"Organizational toxicity is the widespread, intense, energy-sapping negative emotion that disconnects people from their jobs, co-workers, and organizations. Painful emotions that are inevitably part of organizational life become “toxic” when others respond to them in harmful and destructive ways. Organizational toxicity has pervasive negative effects, undermining individuals’ confidence, hope, and self-esteem, and damaging their morale and performance, both at work and outside."
Organizational toxicity is the product of organization culture, which is influenced by the management's value system & decision making pattern and behavioral pattern of the employees in the organization. Individual's personality traits will determine the extent to which the individual concerned is likely to be affected by organizational toxicity. Any organization is an entity which has definite membership and structure, where individuals, who are the members, are directed through chain of command and the structure determines the authority - responsibility relationship. Therefore organizational toxicity can be removed by systemic improvement.
Hi Gamze,
I recently saw a book entitled "Transforming Toxic Leaders" by Alan Goldman (published in 2009 under Stanford University Press) which discusses examples and case studies of organizations that are filled with toxicity due to certain leadership charcateristics trickling down the systems and structures of their respective organizations. The book does not look at toxicity as just a result of dysfunctional leadership, but even as a byproduct of highly productive leaders. It recommends diagnosing and responding to toxicity from a systematic perspective, with the leader at the core pulling the strings and influencing the entire organization. It measured the organizational impact of toxic leaders through key result indices and the leadership toxin through the DSM IV-TR, creating a more holistic perspective on dysfunctional organizational behavior.
Hi Gamze,
Form my point of view, not only the internal cultural but also the business environment can be the source of organizational toxicity. Kilduff and colleagues have publish an article entitled "the psychology of rivalry..." and mentioned that in a subjective competitive situation lead to abnormal, sub-optimal or downright shocking competitive behavior and lunch "dirty tricks" against their competitors!
The factors associated with organizational toxicity relate to character traits of individuals, such as jealousy, anger, strife, envy, control, manipulation, and gossip. Internal forces can destroy a great organization, if they are not addressed in a timely manor. Toxic behavior must be dealt with using change management and transformational leadership practices. Toxic individuals cause great employees to find other employment. It is essential to break-up clicks and remove the deconstructive culture from the organization and get back to the mission of the organization. Transformational leadership will increase morale and production, using emotional intelligence and communication satisfaction will alter such poor workplace behavior. Sadly, these individuals my need to be removed or separated before operational processes and performance outcomes see improvement. The direction of the organizational mission needs to be restored and re-framed.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology
- Organizational Psychology