It’s hard to avoid life’s little toxic moments, but try. Gossip, bad bosses, low-motivation co-workers, job frustration and burnout can all take a toll.
It’s essential for real estate professionals to identify toxicity in the workplace, which can happen both in the office and when working from home.
Career Contessa points to things such as poor communication; cliques, exclusion, and gossipy behavior; bad leadership; co-workers’ lack of motivation; stalled growth; employee turnover; a poor work-life balance and upward mobility and burnout. In some cases, you just feel it.
Agents who work from home should be aware of common stress points – gossipy online behavior, overlooking co-workers in digital meetings and burnout.
If problems arise with clients, Inman’s Mike Jeneralczuk says they should be dealt with immediately through conversation, or even let go.
For toxic co-workers, agents should simply address the matter with their broker or colleague.
Agents also need to set limits and boundaries around their work and personal life and, within that balance, schedule adequate rest time.
They also need to develop a supportive network of people.
“Assemble a group of people around you that inspire you, bring positivity to your business, and give you that drive to kill it,” says Jeneralczuk. “Every day without that support is a wasted one, and time is money. Make the change.”
Jay Thompson, a former HR manager and Zillow employee, says if agents read any negative posts, they should ignore them and keep scrolling rather than participate in the conversation. If any contacts or followers are negative, agents should unfollow, snooze, unfriend or block them.
Thompson also advises agents to keep a positive attitude, avoid the blame game, acknowledge their own faults and mistakes, practice self-discipline when it comes to interacting with others, take a walk to clear their head, take a break if needed to reset, and not take things personally.
