying! What means that?

In toxic companies what we have is a bullying atmosphere. Most of the times we don’t know what practices can be considered as bullying. Recently, Career Builder Study Finds has made a study that has cleared some doubts.

«Looking at age, 29 percent of workers age 55 or older and 29 percent of workers age 24 or younger reported they had been bullied on the job, the highest among age groups. Workers age 35 to 44 were the least likely to report feeling bullied at 25 percent.
The most common culprit is typically the boss, according to the survey. Fourteen percent of workers felt bullied by their immediate supervisor while 11 percent felt bullied by a co-worker. Seven percent said the bully was not their boss, but someone else higher up in the organization while another 7 percent said the bully was their customer.»

Now take a look what is considered bullying by workers:
• My comments were dismissed or not acknowledged – 43 percent
• I was falsely accused of mistakes I didn’t make – 40 percent
• I was harshly criticized – 38 percent
• I was forced into doing work that really wasn’t my job – 38 percent
• Different standards and policies were used for me than other workers – 37 percent
• I was given mean looks – 31 percent
• Others gossiped about me – 27 percent
• My boss yelled at me in front of other co-workers – 24 percent
• Belittling comments were made about my work during meetings – 23 percent
• Someone else stole credit for my work – 21 percent

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 5,671 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government); ages 18 and over between February 21 and March 10, 2011»

Then, something that surprised me a lot:
«Although bullies can be intimidating, nearly half of workers (47 percent) said they confronted the bully about his/her actions. Of these workers, 43 percent said the bullying stopped, 13 percent reported the bullying became worse while 44 percent said the bullying stayed the same.»

In all of my work experience, I noticed that bullying became worse after a confrontation. I never saw an improvement after a confrontation. Bullies always do what they do intentionally. Anyway, this survey brings us something more detailed and useful.

Toxic Companies - Take 14

Delayed payments

This is quite obvious, but is a strong feature. Because, in a large number of companies this is a question of culture. Let me clear something, this is a kind of exclusive acting in small enterprises. Called «familiar», with twenty or thirthy people.

The owner (and chairman too) starts giving the idea of lack of money. Why? Ok, one day, the owner of a company where I worked told me something interesting: «Jorge, we can't give the idea of abundance, of success to all these people. You see, even if you get a good money, we have to tell people that the reality is not good and the future is not shiny. You don't have enough experience to understand this, but I can tell you that people become frightened and will work a lot. What will happen if you tell them the newspaper is selling well and the company is getting profits? You will have all the staff asking you for salary rises. Do you understand?»

This type of a paternalist lesson stuck in my memory. And I could see the results of so «wise» strategy. Salaries were paid always one, two or three days after the end of the month. People got afraid of what that meant. As the time passed, company staff got tired of so much scarcity, and slowed down their commitment, retained the knowledge they could and spent all the time talking about the situations in a negative way.

Today, the company still resists but as a zombie in a predatory market and with only a few people, because the rest were gone. I no longer work there for two years. I had to find projects, my own project of life and feel again hope and a meaning in my work life.

If you work in a company with this culture, it's better think on going away

Toxic Companies – Take 13

Compel people to have concerns

It’s a common detail in all toxic companies. An atmosphere of concern. Fostered by top and middle management. Concerned people are easy to «lead». They do what management wants. They are more likely to engage internal wars in order to survive, fostered by managers. Why? To blame system and some employees.

Concerned people launder manager’s incompetence, allowing them to blame the team and circumstances. It’s an old strategy I witnessed in some companies I worked for. And this strategy only means the fear the middle management feels in their position. They think the only way to keep their position is fostering an idea of chaos and lack of skills and communication from their co workers («subordinates», in management’s terminology).

According David Sirota, doctorate from University of Michigan and engaged in behavioral research for over 30 years, here you are a kind of a companies picture. What happens when managers have fear and foster concern in organizations?

1 – They convey the idea that work is only a way of get the salary. So, nobody have real purpose of life while working.

