Do not appeal to the victim’s role .. 8 tips for dealing in a toxic work environment

Zahraa Magdy

Psychological harm is most severe to our lives, even in recent years the characteristic of "toxicity" has spread to psychosocially harmful relationships, including emotional relationships, friendship and the work environment.

Toxic behaviors in the work environment include: back stabbing, subversive criticism, blame, gossip, spreading rumors, disputes among colleagues, deliberately undermining team interests to work on personal agendas, loyalty to officials at the expense of colleagues, and divulging secrets.

These people always strive to create a dramatic atmosphere, attract attention, absorb positive energy and creativity, and make fun of work values ​​and standards of behavior and people with good intentions and more diligent to get rid of them. And these others are their victims in the near future. So you should pay attention if the people around you - whether an individual or a group - poison your work environment.

1- Don't live as the victim
Avoid words or actions that affirm that you are a forced and surrendered victim of these abusive people, no less than phrases such as “I must fulfill my duties and the tasks of my colleagues who are absent from work until my boss satisfies me”, or “I should have done what he asks me to avoid his evil.”

Repeating these actions will make you feel the real helplessness, and your inability to refuse others to exploit you. Even if you actually do these things, you must change your expression about them in order not to appear before yourself responsible for the misery you live in, so admit that you are doing more than necessary but in order to keep your job, despite your ability to refuse that.

2- Do not complain to your colleagues
Try to resist the strong desire to complain to your colleagues in the department and other departments, and urge them to confirm the integrity of your position. Venting your anger and talking to people in the same place at work, messaging or calling them, will keep you in constant distress, and the more time you complain about a colleague, the more space this person devours of your life with the negative energy that fills your day.

Don't let him poison your time, both at work and outside, so whenever you want to get back what he told you, do some exercise or clean your house, or call a friend and talk about the last series you've followed. Do the same if someone tries to pass a negative talk to you.

3- Prove to yourself the strength of your personality
The ability of others to influence your mood, and then decrease your productivity in work, transfer your problems with you to the home, and spread your anger to everyone around you .. All of this means nothing but that your colleague or manager is stronger than you with his misconduct, and that you do not own yourself. So, don't let others' negative behaviors defeat you and stress your weakness at work, that's what they seek.

4- Be busy with your work
We wake up every morning with a limited amount of energy that we can put in the fulfillment of a new task or to think negatively and develop perceptions that escalate situations.

Here you have to choose, either focus on your career goals and control yourself and control your tongue, or think positively to respond to it next time, or wish for a catastrophe for the person who is harming you. In the second case, nothing will be achieved other than wasting your time and mental energy in thinking about it.

5- Prepare for the necessary talks
You may need to talk to the offending people, especially if your line manager, classmate, or project team member is among them. In this case, you do not have to deal with it harshly, and instead prepare to anticipate all reactions from it, and communicate with it in a narrow range, and within the limits of work.

6- It is forbidden to approach your limits
Have an honest conversation with the offending person. If you do not, then you 100% guarantee that the situation will continue to be bad, and you cannot assume that this person will suddenly wake up and realize the mistake he is making against you.

Your frank conversation with him may set limits on what he is doing and save you from the well of anxiety and distress that drowned you in it. Therefore, if you decide to talk to him, do it face-to-face without emotion, and tell him, "I know that you are talking about me badly in my absence, and this is not true."

And if you talk to your manager, you can say, "I confess my negligence, but screaming at my face in front of my colleagues does not cause me to correct my mistakes, but rather frustrates me."

7- Learn to cope
If your previous attempts to resolve your crisis with the people who are harmed at work fail, and you have to continue with your job, it may cause a psychological crisis for you. Therefore, you must learn the art of adapting to help you stay strong in difficult situations.

You can do this by caring for your work and scheduling, developing your skills, caring for your body by eating healthy food, sleeping enough hours, exercising to reduce stress, and joining social activities that preoccupy you with work problems.

8- Hiring a specialist
If the offending person tries to shun you, intimidate or harass you directly, or threaten you with dismissal, raise your complaint to the next administrative level, and speak honestly to the HR manager, or to your manager if this person is at the same job level.

Besides your lack of work and your constant feeling of stress and stress, if you develop symptoms of depression and anxiety, you should speak to a psychotherapist and advise him on how to control things.