How We Work

The “toxic workplace” refers to toxic expectations.

In the 1980s, toxic workplaces referred to office buildings with poor air quality due to bad ventilation and harmful substances in the environment. Changes to make buildings more “green” improved employees’ overall well-being at work, but these changes didn’t address another toxic element: stress.

Many Americans work too much because they think that busyness grants status. However, that status comes at a cost – as high rates of addiction, obesity, divorce, depression, anxiety, loneliness and burnout attest.

A toxic workplace favors those who push others aside to get ahead, because productivity and profit matter more than employee satisfaction.

In 2008, during the financial crisis, the Harvard Business School created a Hippocratic Oath for Managers. The oath, however, didn’t explain how managers can become better leaders. Ethics classes provide guidance, but courses in soft skills that require critical thinking are even more useful as they teach you how to collaborate and exhibit strong emotional intelligence. Mindfulness helps develop these skills; it can improve...