Do You Have a Toxic Employee Wreaking Havoc in Your Business?

What is a toxic employee?

When you hear the term “toxic employee,” you probably conjure an image of a rude, overconfident, self-centered worker — someone who breaks the rules, steamrolls others and undermines management. Although these are common traits of toxic behavior, a toxic employee can have a range of other characteristics.

“In my experience, the most toxic employees tend to be those who gossip, criticize the company and/or team members or unconsciously sabotage performance and/or productivity by being disengaged,” Carolina Caro, CEO and founder of Conscious Leadership Partners, told us. 

A toxic employee acts in a way that harms the organization. These actions can include behaviors that damage the organization’s property, employees or customers. There are many reasons why someone might become a toxic employee, so it’s important to identify the root of the problem before it impacts your business.

7 types of toxic employees

An employee may fall under one or more of the following categories of toxicity. Look for signs you might have one of these kinds of employees at your business.

1. The bulldozer

For business success and growth, you need employees who are willing to create and defend their ideas — but you don’t need bulldozers.

Quite simply, these employees bulldoze their way through other people’s opinions and thoughts to get their way. They may interrupt their co-workers or argue constantly. 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 signs of bulldozers:

• They’re aggressive.
• They have a strong personality.
• They think they’re always right.
• They’re disruptive. 

You may have employees who have bulldozer characteristics. If these traits sound familiar, it’s important to address the situation. 

2. The passive-aggressive employee

A passive-aggressive individual is someone who doesn’t speak their mind when they’re upset. Instead, they indirectly show that they’re not happy about something. This can be very toxic for the workplace.

Imagine asking a co-worker to get something done. They’re unhappy with the task, but instead of telling you directly, they make snippy remarks or procrastinate. 

Here are a few quick facts about passive-aggressive employees:

• They avoid direct conflict.
• They’re bitter or snarky.
• They make backhanded comments. 
• They put off doing things they don’t agree with. 

Someone who is passive may be more inclined to bottle up their feelings and avoid taking action. When there’s conflict, they may get frustrated and display passive-aggressive behaviors.

3. The complainer  

Everyone knows this person — they always have a burr in their saddle. You just want to tell them, “Lighten up!” Their negativity builds and builds — but it has to go somewhere, and it’s often into the rest of your team and your company culture.  

Here are some signs of a complainer:

• They are negative.
• They always feel sorry for themselves.
• They’re never happy.
• They think nothing can go right.  

4. The knowledge hoarder 

The desire for job security can be dangerous, so employees may decide to keep processes and business-related knowledge to themselves. However, successful businesses thrive on open communication, shared knowledge and collaboration. 

Here are some undeniable indicators of a knowledge hoarder:

• They’re not team players. 
• They have independent processes. 
• They always seek attention.
• They have insecurities about work. 

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?  

5. The prideful one 

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. When you’re hiring, look for employees who are hungry, humble and smart, as opposed to workers who are blasé and prideful.

Here are some prideful employee red flags:

• They’re slow to apologize.
• They’re quick to brag.
• They always have to be right.
• They don’t take criticism well.

Pride can be dangerous and affect workers at every level, including management. Business leaders should stay humble and set a good example for their subordinates.

6. The gossiper   

Your employees likely enjoy talking with their co-workers. It’s normal and expected for employees to talk about work and their personal lives, especially since the shift to remote work has given many a peek into their co-workers’ homes. However, a line must be drawn when employee chatter turns into gossip about colleagues, business leaders or the company.

Here are some signs of a gossiper: 

• They’re always whispering.
• They seem uncomfortable around certain people. 
• They talk about others to you. 
• They’re two-faced. 

Gossip is an unfortunate but inevitable part of the workplace. People like to talk — and that talk can often turn personal and pump life into the rumor mill. Gossip can bring resentment, expose personal affairs and cause frustration.

7. The underperformer 

Your employees’ performance probably fluctuates depending on their strengths and weaknesses, mood and what is going on at work. However, if you have a perpetual underperformer, you have a toxic employee. 

In a nutshell, these are the traits of an underperformer: 

• They’re disengaged from their work.
• They fail to meet goals.
• They constantly need others to pick up the slack. 
• They make excuses. 

When one employee consistently underperforms, your other employees must pick up the slack, which they may resent. Plus, your business can’t handle that in the long term.

