Toxic Workplace

In this episode, we hear Sunny’s story—a therapist and military veteran who took her first civilian job at a civil commitment center for sexual offenders, hoping to grow as a clinician by working with a challenging population. Instead, she found herself in a toxic workplace filled with traumatic experiences, overwhelming demands, and unrealistic demands from leadership. From being forced to proces...

Buli, fresh out of college and living in the UK, joined the Kickstart scheme to find work. She was placed in a company where management cut corners, from skipping proper training to forging certificates, all while overworking their staff. Buli found herself burdened with an overwhelming workload, earning minimum wage for her efforts. As the company prioritized cost-cutting over care, Buli and her...

Grace graduates with a Master’s degree with high hopes that she will pave a new career path in the tech world. She lands a position in Product with a well-known tech company and is excited about the possibilities. Soon after she is onboarded, she realizes her new manager is completely hands off, giving her zero direction and feedback. The low morale and cut-throat competition in her department mak...

Alisha Wolf is a psychotherapist and coach who has developed a niche expertise in understanding and healing from toxic workplaces using self-regulation, self-compassion, and the creation of a coherent narrative. Alisha has been helping her clients navigate out of toxic workplaces and over the years she’s gained incredible insight on how we build our stories around toxic workplaces, how we can get...

We've all dealt with them, the self-serving ass-kisser that gets ahead because they stroke the boss's ego. In this quick After Hours episode, I talk about why ass-kissers are successful and how they erode a workplace.

Chelsea is an educator who finds herself entrenched in a toxic workplace characterized by poor leadership and revolving door turnover. The organization is constantly undergoing new leadership which causes a lack of direction, misaligned roles, unchecked behavior, and nepotism, Chelsea grapples with frustration and confusion while juggling personal tribulations. However, her dedication to her famil...

Kylie lands a job at a large utility company, which starts on a positive note. She excels in her accounting role and earns praise from colleagues and supervisors. However, her experience takes a sharp downturn when she begins reporting to a bullying manager. Despite her persistent dedication, Kylie faces numerous obstacles, including being denied necessary overtime, burdened with increasing worklo...

Victoria is a dedicated real estate professional and busy mom who discovers a promising opportunity in real estate sales. Impressed by a wonderful interview experience, she eagerly joins the company, initially captivated by their seemingly excellent professionalism and integrity. However, as she begins her new role, Victoria becomes disillusioned when she realizes the company engages in cheap sale...

Haylee gets the opportunity to work with a trusted, long-time family friend, Jenna, in an exclusive Christian non-profit organization. Haylee is led to believe this non-profit is funding amazing projects that brings goodness into the world, but in reality they're funding political agendas. Haylee looks up to Jenna and believes she is going to gain professionalism and mentorship under her direction...

In this bonus episode, I talk with Amanda Fangman, an aspiring writer and educator who specializes in teaching people about undue influence and coercive control in the workplace – from labor trafficking and exploitation to cultic abuse at work. If you haven't listened to Amanda's story of working for a magazine crew (Season 2, Episode 14), please listen before playing this episode as it gives cont...

Amanda is fresh out of high school and ready to escape her small hometown in Nebraska. She meets a guy at a rock concert who invites her to join his travels around the country as a "salesman." He offers her a one-way bus ticket to Texas to join him on a sales opportunity. Seeking adventure and excitement Amanda accepts, but on arrival she is disappointed to find herself thrown into a door-to-door...

Sam is a recent college graduate who lands an RN position in a pediatric unit at a rural North Carolina hospital. Sam is quickly disheartened when he realizes he is not welcome by the other nurses. As the only black, male nurse in the hospital he experiences discrimination, relentless questioning of his abilities, and a demoralizing work environment. He grapples with constant bullying and exclusio...

Anna lands a dream job at a non-profit dedicated to safeguarding the local lakes, the community's primary water supply. Initially thrilled by the opportunity to contribute to a meaningful cause, Anna is welcomed into the organization by a seemingly supportive boss. Anna quickly realizes, however, a stark contrast between the charismatic façade and the true nature of her boss when she reads a berat...

