Zoe Fragou on Why is it so difficult to talk about Toxic Cultures

Speaking up about the type of culture or toxic practices at work is a starting points to create positive change in the workplace  — so why are so many people reluctant to do so?

There might be several reasons: first, there may be significant personal or professional risks associated with being the one speaking up. Second, many people assume someone else will step up. In reality, only few will have the courage to openly talk about toxic work cultures.

In 2018, Nike had several cases of women harassement, that ended up uncovering toxic practice almost by luck - check this article:  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/28/business/nike-women.html

 

For this episode, I needed to have a rebel mindset about toxic cultures and was happy to find her - Zoe Fragou

About Zoe Fragou

Zoe Fragou is an Organizational Psychologist - she is a fixer of TOXIC WORK CULTURES - she uses science to help organizations transform their culture

She also does research is mainly focused on the psychometrics of the corporate culture.  She writes and speaks about: equality in the workspace, stereotypes, mobbing, burnout, leadership, toxic positivity, positive psychology.

Here is where you can find her

Zoe Fragou Website https://www.fragouzoe.com/

Zoe Fragou LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/fragouzoe/

 

What we discussed on this episode on Why is it so difficult to talk about Toxic Cultures

• There are so many review aggregators (GlassDoor, Indeed and others) - most of these reviews are done when a person has left their company. Today, is it difficult to speak up and name toxic cultures?
• How would you define a toxic culture?
• How do we quantify how healthy is a corporate culture? 
• Many organizations have invested in pulse surveys - can these insights be transformed into tangible actions?
• Positive Psychology has contributed on the way we understand humans thriving in the workplace - how can we be sure that we are not overdoing it in terms of happiness and that it doesn’t become a “toxic” contributor?
• If you had a magic wand to make the majority of toxic work cultures change… what are the actions you would have done?
• What actions would you recommend to people living in a toxic culture?

This episode is hosted by Ivan Palomino - expert on Behavioral Sciences applied to Culture Transformation and Learning. 🌟 Want to join a pledge to promote human centric values at work? Read more about the Simply Human Pledge here https://bit.ly/SimplyHumanPledge