Clever toxic employees:Utilize their technical expertise to intimidate and manipulateKnow who to flatter and who they can abuseTurn their toxicity on and off depending on the impression they want to make Unfortunately, organizations can work against themselves and even promote toxicity by:Restructuring his/her job to accommodate a toxic employeeTolerating toxic employees who have valued expertiseNot assertively seeking employee feedback as to whether there is toxic behavior in the workplaceNot communicating to all employees the specific interpersonal behaviors that will not be tolerated – with the associated consequencesManagers sometimes attempt to fix this type of problem by addressing a toxic employee's attitude. And while a toxic employee's attitude certainly affects his/her behavior, managers usually find that controlling an employee's attitude is next to impossible.Managers can be much more effective by:Discussing the specific behaviors that are negatively impacting other employees and/or the organizationUsing positive and negative consequences to influence that behaviorAreas CoveredI. Human and Financial Costs Resulting from Toxic EmployeesToxic Employees Create:Chaos and unnecessary complexityOvert damageCovert damageStrife, stress, and emotional damageProductivity, quality, and financial lossesII. The A, B, and C’s Related to Toxic EmployeesEmployee attitudesEmployee behaviorsConsequences that managers can exertIII. The Psyche of a Toxic EmployeeFrequently seen toxic behaviorsUtilize ‘star status’ and technical expertise to intimidate and manipulateChameleon who knows who to flatter and who he/she can abuse Turn their toxicity on and off depending on the impression they want to makeThree common forms of toxic behaviorIV. Common Reactions to Toxic Employees That Frequently Don’t Work Restructuring their job to accommodate the toxic employeeTolerating toxic employees who bring rare expertise or experienceNot assertively seeking feedback from employees as to whether there is toxic behavior in the workplaceNot communicating to all employees the specific behaviors that will not be tolerated – with associated consequencesV. Effective Approaches for Addressing and Preventing ToxicityOrganization-wide strategies:Making positive interpersonal behavior an organizational valueEvaluating interpersonal behavior as a part of the performance appraisal systemTraining leaders on how to address toxic behaviorUsing behavioral-based interview questions to screen toxic applicantsExit interviewing to identify any toxic behavior in the workplaceDepartmental and team strategies:Defining appropriate interpersonal interactions with behavior-specific descriptions and standardsUsing team discussions and role plays to clarify the application of the behavioral descriptions and standardsUtilizing a 360-degree feedback process to assess the work environmentOne-on-one strategies:Stating explicitly that the behavior is not acceptable and whyDescribing both the unacceptable and acceptable behaviorAsking the employee to commit to and describe how he/she will change their behaviorFrequent, targeted counseling feedbackExecutive coachesProgressive disciplineTerminationBut even terminations are not a cure-all because the:Toxic-enabling people and organizational culture tendencies may remainEmployees may still be resentful of the way the employee treated them and the time it took the organization to reactExpertise and experience of the toxic employee are lostWho Should Attend Anyone with managerial or leadership responsibilityWhy Should You Attend Most organizations have employees who, on occasion:Complain and gossip excessivelyUse inappropriate languageAre mildly insubordinateHowever, toxic employees have interpersonal styles that demonstrate counter-productive work behaviors. While Emotionally Intelligent employees, being aware of their feelings and those of others, exhibit a pattern of appropriate self-management.The toxic employee problem is surprisingly prevalent, with research showing:95% of employees have and 64% are currently working with a toxic employee50% of employees have thought of quitting, and 12% did because of a toxic employee25% of employees have reduced their work effort due to a toxic employee20% of employees feel they are a target weekly, and 10% of employees see toxic behavior dailyToxic employees cause significant overt, covert, people-related & financial damage, with their visible behavior just being the tip of the iceberg. For example, in one organization, the day a former employee left the organization is considered one of their annual holidays.