No workplace is perfect, but anyone with co-workers knows that office culture is the difference between a job that you love and a place that you dread! Toxic workplaces can make the most dedicated employee lose productivity, disengage from the culture, and even leave the company. Extreme cases of a toxic culture sometimes lead to the end of the organization. Understanding the characteristics of a toxic employee or workplace can help identify the issues and work toward fixing the problem. People of good character can employ a variety of strategies to remedy the situation.

Featuring Michelle A. Grace, Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Dubuque

Interviewer, Annalee R. Ward, Director of the Wendt Character Initiative at the University of Dubuque

The content in this episode comes from Michelle A. Grace’s article, "Character and Crisis: Toxic Workplaces and Culture Change," from Character and . . . Crisis, volume 8 of the Wendt Center for Character Education’s annual journal, Character and . . . .

Find other character resources and Wendt Center publications here or learn more about the Wendt Character Initiative here.