Toxic Work Environments Zap Your Energy

Do you work in a Toxic environment? Do you find yourself leaving work feeling emotionally drained and physically exhausted? Do you find your energy level dropping as soon as you walk in the door? Have you even thought of resigning?

Before you walk out the door take inventory of your own thought habits. Are you a part of the problem? It is very easy to be pulled into a vortex of negativity. Unfortunately, once you are pulled in, it is increasingly difficult to pull yourself out.

When you allow yourself to engage in negative behaviors you are feeding the toxic energy. When you are focused on how much money the person in the next cubicle is making, or what the IT person said about the accounting staff, you are cheating yourself as well as your employer.

Quite often these behaviors are the result of ‘group think.’ It seems to be built into the culture of some work environments. Unless you are fully aware of your own thoughts, you get pulled in.

So, what is the answer? How do you stay focused and professional when everyone around is gossiping and engaging in toxic behavior? Is resigning the only answer?

Keep this in mind; you alone are responsible for your thoughts, actions, and words. They matter. When you continue to think, speak, and act in a negative fashion, you will never break the toxic cycle.

Before you resign or blame others for your bad days, try this: For the next sixty days, when you go to work do your job with a smile, stay professional and most importantly, stay above the politics. When you hear gossip don’t engage. Simply change the subject. When you hear complaining, don’t join in. Instead, say something positive. Each morning take two minutes and write down five things that you enjoy about your job. Meditate on those five things for just a moment. Start each day for the next sixty days with a positive attitude and the meditation exercise.

If at the end of the sixty days you still feel zapped, emotionally drained, and miserable, it might not be the right place for your long term. But, as my favorite author Dr. Wayne Dyer states, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.” My guess is that as you change your thoughts your environment will change accordingly.

For more on handling your thoughts read: Stop Being Offended