“Our business is like family,” is mostly just a lot of hot air, but some companies take inhumanity even further. Through stubbornness, indifference, and pure ignorance, some employers just prove time and time again that time and time again, unless it’s related to profit, they are just not concerned.
An internet user shared the story of her uncle, who not only was denied medical leave after learning about his terminal cancer but kept getting angry calls and letters from his previous employer after he passed. Others commiserated in the comments and gave their examples of companies just not caring one bit.
Despite needing them to actually run the business, employers can be very callous toward their workforce
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An internet user detailed the time her deceased uncle’s company kept sending angry letters asking why he hadn’t come in for work
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Toxic workplaces end up burning out employees in the long run
On the surface, some management will justify their behavior, no matter how callous, uncaring, or rude, as simply necessary in pursuit of the bottom line. A business exists to make money, after all, the workforce’s feelings be damned. On closer inspection, this strategy, even from a purely business perspective, doesn’t hold any water. A toxic management culture has a poisonous, trickle-down effect on the entire workforce. The effect is twofold, employees see that leadership acts this way and begin to associate horrible behavior with the management strategy of the company. Secondly, they begin to burn out faster. It does not take an MBA to know that burnt-out workers, at all levels, are less productive and useful to the company.
A plethora of research indicates that incivility toward workers ultimately leads to quitting, burnout, or worse. Incivility is a very mild way to describe some of the stories listed here by internet users. While it might not be discrimination, a company can mistreat all its workers equally, and being treated like a cog in a machine has long-term consequences for morale. Interestingly, most research suggests that management is well aware of how toxicity creates burnout, but will generally not do anything about it. Since most companies are, by design, top-down affairs, there is no grassroots-level way for workers to “fix” their workplace. The only remaining choice is to leave.
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Leadership positions sometimes bring out the worst in people
Even worse, people with psychopathic tendencies tend to end up in positions of power. Even though they are a general minority of the population, in these positions, their behavior affects distortionary more people. Scholars call these individuals “corporate psychopaths,” and have noted that in recent years, the number of scandals involving upper management has increased. While profits seem to be find a way to not trickle down, bad behavior does, as the aforementioned paragraph indicates. In the reckless pursuit of profit at all costs, workplaces are ‘irradiating’ themselves and leaving workforces more depressed and hostile.
But these stories all point to an even larger problem, a general inhumanity towards others. It’s all well and good to argue that toxic workplaces lower productivity, but they are bad in themselves. Companies are, ultimately, an agglomeration of humans, the vast majority of which don’t like feeling uncared for. Yet put into a management position, these same humans suddenly forget their humanity and will treat employees with comic-book-villain incivility. The unfortunate reality is that managers don’t seem to be willing or able to deal with the problem, even when they are informed both about the toxicity and its effects. The only solution appears to be some form of outside help, be it regulations or unionization.
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Commenters gave their examples of pig-headed companies that defied basic decency and even logic
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Some people reacted to the ridiculousness of the company and shared their insights on their behavior
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Others debated ways workers could protect themselves from unfair treatment
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