Hopefully you have read the first two parts of this series and have a good working knowledge of the types of toxic individuals who permeate the workplace for the remaining employees, their victims. By now you are aware of how caustic and contaminating their wrath can become if not handled properly. These individuals are the "toxic waste" of our work environments and must be handled immediately and appropriately if you want positive organizational changes to occur. Needless to say, toxic waste must also be dealt with carefully and methodically.
 

Not just anyone could handle toxic waste. It takes training. It takes risk. It takes courage. And, since you have read the preceding articles on the 'toxic employee' and the 'toxic boss' YOU are about to be considered an expert in the identification of workplace toxic waste. The mere identification of toxic waste is only a portion of your responsibility. Yes, I said 'your responsibility'. Toxic waste spreads. It eats its victims, sabotages the efforts of good hardworking employees and lures others into the advantages of becoming toxic waste.
 

This is YOUR organization. Whether or not you agree, you have a responsibility as an employee, as a co-worker, a friend of a co-worker, as a supervisor, to your own self to maintain professionalism and pride for the work that you do and for your organization as a whole. Even if this means doing whatever you are capable of doing to keep everyone in your circle of influence on the same sheet of music.
 

You are part of an organization that takes more of your personal time and energy than your own family. Why not give it your undivided attention while you are there as you would in your family setting? Why not be present to making a difference instead of complaining about it? Why you? Why not? If not you, then who else?
 

It is time now to take a look at the toxic waste 'clean up' process. Put the clean up process to work today for immediate results. Don't let yourself be swallowed up in the contamination process. Lets go to work!
 

This concluding portion of the Toxic Waste Series answers the following questions:

Can one person really make a difference in changing the toxic culture of my organization?
How do I handle any backlash of reporting toxic waste?
How long is the 'clean up' process?
WIIFM
 

I deal quite frequently with employees who seek me out for advise on handling work environment issues. One of the most common questions they hit me with is, "what can I do to possibly make a difference in this organization"? They usually continue on by making statements relative to being way at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of rank or professional classification, or having minimal job tenure, some even mention fear as a reason for not taking personal responsibility for taking the first step in creating organizational change.
 

The first step in the clean up process is to recognize what your personal motive is for wanting to effect change. Are there changes YOU need to make first? Without this personal inquiry, your journey will be like stepping in quicksand. What do I mean by changes YOU need to make? You should be very clear about why change needs to occur so that you don't embark on a personal vendetta or quest for changes for behavior that only YOU are experiencing. Is this just a personality conflict between you and another individual, or, are you angry that you received a poor work performance evaluation, a job transfer, a new assignment, get overlooked for promotion or job advancement? Or, are you really dealing with an obvious toxic environment?
 

Now, that you have done this personal assessment, you should be more prepared for battle. The ability to draw from your own personal strength is a weapon that is often overlooked. There are many heroes throughout history that so believed in a cause they were almost unstoppable. Your cause should be this powerful. Once you have identified the toxic damage you and many others have allowed to continue in your organization a choice becomes necessary. You have a decision to make. Do you stand idle and watch it occur or do you take a powerful personal stance in making a difference? Only you can make that choice. Once made there is no turning back. But, the good news is that you can credit yourself for single-handedly taking on a toxic organization - one person - one influence at a time!
 

One way to identify the true toxic environment is by having your employer conduct a work environment assessment. For this process you would request that other employees of similar gender, race, or other similar characteristic that models the victim employee's or your own circumstance, be interviewed informally by a neutral person of supervisory classification, preferably from another unit or outside source. Work environment assessments done in small work team increments are very effective, less time consuming and less formal than a formal personnel complaint investigation, and a much more cost effective and efficient process. Workplace assessments are an effective means of identifying not only the complained of behavior but other employee relationship discomforts as well.
 

Backlash. Ah yes, then there's the backlash that most times follows. When I think of this type of backlash I think of what I've read about religious exorcisms and the effects that follow after the sprinkling of holy water! Yes, I will not lie to you and tell you that this clean up process is a clean, safe or easy one. The truth of the matter is that you have opted to take on one of the most difficult challenges of your lifetime. Backlash is experienced by way of formal or informal workplace or out of workplace retaliation. It rears its ugly head with anything from the silent treatment, dirty looks or glares, name calling, gestures, work sabotage, alienation, job transfers to job termination.
 

So, what do you do you ask? Meet the backlash as you would slay a dragon. Keep your work habits to a level of maximum performance. Do not allow this workplace treatment to get the best of you emotionally. Work out. Exercise. Go out with friends. Maintain a healthy social life with friends outside of work. While at work, maintain your attitude and work performance to the highest level. People will be watching. Some will call you sensitive. Many will snub you for interrupting the status quo. It is they who will be forced to change workplace behavior that has been allowed and condoned for too long. It is they who will find themselves transferred and terminated if they continue to contaminate the workplace. It is they who have much to lose. You have all to gain.
 

One of the most powerful things that can result from an effective work environment assessment is the follow through by management. It is imperative that management support the goals of professionalizing the work environment by becoming employee centered. Labor laws and departmental work policies are very clear about the ramifications of conducting business in an unprofessional manner.
 

If laws are not the catalyst for creating needed changes then it takes the employees themselves to demand change. Why wait for lawsuits to dictate proper behavior? Those toxic individuals are a small percentage of your organization. Yet, look how much power they have taken from all directions, top and bottom. Why? Because most often times they have disguised themselves as hardworking individuals and they are usually the longest tenured employees within the organization. They aren't protected as most seem to think. They are merely allowed to carry on because they are effective at getting the job done using any means available; even if it means losing a few employees along the way. Well, guess what? We are at a severe employee shortage if anyone hasn't noticed. Recruitment in most professions is at an all time low. Is it because of the type of work being done or the lack of job interest in a certain profession? NO. Jobs have become easier to find. The treatment of employees as an organization's top resource needs to become the highest priority. What a concept!
 

Management needs to come into the toxic work environment from behind their desks and see what is happening for themselves. Reported or otherwise, workplace friction is easy to spot. The rumor mills need to be squashed. Supervisors need to be responsible for maintaining a positive work environment and held strictly accountable for condoning the spread of toxic waste. Only toxic or cowardly supervisors allow the spread of toxic waste. If more supervisors were held accountable in the court system by way of civil laws, the clean up process would be easier.
 

The clean up process takes time. It takes one to empower many. As you step forward to do what is right for the organization, others will follow. Know your support teams within the organization. Do your homework. There are many within the organization who want the environment to be a cleaner more professional one. You are not alone out there.
 

Influence those you meet and work with one employee at a time. Powerful things happen with a powerful desire for change and the courage to make it happen. The larger the organization, the more time it will take to make change. But, if you don't start now, one thing is certain, it will not happen at all. The toxic waste will rise to higher levels of management and they will contaminate every thing that stands in their way. Stop it NOW. The choice is YOURS. You stand the most to lose.
 

 ©1999-2006 Dr911.com™