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Warning Signs the Job You’re About to Take Might Be Toxic

Published Fri Mar 18 2022

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If you find yourself among the millions of people looking for a new job, you want to ensure that you’re not leaving your current position for one that’s worse. While it’s impossible to predict if a new role will be 100% right for you, there are some warning signs that the position you’re vying for might be a bad fit—some of which might even present themselves during your first interview. One major red flag is if the interviewer speaks negatively about the person who previously held your job or members of the team you’ll be working with. It’s also not a good sign if the hiring manager doesn’t want you to talk to anyone else on the team. In a toxic workplace, managers want to tightly control how employees communicate, and that extends to new hires as well. You should also be cautious if your interviewers aren’t willing to be honest about any weaknesses the organization might have. “A healthy workplace has enough psychological safety that it is OK to be vulnerable. If leaders put out a vibe that everything is ‘perfect,’ it creates beliefs that others are meant to do the same,” says Laura Gallaher, an organizational psychologist. “Then people start hiding mistakes, pretending to understand things when they don’t, and blaming others when things go wrong. These behaviors are toxic and will drain the life and energy out of people.”

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