Anyone encountered series “The Office”you certainly associate the figure of a boss who is toxic and whose relationships with employees are far from normal. The success of this production was probably due to the way the work environment was presented, in which subordinates united in a common front to fight against their superior. Moreover, in the recent history of cinematography, such a presentation of the boss was not unique. Just mention, for example, the character she played Jennifer Aniston in the movie “Enemy Bosses”and who loved to manipulate to achieve her goals. However, you do not have to be a fan of the above-mentioned series to come into contact with a supervisor who generated a toxic atmosphere around him.
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A significant change in the post-pandemic timespoints out Viv Groskop, journalist and author of the book “How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking”. According to her, in the 2000s It was common to complain about superiors of all stripes as long as they were higher in the employee hierarchy. A common cause united multitudes of employees at all organizational levels. According to the publicist, the pandemic has fundamentally changed the rules of the game and relations within enterprises. So much so that bosses are no longer considered toxic tyrants, and their place has been taken by a completely new category of people.
Your enemy? Not a toxic boss, just a toxic colleague
“In the world of hybrid work culture, remote fulfillment of official duties and silent departures, the former figure of the toxic boss seems to be disappearing. Instead, more attention is paid to a new scapegoat: the toxic co-worker“- says Viv Groskop. In the Financial Times, the columnist expressed the opinion that “in the world of hybrid work, a new category of employees has emerged who are said to make life miserable for everyone else, especially their superiors”.
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In this new vision that the publicist creates, basically there are no exceptions when it comes to who can be considered a toxic subordinate. Everyone complains about everyone else: for having the nerve to work remotely, for wanting to conduct all business meetings via an online platform, or even demanding… paid leave. Viv Groskop emphasizes that demanding thinking is becoming popular, which was faced a few years ago during Brexit in the context of migrants who were supposed to take jobs from the British.
Can any of us be a toxic subordinate?
For the journalist and publicist, the situation is so dangerous that the pandemic has worsened relations between employees. “Recent years have made us slightly worse colleagues at work. Previously strong bonds that resulted from working in the office are significantly weakened and need time to renew. The reality is brutal: The more easily we find fault with others, the more likely it is that the fault lies with us.”—says Viv Groskop. And he warns that perhaps we should focus less on looking for evidence of the toxicity of others and focus on verifying whether others want to cooperate with us at all.
