Ineffective or harmful communication, unethical and unfair behavior, disciplinary approach, and antagonism between employees and management are all the signs and effects of an unhealthy working environment on employees

An example of this is a work culture where employees mismanage or undermine each other, take credit for each other’s work, gossip or have negative conversations about each other, or threaten or retaliate against those who confront workplace challenges.

Employees working in this environment are likely to have lower morale, high turnover, reduced productivity,  poor work quality, and even suffer physical symptoms after going to work each day.

A considerable number of employees today work in unhealthy environments. Employees often leave their workplaces feeling depressed, anxious, angsty, hypertensive, and intoxicated.

It is possible to improve the working environment if you have strategies for dealing with an unhealthy work environment.

Please read this blog to know more about the Effects of an Unhealthy Working Environment on Employees and how to fix this problem.

Read more: Monitoring software for employees

Impact of Unhealthy Working Environment on Employees

An unhealthy working environment can have negative impacts on employees. An unhealthy work environment affects the employees mentally and physically, and a hostile work environment also harms the company.

Let’s see the effects of an Unhealthy working environment on employees:

Lack of motivation in Employees

Employees feel less motivated when they work in an unhealthy environment. An unhealthy work environment is especially prevalent in workspaces where strict management and working conditions are poor.

When employees are surrounded by unmotivated coworkers, it affects them. Hence, they have to complete the works of unmotivated employees too.

The lack of motivation will drain your energy. When you have a great teammate, you are motivated to do your best, be better, and come up with new ideas, but an indifferent one can wear you down.

Poor Work-Life Balance

Personal and professional life should not converge when employees are outside of work. It is essential to maintain a balance between professional and personal life for survival.

Employees cannot work all the time. The job is unhealthy if it requires the employee always to be available. The boss expects the employees to respond to emails when the working hours are off and on vacation. In an unhealthy job, the employees cannot enjoy their holidays. They will always feel stressed when at home, on their way to work, or everywhere.

A poor balance between work and life blurs the lines between work and home, increasing employment-related stress.

Work No Longer Excites Employees

It usually happens in an unhealthy working environment where employees are no longer excited about their work, and they feel lazy and don’t want to go to workplaces. If the working environment is unhealthy, harmful, and toxic, employees will feel under excited.

This can affect the performance and growth of the company as well as employees. Sometimes the work environment is healthy and toxic-free, but the boss and some of the coworkers are under excited and under-motivated. Hence this can also affect the excitement level of the employees towards work.

Slows Down Employees Professional Growth

An unhealthy working environment slows down the professional growth of employees. Imagine how it feels working under a boss who does not appreciate your work and contribution. These types of environments eventually degrade the professional development of employees.

Employees can’t grow professionally if they don’t get the chance to prove themselves or their potential. The boss will not want the employees to grow or get promoted in a toxic work environment, and they even take the credit for the employee’s work.

Lack of Positive Feedback

Feedbacks are a valuable resource for achieving goals. The purpose of feedback from the Senior or boss to the employee is to help them achieve their goals and get them motivated. But in an unhealthy working environment, the seniors or the boss do not provide feedback to their employees.

Due to a lack of positive and productive feedback, employees don’t feel motivated, which affects their professional growth. Hence lack of positive feedback can be a sign of an unhealthy working environment.

Impact of Unhealthy Working Environment on Health of Employees

An unhealthy and negative work environment also affects an employees’ mental and physical health. Some of the severe health issues of employees working in an unhealthy working environment are mentioned below:

Insomnia and mental health

Insomnia is a prevalent health concern that hinders the capacity to refresh in stressed employees. When a person does not get enough sleep and is always worried, he or she develops a variety of mental health problems.

Depression, anxiety, fear, etc., are common problems of stressed employees having insomnia. To cope with the unhealthy work environment, some employees also adopt the habit of drinking and smoking.

This mental health issue may worsen working in an unhealthy and toxic work environment.

