“Name something you were not prepared for in the Corporate world?” Did you have these TikTok videos on your For You page as well? There are thousands of it. I wish this trend would have been a thing seven years ago when I started my Corporate career. But sometimes it is necessary to have negative experiences yourself, learn from it and help others to avoid your mistakes.
He was in fact not prepared for it when he entered the Corporate world.
One of the main reasons why I pursue financial independence is to have the freedom to walk away from a toxic situation or job at any time. Have you ever worked in a toxic workplace? You`re not sure? Let me rephrase.
Have you ever asked yourself one of following questions?
- Am I working with a narcissist?
- Am I being bullied?
- Why are colleagues promoted over me?
- What if my manager is intimidated by me?
- My boss is playing favorites, what should I do?
- Would it be easier to progress my career if I had a different gender?
- Is leadership stealing my ideas?
- Can I trust my colleagues?
If one or more of these questions sound familiar to you, most likely you are in a toxic work environment. Which, let`s be honest, is the environment of most workplaces in Corporate America.
The toxic behaviors I hint at above are of covert nature. Meaning, the toxicity cannot be easily spotted. There are more serious forms of toxicity and abuse in the workplace (e.g. physical abuse, racial & religious discrimination). These are not topic of my article.
Today we are covering forms of abuse hidden in the backrooms of the office and in virtual meetings. Which happen in the dark, unnoticed by anyone who is not paying close attention. But just because you do not see those, doesn`t mean it is less harmful. I found a word for these covert toxic workplaces. I call it the Corpiarchy. What is the Corpiarchy?
„Corpiarchy is a workplace in which positions of dominance, power and privilege are primarily held by a group of individuals following a set of unspoken toxic rules.“
And it is because these individuals are following the rules, they are promoted into positions of power (Leadership). Enforcing a toxic environment and enabling other individuals following the rules to join the Corpiarchy. Creating an endless cycle of bad leadership, power abuse and workplace harassment that is impacting the mental health of its workforce.
There are interesting articles about why a majority of senior executives is showing narcissistic behavior. It is the personality trait which has no remorse following the rules and flourishes in the Corpiarchy. In my seven years of being part of the Corporate world I was “lucky” enough to experience most of these unspoken rules in person.
Here is my list of the Ten Toxic Characteristics in the workplace:
- Harassment – How to deal with narcissistic leadership: Do`s & Dont`s
- Discrimination – Would it be easier to progress my career if I had a different gender? How to fight the Diversity Scam.
- Agism – Is agism a thing in the workplace and how to address it?
- Incompetency – What if my boss is intimidated by me and stealing my work?
- Nepotism – My boss is playing favorites, what should I do?
- Bullying – Gaslighting, silent treatment, isolation, retaliation, power abuse – How to spot signs of covert bullying and get help
- Jealousy – Why you should not follow your colleagues on social media
- Bias – Why you should never hire friends or family members
- Politics – Why are less qualified colleagues promoted over me? How to break the wheel
- The Game – How getting laid off is the best that can happen to you
This list is fictional, but loosely based on true events in the Corpiarchy. It does not represent a complete list of all existing toxic behavior. I would like to give these more room in separate chapters of my book. To help identify the negative behavior, raise awareness on its impact and share ideas on how to overcome the toxic behavior in your own actions (Identification – Impact – Improvement).
Financial Freedom helps walking away from a toxic workplace. But not everyone has the same privilege and financial means to live a life of free choice, independence and following their passion. Mental health issues are on the rise. Burnout, toxic work environment, living paycheck to paycheck, unfulfilling work, job insecurity & layoffs…just to name of few issues that come with being financially dependent on your employer. And big corporations are increasingly taking advantage of this situation to drive their profits.
What if we don`t need to walk away from a toxic job in the first place? What if we work together on improving the workplace and make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved? Can we overcome the Corpiarchy?
Let`s try!
