How to Handle a Toxic Employee: A Manager’s Guide

While LinkedIn is focused on toxic managers, toxic employees can also do much damage. Dealing with a toxic employee can be one of the most challenging aspects of management. A single toxic individual can disrupt a productive team, decrease morale, and even impact your business’s bottom line. While it’s easy to label someone as “toxic,” handling the issue requires a strategic approach that is fair, professional, and geared toward either improving the behavior or, if necessary, managing an exit.

1. Recognize the Signs of Toxicity

A toxic employee can manifest in various ways. Some common signs include:

• Constant negativity: Always critical, complaining without offering solutions.
• Disrespect and undermining: Speaking negatively about colleagues or the company, undermining your authority, or gossiping.
• Lack of accountability: Consistently blaming others, refusing to admit mistakes or deflecting responsibility.
• Poor collaboration: Unwilling to work as part of a team or creating divisions among coworkers.

Identifying these behaviors early on allows managers to address them before they snowball into larger issues.

2. Assess the Impact on Team Dynamics