We all have our bad days at work, but in some workplaces, every day is bad. A mixture of poor management and bad practices can lead to a toxic workplace where people are overworked, conflicts are constant, and nobody feels secure or supported.

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You might think that the best way to deal with a toxic workplace is to just knuckle down and get on with it, but that’s not a good idea. You might not realize it but your workplace could be doing serious long-term damage to your health. These are some of the ways that a toxic workplace can damage your health.

Depression and Anxiety

Toxic environments can quickly lead to depression and anxiety. Constant conflict with coworkers can affect self-esteem and if you have a boss that constantly talks down to you and tells you you’re not doing enough, that will have a big impact on mental health. People are left feeling depressed or constantly anxious that they’ll be reprimanded again. Other issues, like poor work-life balance only make mental health issues worse and they can persist for a long time, even after leaving the job.

Heart Attacks and Strokes

Workplace stress increases the risk of developing high blood pressure which increases your chances of heart disease and stroke. Work-related stress is now thought to cut people’s lives short by an average of 20 healthy years across a working lifetime! In a toxic environment, stress levels are constantly through the roof. 

Being forced to work long hours also contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle. For example, people are more likely to snack on unhealthy foods when they don’t have time to cook proper meals. They may drink more to unwind after long days too. Both of these things increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes even further.

Risk of Injury

In toxic workplaces where bosses don’t care much about their employees, the risk of injury is much greater because less attention is paid to health and safety. Corners are cut to save money and this puts employees in danger. If you are injured as a result of this, it’s so important to seek advice from an injury attorney and make a claim. Not only does this help you with your recovery and medical bills, but it will also ensure that your employer is forced to make changes so nobody else is put in danger.

Insomnia

Insomnia is very common in people that have a poor work-life balance and serious mental health issues. If you are constantly stressed and anxious about things at work, and you have a demanding boss that won’t let you switch off once you get home, your sleep will suffer. Poor sleep leads to a wide range of health problems, so it’s important that you tackle this problem right away. 

If you decide to just suck it up and carry on working in a toxic environment, you risk developing these health problems. Over time, they will only get worse, so start thinking about a change sooner rather than later.