There are 5 common types of toxic employees. Your ability to identify & address such employees requires care to avoid complications. Knowing warning signs & understanding the difference between a difficult & toxic worker are key to minimising impacts.
Identifying Toxic Employees – A toxic worker not only causes harm but also spreads their behaviour to others. Toxic employees can present in many ways for example under-performance, workplace gossiping, and displays of unacceptable behaviours such as sexual harassment or stealing.
According to Approachable Leadership common examples of toxic workers include:
- The Hot Mess – incompetent, unreliable, dis-organisation
- The Sociopath – bullying behaviour, issues with authority, manipulation and sabotage
- The Social Butterfly – immature approach to work, loud and distracting, lack of focus
- The Martyr – attends work sick and infects everyone else, insists on doing everything themselves, prone to burnout, complains often
- The Slacker – low levels of motivation, absenteeism, bad time management, wasting time online or on the phone during work hours
When it comes to problematic employees it important that you deal with the issues surrounding them in a timely manner. Do not ignore the issue hoping that it will resolve itself as this may result in you losing great employees that bring value to your business. Depending upon the specific circumstances dealing with toxic employees may range from performance management to termination in the most serious of cases.
The most effective way to protect your business from toxic influences is to ensure you have clear policies and procedures embedded that help to ensure you recruit the right people and are able to respond in a timely manner when things do go wrong.
In you need assistance in developing HR policies and procedures that are tailored to your business needs or need assistance with dealing with a toxic employee, contact ABILITY GROUP.