Sometimes, when you let go of someone in your team, the rest perk up and perform better.
I realised this with the exit of a staff member. When she left, the rest of my team began operating at optimum levels and started producing better outcomes.
What happens is that when one person like this leaves, the work environment and the general feeling changes. And in this instance, for the better.
The work of Sigal Barsade supports this notion of transmittable behaviour. Barsade is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and a notable researcher in the area of emotional contagion.
In her studies, she found that groups capture emotions.
The mood of an influential member of the team infects the rest of the group in remarkable ways. Teams can end up developing common sentiments, simply called the group affect.
This is when one deadly apple can spoil the proverbial barrel.
When I removed this one repugnant person, it almost instantly restored the positive culture I had been meticulously fostering in my organisation.
So, don't get sucked into the vortex of a toxic colleague or employee's dramas.
These are the people who always pass the blame, absolve themselves of all responsibility for their actions, accuse others, or they are the passive-aggressive co-workers, or the under-miners.
I am sure you have worked with this kind of person, too.
You have had to sit through meetings where they are negative about everything. And the stink of their criticism lingers long after they leave the room, and threatens to get everyone down.
Every interaction with them is about office gossip and putting others down.
You know that they are definitely scheming and being fraudulent even as they speak sweetly to your face. And you begin to sense that they have their own agenda and are working against everyone.
Often you feel trapped because you think you need them. They may occupy an important role in your work team or they may report to you, or worse still, they may be your superior.
But they regularly disrupt your equilibrium.
How do you deal with these people?
Firstly, I have learnt that these types of toxic people want to exert control over you. Do not let them get away with this. You can't change them but you can certainly decide how you respond to them.
Do not react to pernicious or malicious people. When you have a knee-jerk reaction, it is often spontaneous, instinctive and highly emotional.
Alternatively, respond by being reflective. This requires you to begin by identifying and managing your own emotions.
When you do this, you can be measured in your reply to any provocation.
Recognise that nasty people in your company will behave terribly.
Choose to take personal control over the situation by not losing your calmness and composure. It is exactly like dealing with a schoolyard bully. It is a hard task, but do not let them get under your skin.
The next thing that helps me deal with a toxic person is that I deliberately put physical distance between us. As complex as this may be at work, you have to make the effort. Avoid being in their presence at break time, lunch time and after-work events.
Disconnect with them on all social media platforms, and clear them out of your mind's "browser history", by no longer being interested in what happens to them.
Disengage with them
In fact, cut them out completely unless you must deal with them as a requirement for your work. If you are in the same project team, or if you have to have a functional relationship with them, limit your interactions to a bare minimum.
Have a pleasant disposition at all times because that should be your default-setting anyway, but restrict all exchanges with harmful colleagues. Distance helps you manage your relationship with anyone toxic.
And finally, be very firm about boundaries.
You must draw boundaries for how much bad behaviour you are willing to tolerate from them. When they cross that line or become abusive in their communication with you, or are non-cooperative to the point where your work suffers, you must take action. Do not let it fester.
Remember, a toxic person will continue to bully you if you don't put your foot down. They draw their energy from your seeming weaknesses.
An official complaint to the leadership of your organisation is something you must do when confronted with continuous harassment by a colleague. Do not be personal. Focus on being concise by giving examples of their inappropriate behaviour, and do keep records to present evidence of their actions.
Concentrate on how the organisation as a whole, is being adversely affected.
Over the years of being a business owner, I have understood that toxic people are a very real obstacle to a productive and healthy work environment. Their behaviour pattern and actions subliminally contaminate and change the mood of your entire team.
Don't dwell on it too long. When your instinct tells you that someone is toxic or duplicitous, drop them before they cause irreparable damage.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times