Signs of toxic employees

Because there are many types of toxic employees, there are a variety of toxic signs to be aware of. These are some common signs of toxic employees: 

• Being absent a lot
• Making aggressive/harassing comments or actions
• Blaming others for their mistakes
• Being disengaged or performing poorly
• Constantly complaining
• Gossiping
• Being excessively competitive 
• Failing to admit wrongdoings
• Hoarding knowledge
• Having a negative attitude toward everything
• Being passive-aggressive
• Relying on others to do their work
• Taking credit for others’ work
• Not responding to criticism

“The impact that these behaviors have is that they create a negative environment,” Caro said. “Instead of uplifting others, it creates the opportunity or the space for others to start showing up the same way, which can have an unproductive, compounding effect.”

How to handle toxic employees

Toxic employees can be tough to handle. Although the situation might be awkward or uncomfortable, it’s important to address toxic employees as soon as you identify them, to minimize the damage they do to your business. Try the following strategies for handling toxic employees.

Give other employees the opportunity to speak up. 

To minimize the impact of a bulldozing employee, meet regularly with other employees so everyone feels like their ideas are heard. You may set up weekly one-on-ones to check in and nip problems in the bud. That way, your bulldozers and the people they bulldoze are equally heard. You may also consider gently talking to the employee with this type of personality to help them see what they’re doing.

Gather feedback through one-on-ones and anonymous employee surveys.

To help deal with a passive-aggressive employee, foster an environment of open communication. Encourage employees to express themselves honestly. Give your workers plenty of opportunities to talk with you through one-on-ones, suggestion boxes and other means. Anonymous surveys can also be a great tool for allowing employees to voice their concerns.

Caro encourages leaders to have both formal and informal ways people can have their voices heard. 

“In my experience, people want to be heard and have their concerns validated and addressed,” Caro said. “It won’t always mean that the leader will be able to fix the issue or have a solution, but sometimes even acknowledging that they don’t have an answer can diffuse the tension around the issue, particularly if they give individuals an opportunity to share their grievances.”

Address employee complaints head-on. 

To deal with a complainer, pay attention to their gripes. You might notice that they frequently make negative comments about the same thing. If that’s the case, see if you can alleviate their concerns. For example, you could offer a flexible work schedule to help an employee who complains about their work-life balance.

If an employee just has a negative attitude about everything, you should address it with them. Another option is to talk to a group of employees about the importance of positivity in the workplace so they don’t feel like you’re singling them out. 

Create policies that require and reward the transfer of knowledge. 

A workplace can’t run when you have at least one person hoarding knowledge and refusing to work on a team. To root out this problem, create a digital knowledge base and require all employees to share and manage documents (and other things within it).

Another way to discourage knowledge hoarding is by recognizing and rewarding employees who don’t hoard knowledge. Praise employees or offer bonuses to employees who share information with others or help train new hires. 

Lead by example. 

Business leaders and people managers must lead by example, acting as role models and proactively supporting their teams. This should be fostered and supported within the organization.

“People managers need to be trained and supported in setting and communicating clear behavior expectations, incentivizing those behaviors, and providing candid and supportive feedback to employees,” said Cheryl Fields Tyler, founder and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting. 

For example, although pride can be tough to battle, one of the best ways to keep employees from getting too prideful at work is for business leaders to set a good example of humility. Another way to help humble your prideful co-worker is by praising humble employees. This will show prideful employees that your organization values humility and teamwork.

“HR should also provide ongoing support to the managers and teams where toxic behavior is happening to mitigate risks and to prevent negative impacts to the team, culture and company,” Fields Tyler said. 

Create a culture that doesn’t tolerate gossip. 

You can’t prevent gossip altogether, but you can set a good example by not partaking in it. It also helps to set ground rules that let staff know that gossip and harassment won’t be tolerated. 

Work with the employee to create a performance improvement plan. 

Although toxic behavior is inevitable, it should be promptly addressed to reduce the damage it causes your organization.

“When toxic behaviors go unaddressed, they set a precedent that such conduct is acceptable, undermining company values and demoralizing employees,” Fields Tyler said. “This results in a disengaged workforce, lower commitment to achieve top results, and an overall decline in organizational performance.

To get an underperformer up to par, you may need to meet with them to find out why they are falling short. Once you identify the reason for their poor performance, help them succeed by putting them on a performance improvement plan. Make sure to set achievable employee performance goals and to track their improvement over time. 

Employees can make or break your business, and one bad apple can have major repercussions. It’s important to address toxic employees as soon as possible to reduce the negative impact on your organization. 

Sometimes you’ve simply made a bad hire, but many times, there is an underlying reason for their behavior that can be addressed. It’s always a good idea to treat employees with compassion and empathy, with the goal of finding a solution that benefits everyone.

Mike Kappel contributed to this article.