2 – They don’t recognize good work and the main idea is «I don’t have to thank for the work they are paid for»

3 – Foster a command-control atmosphere, killing creativity and innovation

4 – They are against workers development. No comments

5 – There’s a lack of communication. Lack of data leads to a low commitment, performance and motivation

6 – They don’t solve problems of low performance. They prefer to blame

7 – They don’t foster team work, which means lack of performance and results

8 – They are awful listeners and avoid work and team involvement

I have to add some others features, like expressions «Company doesn’t have money»; «Probably company has to sack some people»; «The boss is furious, I don’t know what is going to happen»; «I don’t know what to do to protect you guys»; «Probably next month we will have some problems with salaries payment»; «Don’t think too much, ok?»; «Remember I’m in charge here!»; «I was called to a meeting and something is going to change here. But I can’t tell you».

Toxic Companies - Take 12

Invoking boss's name

«The chairman wants this like that from now one»

or «The CEO told doesn't want you to do this as usual»

This is the type of situations that happen in toxic companies where we can find managers don't taking responsibility of their options. The fact is in most, to not tell all, of their decisions they always tell employees it was not them (managers) but the chairman or the CEO that took the decision. And they spend all the time saying the responsability of this or that change is not them (managers) but them (bosses).

The exception is when something is positive. Then here we are a pretentious manager.
Lack of accountability is a desease in our organizations. Starting in state institutions, that give themselves the luxury of repeating errors and mistakes, and making disastrous «investments», spending money with no balance. We all know there is not their money they spend. But they spend to much time in TV, in public speeches, telling people the fault is from markets, is from banks, is from international crisis, it's the price of gas.

Have you ever noticed that there is not a single situation of taking themselves the responsibility? They are allways the victims. Victims of the system (that is an entity with no face), victims of external events.

Politicians always invoke the system's names

Toxic Companies - Take 11

A blaming atmosphere

 

«Who has done this?»

«Sorry, but it's not my fault. This happened because they haven't given me the text well»

«I have nothing to do with that?, Why didn't he check all the stuff?»

It's a type of a label in toxic companies. Blaming and don't take responsabilities for anything. Starting from the boss, who allways seeks for a guilty in all situations, with a «WHO (fill in the blank)?»

How this happened? And what can we do to make it no happen again? What can we do to not repeat this? Something have to change in work process in order to make things go right.

Precisely, this type of question doesn't exist in toxic companies. What is important is allways finding a guilty, while the problem remains the same. I think this kind of culture is intentional and fostered by bosses in order to get rid of responsabilities and for make them the victims. Victims of incompetency of their co-workers. So, they feel better and they seem better than they are at the eyes of the board. The only problem is they are surrounded by incompetents and careless people. The board often accepts this reality, so the board keep accepting blaming activities...

That, really, are not solutions at all. It's only a way of keep going with the old habits, going till the disaster. Two posts ago, I did a videolog talking about the words that can change the reality: How and What. A powerfull way of achieving something successfully. See post toxic companies - take 7 too.

In toxic companies, much of the questions start with an WHO. Let's change this...

Toxic Companies - Take 10

The whiners

One of the toxic companies labels are the whining atmosphere. All the people have a complain about something. They blame co-workers, they blame peers, other departments, the boss, the manager.

I havwe worked about ten years in a small company with this type of climate. Seemed everybody didn't have any responsability for anything. What happened? Produts have lowered their quality, profits have fallen, some people were made redundant in a «quick fix» downsizing, facilities have been degraded. Coffee was no longer provided by company because of lack of money, as well as toilet paper. It's not a joke. I'm serious.
The company produced newspapers and magazines. The solution provided by the CEO was only based in this kind of statement: «Well, the market is very complicated at moment. People don't have money to buy so much newspapers as before, unfortunately, there are other publications in the market. So, the only solution I'm seeing to solve the problem for now is to increase the price of our newspapers (there were two) and reduce the number of pages. Let's cut four.»

This guy of 55 years old had been minister of media communication. And he started a kind of drift that was repeated in time. Increasing prices, reducing pages. The effect: well, they had to sell the company some years after several mentioned decisions.
Even facing this reality, people kept the complaining style, whining about the world and the market. Anyway, they had «captured» the CEO and chairman styles. Instead of thinking of adding value to produts, they prefered whining. Of course they didn't felt responsable for the events.

So, if the atmosphere of your company is complaining

and whining I assure you don't have any future there

Toxic Companies - Take 8

The invisibles or the avoidance phenomenon

A key factor in a dysfunctional environment. Considering others invisibles. Professor Robert Sutton, from Stanford University, in his book Good Boss, Bad Boss, also emphasizes this feature. I confirm it because I witnessed it and experienced myself.

