The Toxic Workplace What Do We Do?

By Ashley Mase, CVT

The post-Covid workplace has changed significantly for many reasons. We have learned so much from the pandemic as an industry–and as a society. For example, we learned we could do some jobs from home, which lightened the workload for some within the hospital. Some hospitals learned that they functioned better working five regular business days with positive results for both the team and the company. We learned as a whole to start listening to our employees if we wanted them to stay. The phrase “toxic employee” and “toxic workplace” became significantly more popular, and we started to really evaluate our hospitals and teams to avoid these situations. In order to address toxicity in our workplaces, we must first learn to recognize it. Toxicity can occur in many situations.

Toxicity may not always be blatant. For instance, the generational gap has posed significant challenges to team cohesion. There are times where the younger generations can feel like they are not heard or respected by the older generation due to their lack of experience or simply due to their age. Meanwhile, the older generation can feel like the younger generation is being overly sensitive. They may feel that their feedback isn’t valued. It can be a frustrating battle and is ultimately toxic behavior, as well discriminatory, in nature. It is up to leadership to figure out the root of the problem and find a way to bridge the gap. As we know, veterinary medicine is constantly changing. It’s important for all generations to be willing to listen to each other and share ideas. Everyone brings value to the team, and everyone should be made to feel that way.

When talking about your clinic, beware of phrases that used to be deemed acceptable that are no longer considered appropriate in the workplace. When you are interviewing for a position, consider avoiding the phrasing “we are like a family.” This can be triggering for some candidates. While this is meant to be endearing, it can have a negative undertone as not everyone had a positive family upbringing. Instead, consider saying things like “we work very well together” or “we work well as a team,”or, better yet, share a story about your team that will demonstrate how you work and the type of culture you have.

Sometimes toxicity comes from one or more individual team members despite an overall positive culture. Toxic employees can be hard to pinpoint. Sometimes you interview a person and can immediately tell they won’t be a good fit for your team and will bring your morale down. However, sometimes, something changes within your hospital or your team that causes a behavior shift and leads to a team member becoming toxic. Toxic behavior can include:

• Complaining excessively without offering any solutions

• Excessive absenteeism

• Bullying coworkers

• Lack of accountability

• Shirking duties

• Insensitivity

• Overconfidence

All these behaviors can be detrimental to the overall team and eventually harm morale. It may lead to staff turnover if not appropriately addressed. It is important to note that no team member should be immune from being held accountable for toxic behavior, no matter their position. Every team member affects the remainder of the team.

Leadership has a responsibility to address toxic behavior immediately by scheduling a one-on-one with the appropriate employee(s). From there, performance improvement plans should be discussed and implemented, and that employee should be held accountable to ensure the behavior is corrected. This will ideally prevent further effects on the remainder of the team or potential spread of the toxic behaviors. In an ever-evolving industry where we have always struggled to maintain staffing numbers, it is more important than ever that we do our best as leaders to listen to our employees when there are valid concerns of toxic employees or cultures in our hospitals that need to be addressed.

About the Author: Ashley Mase, CVT, is the Hospital Manager at VCA East Penn Animal Hospital. She was the 2021 PVMA Practice Manager of the Year and is a current member of the PVMA Board of Trustees, serving as the CVT At-Large. She has had a well-rounded career in numerous areas of veterinary medicine including academia, general practice, and specialty and emergency medicine. Her current focus is on building team relationships and growing as a leader.