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Toxic Behaviours & Nourishing Behaviours
Introduction
1. What is TOXIC behaviour in the workplace?
Any form of behaviour that produces stress or adverse FEELINGS in someone else: e.g. anxiety, guilt, stress, anger, depression, inadequacy or frustration. NB Such behaviour might be deliberate or unknown: e.g. a boss considers his behaviour to be OK. His subordinates perceive him as a bully. If they are correct (see item no.5), he will have a negative or toxic impact on the performance of his subordinates, until he changes his behavioural style.
2. What are the signs of TOXIC behaviour in the workplace?
Under performance, high staff turnover, absenteeism, sickness, lateness, high levels of stress, grievances, disciplinary action, burnout, early retirement, customer complaints about quality, constant reorganization et al.
3. How does TOXIC behaviour affect individuals in the workplace?
Feelings of anxiety, anger, frustration, guilt, low self esteem, inadequacy, hopelessness, lack of fulfilment.Such feelings impact performance and productivity, limit career progression and trigger health problems.
Employers require employees to produce the required results on time, within budget and to set standards.
Unless employees feel good about themselves and their environment, they CANNOT produce the results.
The reason: they generate emotional reactions that affect their ability to perform consistently and effectively.
Recognition of the importance of positive emotional reactions is just as important as the cultivation of skills.
4. What are the specific behaviours that produce a TOXIC working environment?
Bullying, Aggression, Intimidation, Control Freakery, Micro-management, Grandiosity, Narcissism, Toadyism.
5. How easy is it for management and staff to detect most TOXIC behaviours?
It is easy with the proper tools, without them, it is difficult. "Toxic behaviours" often result from a lack of “Emotional Intelligence” and aggravated by poor communication skills. “Toxic communications” can be very difficult to detect. An exchange between 2 people might SEEM fine on the surface – if the words used make sense linguistically.
Stress is more likely to be induced from HOW something is said rather than WHAT the words actually convey. Toxic communication is a combination of both voice tonality (how something is said) and connotation (what the hearer perceives and believes the speaker means), rather than what the speaker does mean (denotation).
Neurobiological research has "proven" that perceptions impact emotions for 95% of people. More important is the fact that, for the 95%, the emotional centre in the brain triggers a response before the rational centre is activated.
First scenario: a speaker has only a limited awareness of the effect of an utterance on the emotions of the receiver at the DEEP (non-conscious level). It follows that the speaker’s utterance (i.e. behaviour) might have a TOXIC effect. Second scenario: a receiver (e.g. a subordinate) claims "maliciously" that a speaker (e.g. a boss) is a bully when, in fact, the subordinate is the real cause or the person who has the limitation. (see item no. 1)
The key point to understand is that some people are prone to generate toxicity. Such people are often unaware that they lack natural empathy or sensitivity. Even though they do not realise the impact of their words, they can be trained to develop empathy. More disturbing is this fact. Research (e.g. Hare, Stout et al) indicates that up to 5% of people in Western cultures do not seem to have a conscience. Such people not only lack empathy, they consistently manipulate others. Their behaviour seems charming or appropriate, but their own self-interest, inevitably toxic, causes stress since they are, in fact, the undetected source of toxicity in the workplace.
6. Can TOXIC behaviours be identified easily and before it's too late? YES
PARALLAX identifies the behaviours that, in combination, can generate Toxic behaviour and contamination.
PARALLAX identifies the potential behaviours at the deep, non-conscious level that cause Toxic behaviour.
PARALLAX enables managers and trainers to implement appropriate, cost effective remedial steps and training.
7. What can management do to reduce (and eliminate) TOXIC behaviour in the workplace?
First, cultivate the awareness that toxic behaviour impacts the health, well-being and performance of the staff.
Second, reinforce the awareness with a simple set of practical skills that facilitates nourishing behaviours.
Third, cultivate a social intelligence that generates individual fulfilment, teamwork and sustainable profitability.
8. What is NOURISHING behaviour?
Behaviour that encourages people to FEEL appreciated, valued and respected in the work environment.
High social intelligence enables people to exhibit nourishing behaviour. Such people are deemed magnetic.
Low social intelligence often causes people to exhibit toxic behaviour toward others. They are anti-magnetic.
A magnetic personality can and does prompt other people to FEEL good for a while following the interaction.
In order to feel hopeful and positive about the future, people need to feel that they are in control of their lives.
And to feel in control, they must believe that they are involved in the synergic execution of all business goals.
Contact us for more information on how PARALLAX can help identify Toxic & Nourishing Behaviours
To understand the Body - Mind interaction and why your BRAIN prompts stress reactions
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