Getting that first job after leaving the military should be an excellent start to a whole new life and working career for those who enter the civilian workforce. The first job is not only important because it provides an income; it's the first experience veterans might have with their new lives.
That being said, the first job isn't the end of a service member's transition; it's just one more major step. It needs to be one that offers a challenge to the veteran as well as the opportunity to develop their skills, both personally and professionally. That can't happen in a toxic work environment, and the results could be catastrophic for veterans.
A toxic workplace can stunt any progress in a veteran's transition. It can make it more difficult to adapt to civilian life, to form new friendships or understand the way civilian workplaces actually function. This could lead to depression, anxiety or other negative mental-health outcomes. Here are a few ways to spot such a workplace before it can take its toll.
1. Poor Communication
Ambiguity in communication between departments could mean many things; it doesn't necessarily mean a toxic work environment. Those in charge might not have a lot of experience in running large groups of employees. They (likely) will improve.
As time goes on and things don't improve, this could be an indicator of poor leadership. If the intent of ambiguous or sparse communication appears to be deceptive in nature or often leads to plausible deniability when things go wrong, those would be signs of a poor work environment.
2. High Turnover
If many people seem to get hired and are gone after short periods of time, it could mean that the environment is to blame, especially if those former co-workers are experienced people with a history of staying at their jobs for longer periods.
It's always best to consider the background of those who dip out on a job way before they should have -- resumes can take a hit in interviews when an employee leaves a job too soon -- but if it keeps happening more and more, it's time to take a critical look at the workplace and not the employees.
3. A Focus on Blame
When things go wrong on the job (as they invariably will from time to time), a strong team in a good work environment will gather around and discuss what happened, why it happened and the lessons that can be gleaned from the failure. Sometimes, someone will be let go if the mistake was bad enough. That's not for employees to decide.
But when things go wrong and leadership in the organization looks for a scapegoat more often than it looks for the lessons learned by failure, take pause. It might be only a matter of time before you're the one to take the blame.
4. Unrealistic Expectations
Every boss and company loves a productive office, but how to maximize employee productivity is not only an art; it's a science. There are entire industries dedicated to the best ways to do this. Books, lectures and retreats are widely available to tell managers how to get the most out of a day's work. None of those theories includes making employees sacrifice the rest of their lives for the job.
Being expected to connect to your workplace all day, every day is not only toxic to the work environment; it's hazardous to your physical and mental health. Moreover, it doesn't make employees more productive. It actually hurts productivity. If your employer expects you to sacrifice everything for the company, it will hurt more than just your career.
5. Meetings After Meetings
This doesn't mean that you should be concerned about having a lot of meetings. After all, communication is key and good communication is important in an office. But where does management go after a meeting ends? Do they go into another meeting to discuss what happened in the previous meeting?
If so, it might have been sparked by a lack of trust inside your organization. Once people realize the management doesn't trust their judgment or abilities, they will be less forthcoming with their opinions or perspective, fearful of retribution. When employees don't feel like they can be heard at work, they begin to lose their sense of value and soon will be unhappy. Those who are afraid to speak up will soon find themselves feeling isolated and alone. These negative perceptions will spread to other areas of the company, too.
6. High Emotions
Does the workplace seem to lack a sense of professionalism, even among otherwise professional employees? Verbal or physical abuse is one of the most obvious signs of a toxic environment, but it's also just the beginning.
Frequent or unexpected emotional outbursts could be a sign that things have been close to boiling over for a long time.
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.
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