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Glueckert
Isabel Glueckert
Professor Hughes  
English 1201 
March 20, 2022
How to Deal with Toxic Coworkers Literature Review

With the rise in the number of jobs now available, and the social distancing

brought on by COVID people are coming together more often. With these new

connections however nice they may be, there are some downfalls as well, people not

getting along. The number of toxic coworkers and bosses seem to be on the rise. With

these issues many questions can be asked like, what causes toxic work environments,

how they can affect your health, how toxic environments can affect productivity, how to

improve your work life, and how create a good circle of coworkers and peers.

While some people enjoy their jobs and find little to no displeasure in their job,

about one in five American workers left their jobs because of a toxic work environment

(Bishop). In the article Why some work environments breed toxic cultures by BBC Worklife,

it walks about the psychology behind why some workplaces are so toxic. It says that in

high stress and a lot of pressure can cause anxiety to “tickle down the hierarchy” (Katie

Bishop, cited Thomas Roulet). The article explains that when a boss is stressed out and

anxious or insignificant/useless, they take it out on their subordinates, which to the same

to theirs. The article offers the solution that corporations should fix this “or risk coming

under fire” (Bishop).

It is known to some that stress can cause mental health issues and is not

necessarily good for one’s wellbeing, the article Almost half of UK employees say ‘toxic

workplace culture’ is impacting mental health talks about the statistics behind this

epidemic of poor mental health in the workplace. A study talked about in the article also
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explains that about 29% of the people in the study have taken time off because of an

issue at work like; bullying, harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct. While

compared to the 1 in 5 American workers in the Why some work environments breed toxic

cultures article have left their jobs, 2 in 5 workers in the UK have experienced some issue

at work that has impacted their mental health. The article also gives more statistics on

surveys done on employees’ mental health at work, and their lack of productivity

because of it.

Another article published by the International Journal of Environmental Research

and Public Health (which a reliable source) named An Empirical Study Analyzing Job

Productivity in Toxic Workplace Environments also spoke about how a toxic workplace

inhibits a worker’s productivity and mental health. The article gives research evidence of

different scenarios where employees were mistreated and their productivity after that.

At the very end of the article, there are several suggestions for employers to minimize a

toxic work environment.

In the article Exploring Local Initiatives to Improve the Work Environment: A

Qualitative Survey in Swedish Home Care Practice that was written by several people with

PhD’s and one MD the article gives information of studies where home care companies

tried to make a positive improvement for their workers, and some found that not many

had been evaluated, so it was unclear that the changes the managers’ reported improved

anything. The research done by the team found that sometimes smaller teams have a

greater participation. The article also explains how the work environment can be

adjusted to be less stressful and toxic.

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According to the psychotherapist, Glenn D. Rolfsen, who studies occupational

health, says that managers and employers suffer from toxic work environment simply

because they don’t know how to, and need help from the outside (Rolfsen). He tried

many times to help in many different ways but failed. He then goes on to explain how he

found in a study of his own that employees would talk about their coworkers behind

their backs which causes the toxicity. It is the elevating feeling of talking down about

others (bullying) that creates this horrible environment. This toxic work environment can

be fixed when you stop “backbiting” as Rolfsen calls it.

Sometimes being in a toxic work environment can be shrugged off as “just

another day at work” when it really does take a toll on our mental health individually and

as a society from toxicity from coworkers and bosses alike. A lot of the workforce feel

silenced about the bullying and abuse coming from all around them, when we are all

going through similar situations. These can all be fixed with time and cooperation from

companies and the rest of the workforce. From relieving some levels stress, to stopping

the bullying of backbiting of coworkers, it can all be fixed and stopped.

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Works Cited

Allcorn, S. (2016). Dysfunctional workplace: Theory, stories, and Practice. University of

Missouri Press. ARTICLE/BOOK FROM SINCLAIR LIBRARY

Anjum, A., Ming, X., Siddiqi, A. F., & Rasool, S. F. (2018, May 21). An empirical study
analyzing job productivity in toxic workplace environments. International journal of
environmental research and public health. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5982074/ SUITABLE FOR
RESEARCH

Bishop, K. (2021, December 5). Why some work environments breed toxic cultures. BBC
Worklife. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211201-
why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures NEWS ARTICLE

Glueckert, I., & Glueckert, S. (n.d.). Signs You Know it's Time to Leave Your Job. other. 

Morris, N. (2021, October 19). Half of UK employees say 'toxic workplace culture' is impacting
mental health. Metro. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/19/uk-
employees-say-toxic-workplace-culture-is-impacting-mental-health-15445916/
INTERNATIONAL OPINION 

Murphy, W. M., & Kram, K. E. (2014). Strategic relationships at work: Creating your circle of
mentors, sponsors, and peers for success in business and life. McGraw-Hill
Education. BOOK

Priesemuth, M. (2021, September 10). Time's up for toxic workplaces. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2020/06/times-up-for-toxic-workplaces
SUITABLE FOR RESEARCH

Rydenfält, C., Persson, R., Arvidsson, I., Holgersson, C., Johansson, G., Östlund, B., & Persson,
J. (2021, January 12). Exploring local initiatives to ... - journals.sagepub.com. Exploring
Local Initiatives to Improve the Work Environment : A Qualitative Survey in Swedish
Home Care Practice. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1084822320986933  RESEARCH FROM
ANOTHER COUNTRY

TED Talks. (2016). How to Start Changing an Unhealthy Work Environment. Youtube.

Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYLb7WUtYt8.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
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Vergauwe, J., Wille, B., De Caluwé, E., & De Fruyt, F. (2022). Passion for work: Relationships

with general and maladaptive personality traits and work-related outcomes. Personality and

Individual Differences, 185, 111306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111306 ARTICLE

FROM THE NETHERLANDS AT SINCLAIR LIBRARY