Usually it happens with very competent people. Such people end up being a «threat» to the routine of the company. Having ideas or working well can be threatening for colleagues and for the boss. So, the first effective way to end the productivity or the brilliance of the individual is to make it «invisible».

Example: As the company was in economic and financial difficulties, one day, as a production director, I suggested to do some market research to find a printing company's lower price. The answer came quickly from the CEO. And strange: «Forget it, that is not worth it for sure! We're done»

However, I took the initiative to contact about a dozen printers, even against the odd suggestion of the CEO. And the surprise came: a printing company that charged less than $10,000 month. Something brutally significant according our size and revenues. CEO was stunned, but overjoyed. We changed anyway and the company breathed better. We got rid of the bankruptcy spectrum.

The outcome: From this moment, all of a sudden, I became a kind of «superhero»: the Invisible Man. A large number of colleagues of mine and peers started a kind of group action, avoiding me and across me as if I did not exist... Exceptions happened in a strictly professional situations. Some comments I heard was still like «You have craze you are good». Imagine so many hours spent in the company as if I were invisible to most people, and after taking a spontaneous initiative with a direct impact on maintenance of jobs and also the company.

In dysfunctional companies, efforts are punished, competence is a threat, the potential is punished, good work is punished.

The solution? What to do? Well, invest all you can, in effort, get the all you need, then flee from that company. Just run away from this environment that takes you, day after day, so valuable energy.

Toxic Companies – Take 7

«Those guys up there!...»

When people blame walls

It seems that the open space was born of two needs. First, would create a more cohesive spirit not prone to the groups generation. Secondly, the cost of building divisions.

The last one, of course, is acceptable. But the first is debatable. In fact, the trend is the company to become a collection of bunkers. Each department is seen surrounded by «enemies» from whom must be protect.

The above behavior is preceded by a patterned speech. Each time departments have to interact often things like this are said (examples of a publishing company):

- «Those guys (dudes) up there think they are a priority.» The «guys» (dudes) are the reporters (colleagues).
- «But who the hell these guys think they are?» The «guys» are the accounting colleagues.
- «Send the pages like that, don’t worry with mistakes and with them, I don't care.» «Them» are the members of the advertising.
- «These guys make so many corrections, just to sand the work!...» Again, the «guys» are the fellow journalists.
- «These people are not doing anything here. They want only to put us in xeque, that’s it.» The «people» are our colleagues in the graphics department.

And this is the pattern, day after day, week after week, month after month, a toxic pace highly corrosive. However, despite acknowledging that geography and ergonomics lead to this type of communication, for me the problem relies always on leadership. Starting from the top. Without specific human resources policy there isn’t open space that will endure.

Do not blame the walls by the dysfunctional climate. The reason is not because of bricks or partitions. The problem lies in leaders.

Being good from the wrong side

The Toxic Companies takes I'm publishing show us what shouldn't be done. As a mather of fact, I learned a lot with them and I'm grateful for having witnessed all these toxic episodes. At first I got a lot of pain, but soon noticed there're great lessons to learn from the «wrong» side of the bank. Which means there's always a chance to make a choice. If you are working for a company with toxic characteristics, please listen to your heart. What do you feel?

What do you want for your life? Do you really want this type of atmosphere? Are you really felling good, healthy, energized? Are you improving, learning something new? What's your opinion about your colleagues? Are you sure about achieving something good in the near future? What are your chances anyway? Ok, imagine you aren't feeling well.
Final question. Do you really want to bet in your company, with this type of climate?

If you're feeling uncomfortable, if you don't walk energized for your workday every morning, if you dislike your job or what you are doing, if you hate some of your colleagues, if you dislike some of your company's politics, like relationship with employees or customers, probably you are in position to take a great decision: «I'm going to change my life, starting from today.»
Remember that all the negative things lead to a positive decision. In my humble opinion, that's the point. You can be part of the evil if you stay longer. Or you can be part of a something good if you decide better... today.

As Jim Rohn used to say: «It's simple, but not easy.» But you must start doing something about it... Today.

Toxic Companies - Take 6

«JOHN, COME OVER HERE...»

As Take 5, this is like a first warning signal. The manager is in his office. The door is open. Suddenly, «JOHN, COME OVER HERE...». The problem: this style quickly turns in a habit and calling other people loudly fills all the free space inside the company. This is all about obedience. «PAULA, BRING ME THAT NEWSPAPER THERE». In most of the times the «PLEASE» doesn't even happens.