Hypertension

Hypertension occurs when a person has long working hours, which increases the risk of high blood pressure. Heart damage, strokes, kidney failure, etc, are the results of Hypertension.

Working in an unhealthy environment increases the risk of hypertension and many other health-related severe problems. Hence employees should not work for a very long time, and they should take proper care of their health.

Fatigue

Fatigue can cause serious health effects. It is a serious health problem that primarily affects employees who work in unhealthy environments. Fatigue is primarily related to mental health and causes physical health issues.

Fatigue affects memory and ability to make decisions, reduces alertness, reduces concentration, and may cause heart-related issues.

Employees working in a toxic and unhealthy work environment should take better care of themselves and their health.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a common health concern among employees who work in hazardous unhealthy working conditions. Employees who work in dangerous and toxic environments are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Depression, anxiety, stress at work are the main reasons for diabetes. When an employee is under stress, their body may not release insulin which will automatically increase the level of glucose in their blood that causes diabetes.

The employees should take better care of their health and avoid working in an unhealthy working environment.

Read more: MobileSpy for employees

What Does a Healthy Work Environment Looks Like?

A great work atmosphere encourages creativity and originality. It promotes collaboration and teamwork while giving employees the freedom and autonomy they require to achieve their individual objectives.

Organizations with strong cultures encourage the well-being of their employees and make it a point to welcome people from different backgrounds. Their management is open about why decisions are made, and they reward employees who demonstrate the company’s principles on a daily basis.

5 Best Ways To Create a Healthy Working Environment

A winning plan is required to create and sustain a healthy working environment. Here are some of the best practices to help you start changing the culture of your company for the better.

Show Appreciation:

Consider the last time your boss gave you a shout-out when you least expected it. It most likely provided you with a surge of self-assurance, quickly improving your attitude. It might have even given you the boost you needed to finish a huge project.

Employees’ engagement, retention, and happiness can be all benefit from frequent, meaningful appreciation. Recognition is unsurprising, an important component of a positive work environment.

Create an Environment of Psychological Safety and Trust:

Employees who feel safe to be themselves work in a psychologically safe environment. They are confident in their ability to express themselves without fear of embarrassment or retaliation.

Employees are significantly more inclined to join in important dialogues, voice their thoughts, and stay involved when they know their ideas won’t be dismissed out of hand.

Creating a workplace that prioritizes psychological safety takes time and effort, but it’s well worth it.

Give Priority to Cultural Alignment When Hiring:

The people you hire have a significant impact on the culture of your company. It’s critical to thoroughly examine candidates during the hiring process to ensure they match your company’s enthusiasm and are committed to its mission.

Inquire about their prior company’s culture and what they like and didn’t like about it. Find out what kind of research they’ve done on your company’s culture and what benefits they can bring.

Empower Your Team:

Our employees, no matter how capable they are, require assistance in order to be their best selves at work. Employee empowerment can take numerous forms, ranging from further training and development to increased flexibility in working hours to project autonomy.

Employee empowerment necessitates collaboration between managers, HR  in order to give employees what they need to succeed. Knowing exactly what your team requires to succeed necessitates a strong feedback culture. Unfortunately, one out of every seven businesses does not have a formal structure in place to listen to their employees.

Feedback From Employees:

One of the most precious presents you can receive from your staff is feedback. Allowing employees to communicate their feelings allows you to uncover strategies to assist them in succeeding.

Obtaining input, however, is only the first step. Failure to act on survey results lowers engagement even more than not surveying in the first place. Encourage managers to establish action plans in response to input collectively with their teams to demonstrate to employees that their views do count and to keep motivated to communicate what they really believe.

Final Words

An unhealthy working environment is a severe problem of today’s corporate life. Employees are resigning, and the company is falling apart due to these challenging problems. It impacts the professional growth of employees as well as the organization.

It also affects the mental and physical health of employees. A lot of employees around the globe are suffering from mental illnesses like anxiety and stress that need to be monitored.

This blog helps you get necessary information about the effects of an unhealthy working environment on employees.

Read more: How can employee monitoring be helpful?