{"id":1248,"date":"2013-06-25T07:39:29","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T07:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/career-advice\/?p=1248"},"modified":"2025-01-08T02:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T10:55:12","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-toxic-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/how-to-avoid-a-toxic-company\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid a \u201cToxic\u201d Company"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/bored_work.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1249\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/bored_work-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"bored_work\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/bored_work-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/bored_work.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Every now and then I hear from a client who jumped from the proverbial frying pan into a fire. And sometimes it\u2019s even a senior level client \u2013 a Director of H.R. comes to mind. Promised executive-level strategic planning the new hire found herself handling recruiting day in and day out.<\/p>\n<p>Is there any way to avoid this scenario?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s step back to the hiring process. You sit in waiting room, knowing that at each step you are evaluated \u2013 by the receptionist, the interview team member who comes out to fetch you, each person in the team \u2013 everyone is observing your every move and communication! And so you are on best behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s representatives realize that you are also evaluating them \u2013 their culture and the solidity of the business \u2013 and so everyone who represents the company is also on best behaviour. They entice you with benefits, hope to inspire you with examples of flexible work arrangements, and reel you in with three weeks of vacation to start!<\/p>\n<p>It is up to you to conduct due diligence, and here are a few ideas for how to do so.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cDiscretely\u201d solicit opinions from former employees or competitors through social networks or even by contacting existing employees. I once called an existing employee who warned me that the job to which I\u2019d applied required two people but the budget allowed for only one.<\/li>\n<li>If appropriate, review annual reports and financial info to measure the company\u2019s business health. I\u2019ve also had clients who joined companies only to learn that a merger was almost complete, after which a good chunk of the most recent hires was let go.<\/li>\n<li>Request details of benefits and make sure the company offers what you need \u2013 EAP, annual physics, the right to choose holistic approaches over traditional?<\/li>\n<li>Ask questions such as \u201chow is the turnover in the company?\u201d or \u201cwhat do you enjoy about working here?\u201d Or ask whether their sick leave statistics are equal to or better (or worse) than industry averages. If they are worse, it\u2019s not a good sign! Brave questions that not everyone would ask, but framed politely they are acceptable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are but a beginning and truly hardly scratch the surface of potential pitfalls. Determining a company\u2019s health \u2013 as in whether or not it is toxic \u2013 is more likely if one learns to read between the lines or trust a gut-reaction. Let me share an example.<\/p>\n<p>I recall an interview that I attended at a leading \u201cthink-tank\u201d institution. The two interviewers gave me enough signals that I knew something was \u201chinky.\u201d The two did not break a smile, rarely made eye contact with one-another, did not speak to one another \u2026 I knew I didn\u2019t want to get into that hornet\u2019s nest!<\/p>\n<p>Learn to pay attention to body language. Not always overt as in rolling eyes and finger twirling a \u201ccrazy in the head\u201d message, even fairly subtle signs as in my interview signal trouble. For example, as you wait for your interview pay attention to staff. Hunched shoulders, deep worry lines, \u00a0and scowls on people racing to and fro are not great signs!<\/p>\n<p>Another form of red-flag signs is verbal. Listen to the team\u2019s use of language. If they refer to your potential boss as \u201chard-hitting, unrelenting, goal-smashing, task-master\u201d or other language that has your inner toxic-radar quivering, either ask for clarification or stay on heightened alert for more such signs.<\/p>\n<p>Although good manners are useful for getting along, an overly polite environment may indicate a forced culture \u2013 forced and enforced! To determine whether the politeness is genuine, strike up conversations with the receptionist or in the interview. You should feel a level of human connection \u2013 a chuckle, a laugh, or a shared opinion \u2013 and not a stilted and insincere politeness.<\/p>\n<p>As you walk through the workplace, peek into cubicles or offices \u2013 is a measure of individuality allowed? If not, this could indicate a strictly imposed \u201cappearance\u201d that you may not buy into. (<a href=\"https:\/\/zonaroofingaz.com\/xanax-online-most-trusted-online-pharmacy\/\">https:\/\/zonaroofingaz.com\/<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>I recall another job I had \u2013 I lasted three days! My first clue was the first day. Quitting time came and went and no one, not one person, was making any move to pack up and go. I wandered out of my office and asked whether my clock was incorrect. No, smiled the woman I\u2019d asked, it\u2019s just that the boss has a tendency to call at five minutes after five, and ask whoever answers who else is still working. Actually my first clue was in the interview. The owner made a comment that triggered my \u201coh-oh\u201d radar.<\/p>\n<p>Those gut-reactions are critical and worth paying attention to. If triggered, make it a point to ask questions related to your concerns BEFORE you accept an offer. But if you do accept an offer and then regret it, bail quickly. Don\u2019t get stuck in the job where a year later you are still recruiting rather than planning strategy as did my HR Director.<\/p>\n<p>Toxic workplaces take a heavy toll on your emotional health, which research shows can lead to a toll on your physical health with a lowered immune system and possibly serious disease. Aside from that (as if that\u2019s not reason enough!), working in a toxic environment reduces your ability to produce, which then negatively affects your resume\u2019s content.<\/p>\n<p>Do yourself and your career a favour: learn to read the signs and stay clear of toxic workplaces.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Stephanie Clark, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newleafresumes.ca\/\">Master Resume Writer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every now and then I hear from a client who jumped from the proverbial frying pan into a fire. And sometimes it\u2019s even a senior level client \u2013 a Director of H.R. comes to mind. Promised executive-level strategic planning the new hire found herself handling recruiting day in and day out. Is there any way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10002,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions\/10002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}