Welcome to After Hours, bonus episodes that discuss different aspects of a toxic workplace. In each episode, I’ll pick a topic that is a reoccurring theme or pattern that you’ll hear in my podcast stories. In this episode, I discuss why HR is not your friend. HR is an advocate of the company and they are part of management's agenda. When dealing with a toxic workplace, HR is oftentimes a main cont...

Adam lands a job at a non-profit organization with a noble mission—mentoring teens through basketball. Little did he know, his new boss brings a different kind of game to the table. Adam finds himself in a chaotic mix of disorganization, poor time management, and a glaring lack of leadership skills at the helm. As he tries to navigate the challenges, the overwhelming workload consumes him. This ep...

Do you work with a narcissist? Listen as Chelsey Brooke Cole, author of If Only I'd Known: How to Outsmart Narcissists, Set Guilt-Free Boundaries, and Create Unshakeable Self-Worth , talks about the different traits of narcissistic personality disorder and how they wreak havoc over the workplace. Chelsey discusses how to deal with these toxic people, how to set boundaries, and why empaths are more...

From day one Cassie is treated as an outsider by the teachers and parents of the school she works for. The school is in a mostly white, upper-class, neighborhood and Cassie is a woman of color with a diverse background. The administration and her colleagues do not welcome her with open arms. They are cold, distant, and second guess her professional insight. Cassie works hard to win the respect of...

Sarah is excited to work at a non-profit organization whose mission aligns with her own values and passions. From the outside, this organization looks perfect. They emphasize "women empowering women," but Sarah starts to see the complete opposite as her self-serving, narcissistic boss has no shame in embarrassing Sarah and her colleagues in front of others. Do you have a toxic workplace story to s...

Judy works as a Senior Software Engineer at a health care clinic. She quickly realizes her new employer doesn't believe in work/life balance when she gets interrogated for taking a day off to attend her aunt's funeral. She is expected to drop everything on her days off to respond to work related questions. Her boss is sexist and demeaning. Leadership expects everyone to maintain a positive attitud...

Fresh out of college, Birdie lands a job working for a councilman in Louisiana. At first, the councilman seems endearing and has a casual demeanor, but not long after Birdie starts in her position she realizes the councilman has no boundaries and a verbally abusive temper. He takes his frustrations out on Birdie while overloading her with work that is beyond the scope of her position. *****Do you...

There’s no one I can think of that has inspired me to chase my dreams more than my dad. My dad made a successful career through courage, perseverance, and putting his family first. Despite the failures from his past, he never quit his dream of owning his own business. As you’ll hear in this episode, nothing came easy for him. He struggled "behind the eight-ball" for years before his business took...

Herman spends 15 years working for a local newspaper before it gets bought out by another newspaper. He is relieved when he doesn't lose his job right away, but things are never quite the same. After the merger, the company morale declines and burnout increases. He and his colleagues are treated as second-rate employees by management and Herman quickly finds himself as a moving target for a direct...

Zenica Chatman is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach with a focus of helping women rediscover their inner strength and confidence after encountering workplace bullying. In this bonus episode, Zenica shares her own experience of racially fueled bullying at her dream job during the height of her career. Her workplace experience gave her new insight and strength which led her onto a new career...

Rose gets promoted to a managerial position shortly after joining a non-profit organization. The director she reports to gives no direction, is dismissive to her suggestions, had poor management skills and creates low morale within Rose's department. Rose starts to realize her director is nothing but a bully which triggers lingering insecurities from adolescence. Rose decides to take a stand and s...

Josh lands a job with a city planning agency in an up-and-coming suburban city. The management hierarchy is run by a director that emulates a Tony Soprano vibe; he's hard to get through to and expects people to hustle for his approval. In addition, Josh's workload is that of two people. The workload and poor management start to weigh on Josh after he gets put on a PIP and he works his way out of i...