#54 - Safety First

"What should I look out for?"

My younger cousin is studying Law. He's heard the horror stories - some of them from me - about those early law jobs. About those lawyers trying to break into the industry like a pair of ill-fitting shoes.

So he asked me.. "What do I look out for? How do I know a toxic workplace?"

I thought about it for the last month. Here's my go at an answer - and I think it applies wider than just Law.

The word is safety. Do you feel safe?

Physical safety is usually easy enough to spot. Emotional or psychological safety is a little harder to pin down.

Let's try a few questions:

1. If you have too much on your plate, could you ask a coworker for help?

2. Could you turn down work from your boss?

3. Do you take the opportunity to ask questions?

4. Is your work environment more collaborative than combative?

5. If your job involves particularly stressful situations, do you get an opportunity to debrief?

Answering 'no' to any of those could mean a lack of workplace safety. Workplace safety is more important than a bad day or a boring job.

It's the safety to apply yourself, to speak honestly, and to be yourself at the workplace.

I've been too scared to speak. It's suffocating. I had too much work and not enough time to complete it all.

Ideally, I could put my hand up and say I don't feel comfortable and need a hand to start. Ask my boss how to manage my time to meet all my deadlines. Acknowledge that I feel stressed, overwhelmed by it all.

But I couldn't. Because if I did, I would be yelled at. I could be replaced in an instant by someone smarter who wouldn't ask such stupid questions.

So I did all the work myself. I missed a deadline, cut a few corners, and shared nothing. My office was a hotbed of coffee, anxiety, and McDonald's chips.

It's no surprise what happened. My work was substandard. I didn't trust my coworkers. I didn't own up to my mistakes. I hated being at work.

All my vulnerabilities seeped into my work - but I wasn't willing to share them. I hid them behind a veneer and presented them as 'just fine'.

Then the poor-quality work that I churn out becomes an issue for the company. But the opposite is also true.

When there is safety, workers are happier and trust each other more. It can be cultivated into an atmosphere of risk and innovation, it can lower employee turnover, it means issues in a company can be identified before they snowball into something bigger.

So to answer my cousin's question, look out for this:

"Is this somewhere where I can ask for help, acknowledge I'm out of my depth, and confide in my coworkers - all without fear of reprisal?"

Next week: The Second Bird