And imagine that Paula doesn't answer to that call. Immediately, the manager calls again, even loudly, explicit and with a discontented tone:

«PAAAAUUUULA, COME ON! COME OVER HERE!»
What happens next? A kind of employees involvement in this important task that is calling Paula to the boss's office.
«SMITH, TELL PAULA TO COME HERE, PLEASE!»
«BARBARA, FIND PAULA, WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?»

And so on. The manager allows himself to interrupt everybody in the company in order to bring someone to his office. And the team is mobilized to this type of activity many times in a workday.

Well, a matter of obedience in a daily plot of power assertion

Toxic Companies - Take 5

«Go down there and bring me a packet of cigarrettes»

Another situation of assertion of power. The boss controls, the boss's boss. The personal favor is an institution, unfortunately very common.

"Buy me that magazine, you know... Take the money!"
"Go up stairs and deliver this sheets, hurry, hurry!!"
"Please go to the post office and send me this letter"
"Go down there and bring me a packet of cigarrettes"
"Can you do me a favor? Get down to the market and buy me a biological lettuce?"

This type of boss keep the employees busy, quiet and silent. If you refuse to make a favor, say goodbye because or you go straight to a «shelf» or, sonner or later, get fired.
Notice that this kind of managers or bosses usually are people with a huge lack of work capacity. They spend their time keeping the eyes in small tasks and in personal favors.

Companies of personal favors tend to die, but, meanwhile, they still are in a large number. According my experience, I noticed several times real competition between colleagues in order to have boss's preference. We all know why, because is an advantage, better salary or bonus, less work, less responsibility, and more complacency.

What happens then? The work turns in a second plan issue. Who cares about commitment, or effectiveness, whatever! The more preferences rise, as well as personal favor's activities, the more the business narrow. Till one day, when we stop defining the company as a... business.

Toxic Companies - Take 4

«Who did this mess?»

Very common in toxic workplaces. Shouting is an excellent strategy to keep your power position. The assertion of power is determined by the noise you make. Who makes the most noise is the most powerful. «IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME...»; «DO I MUST SAY IT AGAIN?» «WHO DID THIS MESS?»; «THAT TEXT, CAN I HAVE IT AT ONCE?».

When I remember these shouted phrases I heard so many times in companies I worked for, many times I do remember too that old story of the father who walks through the countryside with his son, and suddenly asks him:

- Son, what noise is this we heard in the distance?
- It's a cart, dad.
- Very good. And the cart is filled or empty?
- It is filled, dad, is filled.
- Why do you say that, son?
- Because it makes too much noise, dad...
- No, son, is an empty cart.
- How do you know that the cart is empty, if you don't see it?
- Son, the cart is empty because of the noise. The more empty the cart, the higher the noise it makes.

The boy became an adult and hasn't forgotten this episode. And now, when he sees someone talking too much, screaming, with arrogance or / and interrupting everybody, as a requirement of reason, he remembers: «The more empty the cart, the more noise it makes...»

So, the idea of chaos is always grateful to whom want to maintain the power, or the idea of power. Yelling seems a great solution, and calling attention to others. If you add up abrupt ramblings, nervous gestures and hard expressions, it is created an atmosphere of fear, horror, humiliation and submission.

People stand still, people retain all their knowledge and who loses?...

Ultimately, the company.

Creativity and innovation are incompatible with this atmosphere. As well as excellent performance. I worked in several companies in which the «yelling culture» prevailed. Some of them are stuck. Some were sold, others simply disappeared.

Toxic Companies - Take 3

«I only talk with you»

In some companies I worked for, I've always seen this. The CEO or chairman only talked with or to people in charge, managers, hierarchy. All communication was exclusive and didn't flow among teams.

At first, I thought this was normal, but soon I realize managers lied a lot and tended to manipulate a large amount of information, with bad consequences to companies, of course. In many situations, I've seen people got fired just because communication and information was misleading. The «I only talk with you» politic.

Once, I had the opportunity to be present at a meeting between a CEO and my department's director. At that time I would be in charge during his holliday. My God. I remember I couldn't believe in what I was hearing. The director took his word and has started telling so many lies, half-truths, misrepresentations and inaccuracies about the work processes, about people, about performance. I was astonished. A sense of fear ran through my body. I had to be carefull with that guy.

