Toxic Work Culture - What is it?

Let's unpack this: ***Ordinary people, when given too much power and the "right nudge", can become tyrannical and abusive. ***

Anyone remember the Standford prison experiment? Incase you're not familiar with it, it was a social experiment in which Dr Zimbardo created a mock prison experiment, allocating roles such as prisoners to some participants and guards to the others.

It was an experiment which showed how everyday humans could be turned into heartless tyrants. How much of their actions is based on the environment they're in, the instructions they were given and the character of the person themselves? It's crazy to think how ordinary people can be influenced to become invested in the values of a morally bankrupt status quo. Participating in terrible behaviours that would be unthinkable in civilised society. Without much instruction, the guards turned ugly very quickly, humiliating and psychologically abusing the prisoners. While prisoners in turn became submissive. 2 week experiment was cut short to 6 days because of how unexpectedly evil these guys became.

There's also the murder of Kitty Genovese (which some claim is an inaccurate story - as the number of witnesses were far less apparently)-- This incident prompted enquiries into what became known as "Genovese syndrome" or the "bystander effect" -- basically, the more people present, the less likely they are to help someone in distress. As everyone starts thinking someone else will fix it. (there are numerous stories of this happening which resulted in horrific ends for the victims).

Why these topics?
Well, if you aren't in one today, oneday, you will end up working in a bad environment. So better be prepared than caught off guard. Workplaces that will resemble the Stanford Prison Experiment. So absurd, you'd think the people must be joking, that this can't really be how things work in this place. But reality is, these types of places exist. In that instance you have a choice, will you be a prisoner, guard or bystander?

As a number of members in other groups have reached out about unsafe / toxic environments they're working in, we're hosting this event to find out:

• How do we help those stuck in this situation? For years people have said, nothing changes, so there's no point doing anything about it. -But the only reason things don't change is because no one names it therefore can't change it. Did you know that the average person will spend The average person will spend 97 760 hours at work over a lifetime. (That's at 40 hours per week for 47 years...assuming you start working at 18-65--many of us currently are and could still be working passed the age of 65)-- is what you're doing today, really worth it?
• Iife is too short to spend it in a place which hinders growth.
• What is a safe working environment? - What does that look like?
• How to identify toxic environments? - What is it, why does it happen?
• How to deal with difficult people? - Why are they like this? How to work with them?
• How do you help others when you see this occuring?
• How might we create positive change in situations like this?

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