Toxic workplace relationships behind over half of mental health concerns, says expert

While poor working conditions, heavy workloads, and relentless demands are often seen as the biggest threats to employee wellbeing, one expert has warned that toxic workplace relationships are fast becoming the most significant contributor.

Speaking with HR Leader, Oliver Brecht, vice president and general manager of enterprise solutions at Workplace Options (WPO), shared how toxic workplace relationships are starting to grow as one of the most pervasive challenges to employee wellbeing and organisational health.

Drawing on recent Australian data, Brecht revealed that “25 per cent of cases related to workplace concerns are due to poor interpersonal relationships and conflict with colleagues”, while an additional 26 per cent relate directly to bullying.

Combined, these figures show that 51 per cent of workplace-related mental health presentations are driven by the way employees are treating each other on the job.

However, he highlighted a more troubling concern that the figures only reflect the percentage of individuals who come forward for support, pointing out that “there would be countless other workers suffering in silence”.

These interpersonal stressors are not isolated to Australia. Brecht pointed out that the impact of workplace culture on mental health is being recognised and codified through law globally.

Brecht emphasised that interpersonal relationships in the workplace play a crucial role in shaping an employee’s experience, either enhancing it or significantly diminishing it.

“Our peers can be a terrific source of knowledge, ideas, encouragement, workload support, and problem solving. When our relationships are hallmarked by these factors, we are more likely to feel competent, confident and purposeful in our roles, which helps to stave off burnout,” he said.

“However, when our working relationships are hallmarked by conflict (non-constructive conflict), bullying, exclusion, and driven by competition between staff, then we are cut off from these positive supports and resources that relationships can provide us.”

To effectively address this growing concern, Brecht encouraged leaders to take a proactive approach, emphasising that the early warning signs of toxic workplace relationships are often visible – if you know what to look for.

“The overall key to identifying them starts with ensuring that, as a leader, you are taking time to get to know your team and how they usually interact and work together; changes from usual working and interaction styles can indicate that interpersonal dynamics have changed,” he said.

“Another indicator that the workplace culture has changed could be seen within the performance of the individual team members. People’s performance doesn’t simply decline for no reason; there is always a reason, and the development of bullying or interpersonal conflicts is one of them.”

For senior leaders, especially those in HR or people and culture roles, Brecht suggested that early warning signs can often be identified by closely analysing available data, including “EAP and from proper review of your psychological incident register”.

So, what can leaders do to prevent the damage from spreading?

Brecht emphasised the importance of swift and proactive action from leaders to prevent toxic workplace relationships from taking root and harming team cohesion.

“Our motto is always the quicker you act, the better chance you have of limiting the damage to trust and team dynamics. Left to fester, toxic relationships can be extremely hard for a team to recover from,” he said.

He also urged leaders to stop overlooking poor behaviour from top performers, warning that true cultural change can only happen when accountability is modelled from the top down.

“Do not allow high performance to excuse poor behaviour, unless your top performer can do the work (and more) of the rest of the team, combined with their poor behaviour will cost,” he said.

“A values-based management model which incorporates value added to the performance of others and maintaining positive interactions with them can be a strong way to make a positive contribution to culture, measurable and show the priority that leadership is placing on it.”

To build long-term resilience and psychological safety, Brecht encouraged leaders to follow two key principles, both grounded in how they behave and what they choose to tolerate.

“The [one of the] two golden rules I have for leaders is to set the example yourself. It is impossible to set a positive culture in your team if you are not exhibiting the behaviours and living the values you want your team to exhibit. You need to be consistent in this every day,” he said.

“My other rule is that you accept the standards you walk past”. In the context of leaders setting positive cultures in their teams, this means that if you allow poor behaviour to exist due to high performance, you will lose the culture of your team. The behaviours you reward are the ones you will start to see more of.”