The Toll of Toxic Work Environments on Your Mental Health
If your job is making you depressed or anxious, it may be time to leave.
Unfortunately, I have entirely too much personal experience in dealing with toxic work environments, and I know I am not alone. I have dealt with passive-aggressive management, sex discrimination, unrealistic expectations, ridiculous policies, unsafe environments, and more. The worst situation led to a serious injury that required surgery and left me permanently partially disabled.
The treatment by my employer after the injury—expecting me to complete the same workload despite being physically unable to—left me so depressed and anxious that I was regularly crying in the bathroom during my shift. I learned the hard way about how serious the toll can be on your mental health when you feel trapped in a toxic work environment, and I will never forget the feeling of relief I had when I stepped out of that building for the last time.
Signs of a Toxic Work Environment
If you dread going to work every day and your job leaves you with negative feelings, your work environment may not be working for you. However, there is a big difference between a position that is not a good fit for you and an environment that could be called “toxic” that is actively damaging to your well-being. Here are some of the warning signs of a toxic work environment:
Lack of Concern For Employee Safety: If your employer shows little concern for the safety of their employees and regularly defies OSHA regulations, your physical safety may be at risk. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Discrimination: It is illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, sex, age, disability, religion, marital status, and other protected classes. That doesn’t stop it from happening. If your employer doesn’t require discrimination and harassment training—or doesn’t enforce their own policies—that is a red flag.
Unrealistic Expectations: While there is nothing wrong with a supervisor setting challenging expectations, they should be offering you the support you need to attain them. Setting you up to fail by failing to provide the proper tools and time creates standards that are impossible to attain.
Lack of Respect For Boundaries: You should be able to set healthy boundaries around your availability, such as not being available outside of work hours or taking on extra hours without notice.
Micro-Managing: Micro-management shows a lack of respect and confidence in your ability to perform your job correctly. Constant scrutiny and criticism can become demoralizing.
Poor Morale: If employees are constantly overworked, underappreciated, unheard, or pitted against each other, morale will suffer.
Unfair Policies: Unfair policies include punishing employees for things that are out of their control, such as illness or family obligations. It can also include things like binding arbitration clauses that prevent employees from taking legal action against them.
How a Toxic Work Environment Can Affect Mental Health
We all have days where we simply don’t feel like going to work. It’s a nice day, and you’d rather go to the beach! However, the effects of a work environment that is toxic can have devastating effects on your daily life. If your job is causing or exacerbating any of these mental health issues, you should seriously consider finding a different position:
Anxiety: While stress at work is normal, you shouldn’t be having to constantly worry about meeting impossible goals or mistreatment from coworkers. Other symptoms of anxiety include restlessness, insomnia, and feelings of panic or dread.
Depression: Depression can leave you feeling sad, fatigued, and disengaged, as if you are going through the motions of your life. Your job environment shouldn’t leave you feeling hopeless or with other symptoms of depression.
PTSD: In serious cases, a work environment can cross the line from toxic to traumatic, leaving the worker with PTSD. This is likely to occur in cases of serious injury such as mine, or if an employee experiences intense discrimination or a hostile work environment.
Sleep Changes: Anxiety, depression, and stress can affect your sleep, causing you to sleep more or less than usual. Poor quality sleep can negatively impact work performance and daily life over time.
Increased Substance Abuse: Regularly turning to substances to mitigate the stress of your job can create substance abuse issues.
Burnout: A toxic work environment increases the chances of employee burnout, or complete mental and physical exhaustion.
What to Do If You Are In A Toxic Work Environment
Obviously, if your work environment is causing you distress or negatively impacting your mental health, the best option is to leave. However, many people are unable to resign from their current position until they can find another source of income. If you feel trapped in such a workplace, here are some strategies to help you cope as you search for new employment:
Plan Your Exit Strategy: Sometimes knowing that you have a plan to leave the company can make it more bearable in the meantime. Brush up that resume, and start submitting those applications.
Seek Support: Vent to family and friends about what you’re experiencing, or a sympathetic coworker.
Enforce Your Boundaries: Refuse to work or be available outside your regularly scheduled hours, or to perform tasks outside of your normal duties. Don’t answer calls, texts, or emails from your boss when you are off the clock.
Learn Healthy Stress Management Strategies: Rather than relying on substances, find healthy strategies for managing stress that work for you. This could be meditation, exercise, a self-care routine, taking more breaks, or taking up a hobby.
Document and Report Abuse: If discrimination, harassment, or other labor violations are occuring, document them and report to the appropriate authorities. You can file a complaint with OSHA for safety violations like I did, or the Department of Labor for violations of worker protection laws.
Take Legal Action: If your workplace is violating labor laws, you may have a legal case. Schedule a consultation with an employment attorney to review your options.