Your workplace is a reflection of your leadership, but what does it mean when your workplace is considered toxic?
New surveys show that toxic workplaces are still actively harming employees and hindering companies from reaching their full potential. These poor work environments are a direct reflection of your organization’s leadership and values. This is not something the HR department can fix on their own.
It’s time CEOs work to actively understand, dismantle, and rebuild the systems that enable these unhealthy dynamics. You don’t have to take the blame for every bad interaction, but as the person people look to for guidance, it does mean you have the power — and responsibility — to create lasting change.
This C-Suite 411 article will discuss what recent research says about toxic workplaces and how these findings are challenging every leader’s responsibility in the workplace.
What The Research Says About Today’s Leadership
Toxic workplaces don’t emerge overnight. They fester and grow into an unsustainable environment that negatively impacts everyone. Recent reports have shown that company leaders are failing their employees by allowing toxic workplace culture and harassment to continue — whether they are aware of it or not.
Multiple reports on toxic workplace trends and Workplace Bullying highlight how these issues are still prevalent across multiple industries.
See New Reports Show Toxic Workplace Trends Remain High in 2025 for a detailed breakdown of toxic workplace trends report.
The term toxic workplace can be misused when discussing negative work environments but often is described as having dysfunctional behaviors that negatively impact employee well-being and productivity. A 2022 study found that employees often describe toxic workplaces in five ways: disrespectful, non-inclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive.
One report found that of those surveyed, three out of four employees have experienced a toxic workplace.
This number is extremely high, but it’s not surprising. I have also experienced a toxic workplace that physically and mentally drained me to where it severely affected the quality of my work. Like the 54% who said they had quit a job because of a toxic workplace, I too had to leave that job to preserve my sense of self and rebuild my mental state.
The common link between mine and the respondent’s experiences? Bad leadership and poor communication.
Respondents listed poor leadership as the leading cause with poor communication following closely behind.
The survey dug deeper into what made the employees feel so disconnected from management. Issues like lack of accountability from leaders and bias treatment of employees were the biggest concerns for poor leadership. Another nod to bad management in the survey was the 90% of employees who said poor communication, reported it was due to leaders sending mixed or inconsistent messages.
This report was not the only one who showed company leaders need to rethink how they operate. According to a Workplace Bullying Institute survey, an estimated 48.6 million Americans are bullied at work, with 30% having direct experiences and an additional 19% percent having witnessed it.
Perhaps the most disheartening finding from the survey is one we already knew. Workplace bullying is often a top-down issue with 65% of bullies being bosses or managers.
While these reports highlight valid experiences, how can leaders know if the employees are truly struggling and not just exaggerating things?
These reports found that there is often a disconnect between employers and employees’ views of the workplace — not because they don’t care, but because they view workplace values differently.
It was noted that while both groups mentioned similar values, each group placed them at different levels of importance. For example, ensuring open communication was the top priority for employees but only ranked fourth among employers. This shows that when there is a difference in expectations and values, it is easier for a negative environment to form.
On top of the disconnect, employees aren’t the only ones saying they have worked in a toxic workplace. In Businessolver’s 2024 State of Workplace Empathy Report, 52% of CEOs surveyed believed their workplace culture was toxic.
These statistics point to an ongoing issue that needs to be fixed. However, it can only be fixed if CEOs start taking their role in the toxic work culture more seriously.
Why CEOs are the Turning Point
When you take all the reports and look for the root cause, more often than not the finger is pointed right back at company leaders. While the blame can fall on any part of the leadership ladder, who’s at fault doesn’t matter when workers are losing faith in their companies to keep them safe and provide them with meaningful work.
CEOs are the perfect catalysts for enacting change and need to hold themselves — and lower management — accountable.
As the highest authority within a company, you are expected to lead with transparency and empathy, all while ensuring the safety of your employees. While it might seem easier to let other departments like HR handle the work, it is your responsibility as a leader to preserve company function and restore employee trust.
Toxic workplaces hurt everyone, and CEOs are no exception. That’s why CEOs need to take a deeper look at their company culture and work to prevent toxic environments from forming.
This is part one of a series on management’s effect on toxic workplace cultures. Part two will discuss how toxic workplaces affect a company and how CEOs can work to fix them.
Sources: iHire, Workplace Bullying Institute, MIT, Businessolver
