Toxic Job Identifying And Escaping

Are you in a toxic job?

I don’t have any research on this but in my experience for a many reasons, I think people with ADHD have higher rates of toxic jobs, could be because some of the problems of ADHD including boundary problems. Many people have had a toxic job (in one degree or another) at one or more periods in their lives, even if it was for a short time.

I did.

A toxic job is a job that is poisonous to either your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health or a combination thereof.

It may only be harmful to one part of your being, two or more parts, or every part.

If you have a extremely toxic job, it’s easier to escape.

Because you notice at the beginning. Be thankful! Be thankful, because it’s easier to move on before the discomfort becomes the comfort of familiarity.

The toxic job that slowly creeps up on you is insidious.

It gradually wears you down. You make allowances for small issues; attribute the discomfort to your imagination. It accumulates in you, poisons you and your life slowly. It’s easy to ignore until it’s too late. By the time you notice you may be so drained of energy, or so accustomed to the comfort of the big money or benefits; it’s difficult to escape.

You use all your energy just existing, getting through the day.

You feel trapped and that makes it worse. It’s a downward escalating spiral of despair. You want to escape, and you know you should, others tell you so as well, but you feel you can’t. You become more negative, there’s less joy in your life, you may become despondent, cynical and/or depressed.

You can escape. Or your can detoxify your job.

(and your perspective on your job). Life is too short to work in a poisonous environment.

Too many people in this world have no passion for what they do

to make a living. They may not be in a toxic workplace but they don’t like what they do and find no enjoyment in it. They labour under the misconception they will never find a job they love. A job that is truly satisfying at all levels of their being. Is working for the weekend.

Are you willing to accept that you deserve more?

I’ve escaped my toxic job. You can too.

Life is more enjoyable, more vibrant. I found a life purpose that lead to a career I love. A career that energizes me, allows me to help other people and excel in.

Some people are concerned about leaving a job because of fears.

of making less money doing a job that they love. But, who cares if you’re making a lot of money if you’re miserable? All the money and material toys in the world won’t be enough to distract you from the emptiness of the hole inside you.

How to escape!

Identify the toxic situation you are in, and quantify the costs of not acting.

to get out. Don’t just wait for things to “magically change”. Embrace a fresh perspective. Realize you don’t have to do this alone. If you’re clinically depressed, consider getting cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, medications and exercise. If you’re not yet depressed, considering hiring a coach to help you get into action.

There is this myth that if you ask someone for help that you are weak.

People who think this way are afraid,

afraid of showing any vulnerability. They don’t act this way out of strength; in fact this attitude show’s weakness. This myth is probably more prevalent with men than with women. (Might explain our earlier death rates:) A strong man is not afraid to ask for help because he doesn’t live his life in continual fear of having other people judging him.

Remember pretend war hero tough guy’s John Wayne and Sylvester Stallone both refused to join the military during wars.

The worst thing about a toxic job is that you lose perspective.

Another person may uncover an aspect of your particular situation that you may not have thought of.

A coach is trained to work with you to co-create alternate perspectives.

and strategies to either detoxify your job (and your perspective on your job), or to escape the toxic job, and survive and thrive whatever you choose to do.

Toxic Job Article Links

Emotions in the workplace PDF

And the important role of toxin handlers. By Peter J. Frost, Ivey Business Journal

Emotions How ADHD Adults Can Recognize, Feel, And Manage Them

Beyond suppression or puking them out on others to avoid feeling them. Learn how to recognize, feel and manage them. Notes from my Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group meeting.

Self-Esteem Reduce It Or Boost It For ADHD Adults

Bullies often target people who have low self esteem, and working in a toxic job can lower your self esteem. Notes from my Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group meeting.

Stress Management for ADHD Adults.

Dealing with a toxic job is very stressful, here are some ways to manage the stress so it doesn’t overwhelm and drown you. Notes from my Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group meeting.

The 11 Nasty Habits of a Boss From Hell

“It’s important to recognize some of the signs, especially when you’re not aware of them and the boss make be gaslighting you to get you think the problem is you, not them.” By By Dana SeversonCo-founder, StartupsAnonymous.com

The Serial Bully

“All cruelty springs from weakness.”
(Seneca, 4BC-AD65)

“Most organisations have a serial bully. It never ceases to amaze me how one person’s divisive, disordered, dysfunctional behaviour can permeate the entire organisation like a cancer.”
Tim Field

Lists characteristics of the serial bully and the 4 common subtypes, The Attention-Seeker, The Wannabe, The Guru, and The Socialized Psychopath or Sociopath. Extremely detailed article, great explanations.

“The serial bully exhibits behaviours similar to or congruent with the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and Paranoid Personality Disorder.”

The tyranny of toxic managers PDF

“Toxic managers are a fact of life. Some managers are toxic most of the time; most managers are toxic some of the time. Knowing how to deal with people who are rigid, aggressive, self-centered or exhibit other types of dysfunctional behaviour can improve your own health and that of others in the workplace. Roy Lubit in Ivey Business Journal describes the mechanisms for coping.”

Warning! Only click on this link if you have a sense of humour

How to Stay Stressed

If you want help in dealing with a toxic job, consider contacting me to see if I can help you in your specific situation.

I offer a free 30 minute sample session of adult ADHD coaching.