Toxic Employees

The workplace is a delicate balance. Your employees each have their personalities and behaviors that contribute to your overall company culture. When you have a toxic employee, that toxicity can seep out and impact their co-workers and your business. 

Best-case scenario: A toxic attitude can put a damper on all things business success, including productivity, employee morale and even your employer brand. Worst-case scenario: An employee's bad attitude can lead to drops in customers, a ruined business reputation, high employee turnover and lost money. 

Dealing with a toxic employee is never easy. But for the sake of your business, you need to address it at some point. 

The 7 types of toxic employees - Your employee may fall under one or more than one of the following categories of toxicity. Look for signs that might indicate you have one of these kinds of employees running rampant in your small business.

1. The bulldozer - Bulldozers bulldoze their way through other peoples' opinions and thoughts to get their way. They may interrupt their co-workers or constantly argue against what others say. Sometimes, bulldozers are loud. Sometimes they correct people using humor. Whatever the tactic may be, a bulldozer's toxic traits may seep into your workplace. Keep an eye out for these top bulldozer traits:

1. Aggressive
2. "Strong personality"
3. Always right
4. Disruptive  

2. The passive-aggressive employee - Is someone who doesn't speak their mind when they're upset. Instead, they indirectly show that they're not happy about something. Someone who is a passive person may be more inclined to bottle their feelings and avoid taking action. When there's conflict, they may get frustrated and display passive-aggressive behaviors. This can be very toxic for the workplace. They're unhappy with the task, but instead of telling you directly they make snippy remarks or procrastinate on doing the task. Here are a few quick facts about the passive-aggressive one:

1. Avoids direct conflict
2. Bitter or snarky 
3. Backhanded comments 
4. Puts off doing things they don't agree with 

3. The complainer - The person who thinks there's always something wrong. So, instead, you let it go until the negativity builds and builds. But that building negativity has to go somewhere, and often it's into the rest of your team and your company culture. Here are some signs that you've got a complainer on your hands:

1. Negative
2. "Woe is me"
3. Never happy
4. Nothing can go right  

4. The knowledge hoarder - The desire for job security can be a dangerous thing. Employees who want to secure their jobs may decide to keep processes and business-related knowledge to themselves. But successful businesses thrive on the flow of open communication, shared knowledge and collaboration. A knowledge hoarder isn't just detrimental to your team's morale –they're a liability to your company's success. What happens if they leave? Where does all that hoarded information go? Here are some undeniable indicators of a knowledge hoarder:

1. Anti-team players 
2. Have independent processes 
3. Attention-seeking
4. Insecurities about work 

5. The prideful one - An employee who thinks they know it all? A prideful employee is easy to spot. Like the bulldozer, they are "always right." And if they're wrong, they're slow to admit it. Pride can be a dangerous thing. Here are some prideful employee red flags:

1. Slow to apologize
2. Quick to brag
3. Always right
4. Unresponsive to criticism 

6. The gossip  - Your employees likely enjoy talking with their fellow co-workers. Maybe they talk about work or their personal lives. Or maybe they're dishing about other employees, your business's status or even you. Gossip is often an unfortunate but inevitable part of the workplace. People like to talk. And those talks can often turn personal and pump life into the rumor mill. Gossip can bring resentment, expose personal affairs and cause frustration. Here are some signs of a gossiper: 

1. Always whispering 
2. Seems uncomfortable around certain people 
3. Talks about others to you 
4. Two-faced

7. The underperformer - Employees' performance probably fluctuates depending on their strengths and weaknesses, mood and what else is going on at work. But if you have a perpetual underperformer, you have a toxic employee. And you know what else it means? Your other employees have to pick up the slack. Your employees don't want that. Not to mention, your business can't handle that long term. In a nutshell, these are the traits of an underperformer: 

1. Disengaged with their work
2. Fails to meet goals
3. Constantly needs others to pick up the slack  
4. Makes excuses