Dealing With Workplace Dysfunction

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Creating an exceptional shop environment can be challenging. It requires a great deal of commitment to get there, but it is crucial for any manufacturer that wants to attract the best talent and achieve growth. Employees need to care about their work and have an immersive environment that encourages engagement, trust and communication.

Conversely, a toxic workplace is an environment with an unhealthy level of dysfunction. People are not treated fairly and feel like they must deal with negative behavior. The hostile environment resulting from toxicity in a shop is most likely affecting employees, customers and results.

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Here are some signs that you might be working in a toxic shop. And, if facing workplace dysfunction, don’t fret. There are ways to surmount the problems, but do so quickly by following the steps.

Signs of a Toxic Work Culture

• No trust between the managers and the workers. While trust is essential to any good team, it's not possible in environments where the managers and the employees blame each other instead of working together to solve problems. And when workers don't trust their managers, they will only do what is required, usually the bare minimum.

• A climate of fear. Employees are afraid to speak their minds and offer constructive feedback because they don't want to appear out of line. This fear makes the feedback process inefficient because leaders don't hear directly from the people who know their strategy and business best.

• Employees don't socialize outside of work. Socializing with co-workers is a great way to build lasting connections and promote team spirit. Remember that everyone is working toward the same goal, and interacting with co-workers is crucial for building a cohesive team.

• Employees complain about overly demanding bosses or colleagues who bully them. Bullying at work can be extremely dangerous for a company: it affects the mental health of colleagues who suffer from it directly and can affect morale throughout the company.

• Little communication between team members. Good communication is the key to any successful business. If there's little communication between team members, projects are doomed to failure. Communication serves not only to keep people aware of what's going on but also to build teamwork.

4 Steps to Overcome Issues

1. Identify the problem. Shop dysfunction can often result from poor management skills, such as a leader not having a clear idea of what they want or prioritizing tasks inefficiently. Without addressing the cause of dysfunction, it's impossible to create a solution. Senior leadership must begin by looking for the source from within their ranks for change to happen. This realization of change can mean bringing in outside consultants who can help leaders identify their goals.

2. Focus on solutions. Changing the focus from solving problems to providing solutions may sound like a subtle difference in approach, but it can make a difference in overcoming shop dysfunctions. While problem-solving focuses on fixing mistakes, a solution-focused approach starts with the end in mind. It helps the team concentrate on satisfying a customer rather than punishing a team member.

3. Improve communication. Daily communication and a weekly standup meeting are crucial to building an environment of trust and keeping everyone on the same page. They help identify obstacles, bottlenecks or duplicated work and create a forum for sharing ideas. In dysfunctional meetings, managers browbeat employees and develop a culture of fear and close down dissent. The entire team must be engaged with everyone contributing to the solution.

4. Issue a zero-tolerance for bullying policy. Bullying is corrosive to an organization. It shuts down feedback, and creates anxiety and resentment that interfere with the running of a business. Leadership can only stop bullying if a zero-tolerance policy is communicated from top to bottom.

Changing shop culture takes a strong commitment from leadership. No single person can do it alone. The process is filled with obstacles, and often people want to avoid seeing change happen. They're stuck in their ways and they won't let go. The good news is that it can be done and, with some planning and initial conversations, everyone can create a better working environment.

About the Author

Jim Mayer is the founder of TCO Strategies. He has the unique ability to blend people skills with data utilization and analytical skills to create strategic plans, develop effective programs and resolve complex problems.