All decisions were made according the information told by that individual. He was seen as a star, he was... the best, and all people around him were so... «bad». And the CEO kept trusting him, again and again. And the results were not famous, but the guy kept talking, only with the CEO, only with the chairman. And there were so many things people liked to tell about him, the star. But couldn't because CEO and the chairman only talked to hierarchy.

What happened? As the results kept going down, although some peolpe got fired, at a certain point, doubts came about director's performance. In a desperate attitude, the CEO has decided to collect information and finally talked with employees. He got furious, but was too late. Something had to be done in a hurry. Company was in bad shape. «My God, why did I trust him? Why didn't I see this before?», claimed the CEO. Then, he put him away. Fired the director...

Lack of information is lack of management, perception and decision. My suggestion is if you are in charge for any area, please talk with several people and not just with the hierarchy. If you work in a large corporation may seem less easy. But it is possible. But if you work in a small business, as the case described, with about 25 people, believe that it will be easy to do.

Toxic companies, Take 2

«Put him in the shelf»

In Portugal we often talk like that when somebody is put away from his work. When you put a worker in the shelf, from that moment it looks as if he didn't exist. But company keeps him paying a salary.

One day, the chairman of a media company where I worked for phoned me to tell: «That guy right there just beside you... XXXXX, put him doing nothing. Turn off his computer and don't give him any page to do. I want that guy doing... nothing. Put him in the shelf right now...»
That «guy» was my colleague, had a low average commitment, even after tried everything to change the situation. So I've made a report to the board in order to get a final solution.

But the answer was what I've written in second paragraph. The chairman wanted him «doing nothing», in front of his screen, with internet unavailable and with no work to do. What have I done?
Backing to the phone call, I answered «Sorry, but I can't do such a thing. I'm not going to put an individual doing nothing, because it will be a bad example to the others. Further, we'll have to do all his work and that is not fair. Is not fair somebody doing nothing, with no responsability, but earning a every month salary.»

A silence came through the line. Suddenly the chairman's voice anounced: «Ok, so, you must solve that problem, and I'm warning you if that guy turn again with more errors and mistakes in newspaper, the responsability will be yours.»
With no support from the board, I've had to get an alternative solution: I've removed all responsability tasks, lowering the probability of error, restricting him too in some advantages he got over other colleagues, like timetable. Nevertheless, I've kept him working with all needed conditions. I've not allowed any exclusion or avoidance behaviors.

I've never understood how can a chairman and owner allow individuals in «shelves» in his own company, producing nothing, earning a salary, subtracting value to the product and to whole structure. Actually this is pathetic.

This situation was solved by itself. The company, in a couple of years, almost colapsed, I left to embrace a new different project, and today the small struture hardly resist in the marketplace, with the same type of choices made by the owner.

Toxic Companies - Take 1

«If you talk to him/her you don't talk to me anymore»

I've been through some of these situations. Some years ago, a colleague of mine, manager of a department of a press company, told me: «I know you hang around some people here that are a mess. We don't like them. So, you go with these people and don't come here because you are not very reliable.»

Some of these «people» were in my department, and this colleague didn't like some. And also didn't like other from other departments, with whom I worked.

Thus, it became difficult to communicate. As I had to organize work with him, it was painful to do so. Nevertheless I never gave in to pressure and never interrupted or obstructed communication with anyone else.
Because I think if the company doesn't like the employee for any reason, should solve the problem once. Successful organizations are not compatible with these strokes of communication, with dramatic consequences...

Many companies are organized around groups. We believe it is part of being human. It's normal. Yes, I agree, but to some extent. Who has not been with people who interact well, but suddenly find not like someone and decide to stop to consider it, or even talk to her or him. And after that they try to propagate this attitude, exerting a pressure like «If you talk to him or her, do not talk with us, because we will not allow».

Within an organization this attitude is disruptive, destructive and affect the climate. Avoidance is not cooperating. Communication become restricted and company loses value, loses productivity, loses money, loses business.
The role of leaders is, of course, counter this trend, not yielding to these pressures, even if they entail some negative effects on themselves.

Remember that stroke is an interruption of communication and produces dramatic effects on the human body. Now transpose the situation to the company. Therefore, the comparison is not exaggerated, believe me.

PS: Oh, about the individual that I spoke earlier. For a long time resisted, but was not successful. He was sacked.