Even if it sometimes doesn’t feel like it, your actions as an employee can have massive effects on the company and its culture. For better or—unfortunately—for worse. Small things you do can set in motion a chain of events that you eventually regret.

Case in point, redditor u/Gerasans went on the Today I [Messed] Up online group to share how he indirectly drove his new head of human resources to have a breakdown at work after finding a way to ‘hack’ her training program. It’s something that he deeply regrets. Read on for the full story about workplace relations gone wrong, as well as the internet’s reactions.

Bored Panda has reached out to the author for further comment about the situation. We’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.

Seemingly small actions that go against the rules can have deeply negative repercussions for your colleagues

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

One employee shared how he set off a chain of events that broke his new head of HR

Image credits: yanalya (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Gerasans

Toxic workplaces don’t just harm the employees, they also affect the bottom line

According to MIT Sloan Management Review, there are very practical reasons to focus on workplace culture. 90% of CEOs and CFOs in North America believe that improving corporate culture would also boost financial performance.

“Most of these executives ranked a healthy culture as one of the top three among all factors—including strategy, innovation, brand, patents, and others—in terms of its impact on results. More than 80% also acknowledged that their organization’s culture was not as healthy as it should be.”

Paradoxically, even though there was enough self-awareness regarding the need for improvement, leaders failed to invest enough time and resources in overhauling things. Part of the issue is that leaders are simply not sure where they can start.

Broadly speaking, there are five attributes of toxic culture: disrespectful, noninclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive.

Toxic workplaces not only contribute to greater stress and burnout but can also lead to anxiety, depression, and physical disease.

Image credits: master1305 (not the actual photo)

Every single member of the company contributes to workplace culture with their actions

At the end of the day, stories like this one are a reminder that everyone—from ‘regular’ employees and middle managers to C-suite executives—is responsible for contributing to their company’s workplace culture. What you do, how you conduct yourself, and how you react to everything doesn’t just show what you value, it also directly affects the people you work with.

Unless you’re a fully remote freelancer, you work in a communal environment. Having soft skills is, therefore, invaluable. That means putting in the effort to develop high emotional intelligence, improving your communication and active listening skills, and generally trying to be more empathetic. These human aspects of work aren’t going away anytime soon.

Mocking someone in public, finding ways to cheat the system, etc. are all behaviors that contribute to a toxic environment. To be clear, no company is ‘perfect.’ Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. However, there are broad trends for the types of behavior that are deemed (un)acceptable.

A company that tolerates public insults against any staff members (senior or otherwise) likely has deeper issues that need to be addressed. There might be a breakdown in communication between the employees and management. Or there could be a lack of trust between different departments. Furthermore, the staff might feel underpaid, unmotivated, and unappreciated, so they feel the need to lash out or ‘game’ the system for their benefit.

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

It’s possible that the HR employee had a panic attack after being placed in a stressful work situation

The author’s head of HR likely had a panic attack. There’s nothing shameful about having a breakdown. It’s a natural reaction to being insulted in public, embarrassed in front of the company, and realizing that much of your hard work was a waste of your time.

Some of the most common signs of a panic attack include things like sweating, trembling, a racing heart, shortness of breath, and nausea. Meanwhile, you may also feel disorientation, a choking sensation, dizziness, ringing in your ears, tingling in your fingers, and a dry mouth.

NHS Inform notes that panic attacks can last anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes. They can be caused by many different factors, from work-related things like unemployment, retirement, and a massive workload to changes in your family situation like divorce, relationship problems, or having to care for a loved one.

Financial and health problems can also lead to panic and anxiety, as well as past experiences like bullying or neglect. Positive experiences can lead to panic, too, for example, things like having a baby, planning a wedding, or buying a house.

What is the workplace environment like at your job, dear Pandas? Have you ever watched a colleague of yours mock someone openly or try to cheat the system? How would you handle a situation where someone from management breaks down in public? Let us know in the comments.

Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

Here’s what some internet users commented as the story went viral. Many readers were shocked

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