How a Toxic Work Environment Affects Mental Health

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSignsCausesHow to CopeReducing Workplace Toxicity

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Signs

Causes

How to Cope

Reducing Workplace Toxicity

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At a Glance

One study published in theJournal of Occupational Health Psychologylooked at the correlation between toxicity in the workplace and symptoms of insomnia, a common symptom ofclinical depression.

Signs of a Toxic Work Environment

There are several signs that a work environment might be toxic. Some common features include:

What Causes a Toxic Work Environment?

Some factors that can contribute to a toxic work environment include:

Poor Boundaries

This contributes to a poorwork-life balance, which can ultimately undermine both mental health and workplace productivity.

Lack of Trust

In a toxic work environment, employees don’t trust management or each other. And employers often demonstrate that they don’t trust their workers. Micro-managing is the norm, and people are often left feeling like they are always being monitored.

This can put workers on edge and make it difficult to feel supported. This creates stress and reduces team collaboration.

Workplace Incivility

It is also defined as “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect.”

Contempt

Such behaviors undermine people’s sense of self. It is also associated with decreased well-being.

Poor Sleep Quality

Sleep is a critical factor in our overall well-being, including our work performance. It has long been established that poor quality of sleep has significant implications for both our physical and psychological well-being.

For example,insufficient sleepincreases a person’s risk of developing serious medical conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.Additionally,lack of sleep over timehas been associated with a shortened lifespan.

Negative Rumination

In examining the indirect effects of workplace incivility on symptoms of insomnia and thus overall health, the determining mechanism was found to benegative rumination, or the mentally replaying of an event or disturbing interaction with a co-worker long after the workday has ended."

Workplace toxicity causes people to ruminate over negative work events. This preoccupation contributes to increased workplace stress.

Given that most of us spend the better part of our days and our energy at work, increasing hostility in the workplace doesn’t bode well for our emotional or physical well-being. Research has associated toxic work environments with increased depression,substance use, and health issues among employees.

Further research has shown that organizations are suffering as well. These adverse effects include decreased productivity, lower levels of employee commitment, and increased turnover.

How to Cope With a Toxic Workplace

The good news is that sufficient recovery or coping techniques may be able to mitigate the negative effects of a toxic work environment on employee well-being. In particular, relaxation and psychological detachment.

Employees who were better able to detach psychologically are able to relax after work and sleep better even in the face of workplace incivility.

Below are descriptions of these recovery experiences and how they were shown to reduce the negative effects and enable employees to thrive in the most toxic of work environments.

Psychological Detachment

Psychological detachment represents an avoidance of work-related thoughts, actions, or emotions. Some of the items used in the study to measure employees' levels of psychological detachment in the evenings included the following: “I didn’t think about work at all” and “I distanced myself from my work.”

Those who were able to detach themselves mentally from this cycle do not suffer as much sleep disruption as those who are less capable of detachment.

Detachment can be fostered through a variety of specific activities, including exercise. Planning future events, such as vacations or weekend outings with family or friends, are examples of positive distractions outside of work.

Relaxation

It should come as no surprise that prioritizing work-life balance was shown to be another effective buffer against the detrimental effects of workplace incivility. Relaxation has long been associated with fewer health complaints and less exhaustion and need for recovery.

Relaxation during non-work time can help buffer negative work rumination and insomnia symptoms. Additionally, it has been identified as a moderator between work characteristics and occupational well-being, between time demands and exhaustion, and between job insecurity and the need for recovery from work.

Relaxation provides an opportunity for individuals to halt work-related demands, which is critical for restoring individuals to their pre-stressor state.

Some activities outside of the office that can foster recovery include volunteering,meditation, taking a walk, listening to music, spending time with friends, and other positivesocial supports.

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How to Change a Toxic Work Environment

Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest the following interventions that companies can address to reduce workplace incivility.

Takeaway

You may not be able to control certain events during work hours or the characteristics of your workplace environment. However, what you do have control over is how you choose to cope. Most importantly, finding time to relax, spending time with friends and family, and engaging in activities that will shift your focus away from work during non-work hours.

If you find that you are still experiencing distressful symptoms and that they are interfering with your functioning, it may be a good idea to speak to a therapist who can help you learn additional strategies for coping.

If despite having done all you can still nothing has changed, it might be time to consider the possibility of removing yourself from the toxic environment and looking for a new, more fulfilling and less distressful job. Your health may depend on it.

What Are Your Rights at Work When You’re Depressed?

8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Demsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE.Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2019;24(2):228-240. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116McKinsey & Company.The hidden toll of workplace incivility. 2016.Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work & Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Xia B, Wang X, Li Q, He Y, Wang W.How workplace incivility leads to work alienation: A moderated mediation model.Front Psychol. 2022;13:921161. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921161Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sleep and chronic disease.Grandner MA.Sleep duration across the lifespan: implications for health.Sleep Med Rev. 2012;16(3):199-201. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2012.02.001Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Bridger RS, Day AJ, Morton K.Occupational stress and employee turnover.Ergonomics. 2013;56(11):1629-39. doi:10.1080/00140139.2013.836251Additional ReadingDemsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE. Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2018. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116.

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Demsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE.Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2019;24(2):228-240. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116McKinsey & Company.The hidden toll of workplace incivility. 2016.Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work & Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Xia B, Wang X, Li Q, He Y, Wang W.How workplace incivility leads to work alienation: A moderated mediation model.Front Psychol. 2022;13:921161. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921161Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sleep and chronic disease.Grandner MA.Sleep duration across the lifespan: implications for health.Sleep Med Rev. 2012;16(3):199-201. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2012.02.001Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Bridger RS, Day AJ, Morton K.Occupational stress and employee turnover.Ergonomics. 2013;56(11):1629-39. doi:10.1080/00140139.2013.836251Additional ReadingDemsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE. Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2018. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Demsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE.Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2019;24(2):228-240. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116McKinsey & Company.The hidden toll of workplace incivility. 2016.Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work & Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Xia B, Wang X, Li Q, He Y, Wang W.How workplace incivility leads to work alienation: A moderated mediation model.Front Psychol. 2022;13:921161. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921161Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sleep and chronic disease.Grandner MA.Sleep duration across the lifespan: implications for health.Sleep Med Rev. 2012;16(3):199-201. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2012.02.001Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524Bridger RS, Day AJ, Morton K.Occupational stress and employee turnover.Ergonomics. 2013;56(11):1629-39. doi:10.1080/00140139.2013.836251

Demsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE.Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2019;24(2):228-240. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116

McKinsey & Company.The hidden toll of workplace incivility. 2016.

Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work & Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524

Xia B, Wang X, Li Q, He Y, Wang W.How workplace incivility leads to work alienation: A moderated mediation model.Front Psychol. 2022;13:921161. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921161

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sleep and chronic disease.

Grandner MA.Sleep duration across the lifespan: implications for health.Sleep Med Rev. 2012;16(3):199-201. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2012.02.001

Torkelson E, Holm K, Bäckström M, Schad E.Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others.Work Stress. 2016;30(2):115-131. doi:10.1080/02678373.2016.1175524

Bridger RS, Day AJ, Morton K.Occupational stress and employee turnover.Ergonomics. 2013;56(11):1629-39. doi:10.1080/00140139.2013.836251

Demsky CA, Fritz C, Hammer LB, Black AE. Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences.J Occup Health Psychol. 2018. doi:10.1037/ocp0000116.

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