Contrary to Britney Spears' 2003 hit, toxic isn't sexy. It is expensive and contagious. Translating to corporate gain and loss, a study by Harvard Business School says that while hiring a top-performing employee - who may either be toxic or non-toxic - can give the company a gain from savings of $5,303, steering clear of hiring a toxic employee can actually give the company a net gain of at least $12,489 (based on estimation of loss due to increased employee turnover rate, lowered morale in the workplace and legal fees among others).
Despite the obvious, firms hire and allow such individuals to stay a long while in the company. Dylan Minor, co-author of Harvard Business School's study 'Toxic Workers' says: "A natural question I get from people is 'Why would anyone have a toxic worker? That's crazy!' But then you realize they're incredibly productive. And so, it makes sense then that maybe managers would look the other way because they're really hitting all their productivity numbers."
Firms often retain a 'superstar worker' despite their negative effect to the workplace because companies think that the results these superstars produce are worth the toxicity they bring to the workplace. Worse than burdening the business with these liabilities, toxic employees also infect co-workers, which further spreads the cycle of loss.
The researchers based their findings on analysis of 50,000 employees from 11 firms. Toxicity was categorised according to the workers' characteristics and to circumstances that displayed instances of toxic behaviour. The study finds that employees who are categorised as toxic employees are more of a liability to the work environment and that their absence can actually increase the work performance of other employees and bring in better benefits to the company.
Some characteristics of toxic employees are:
#1 Displays excessive confidence
#2 Exemplifies bad behaviour
#3 Bullies inside and outside the workplace
#4 Reduces morale in the workplace
#5 May harass co-workers sexually
#6 Drives other employees to leave their jobs, causing higher turnover rates
#7 May steal or may commit fraudulence
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