Dealing with a toxic employee is one of the biggest challenges a manager can face. Toxic employees exhibit behaviors that are harmful to the morale and productivity of a team. These problematic behaviors include bullying, manipulative political actions, negativity that spreads to the team, passive aggression, harassment and more. While most managers would like to immediately terminate toxic employees, it is often not so simple in practice. There are many reasons why companies find it difficult to fire toxic employees.
Why are toxic employees difficult to fire?
There are several key reasons why companies struggle to fire toxic employees:
- Lack of proper documentation. Without a paper trail documenting toxic behaviors, it can be hard to build a solid case for termination.
- Fear of legal action. Companies worry the toxic employee will sue for wrongful termination.
- The toxicity doesn’t clearly cross legal lines. While the employee may be horrible to work with, their actions don’t blatantly violate discrimination, harassment or ethics laws.
- The worker has job security. Sometimes toxic workers have protection through tenure, a union, contract or nepotism that makes firing very difficult.
- The toxicity comes from an otherwise good performer. Some toxic employees are very productive, and companies are hesitant to lose their contributions.
- Possible retaliation. There is concern the toxic worker may retaliate with violence, sabotage, or negative publicity.
Let’s explore each of these issues in more detail:
Lack of proper documentation
It’s easy for managers to let problems slide. They may give toxic employees the benefit of the doubt or be uncomfortable with direct confrontation. By the time they realize action must be taken, they don’t have concrete documentation to back up their case. Without clear documentation of abusive behaviors over time, HR is limited in what they can do. This is why it’s so critical for managers to immediately start recording conflicts in writing any time a toxic worker crosses the line. Having a paper trail protects the company and builds a defensible case for termination.
Fear of legal action
Firing employees opens up companies to the risk of lawsuits. Toxic workers are more likely than most to file legal action for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, or other claims. Even lawsuits without merit can drain time and resources from the company. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, employers tend to prevail in wrongful termination lawsuits. However, it still costs an average of $125,000 for a company to defend itself. Small businesses face the greatest risk, since they have fewer resources to fight lawsuits. For this reason, firing toxic employees is a decision most companies do not take lightly.
Toxicity doesn’t cross legal lines
In many cases, toxic employees don’t take actions so egregious that they clearly violate discrimination, harassment or ethics laws. Their bad behavior falls into gray areas that make it hard to fire them outright. For example, harmful gossip and negativity are nearly impossible to prove as grounds for termination. Passive aggressive comments rarely qualify as verbal abuse. Manipulative political maneuvering cannot be strictly classified as unethical. While toxic behaviors lower morale and hurt teamwork, they don’t provide solid legal justification for firing the perpetrator. Since most companies try to avoid wrongful termination suits, they are hesitant to fire toxic employees without an airtight case.
Protected job status
Some toxic employees have job security protections that make it nearly impossible to fire them. Tenured employees in academia or government agencies are extremely hard to dismiss unless massive budget cuts force layoffs. Unionized employees can only be terminated for specific causes outlined in collective bargaining agreements. Government workers classified in civil service programs have tenure rights after a probation period. Friends and family members of leaders also gain implicit protection against firing in many organizations. Nepotism and favoritism complicate HR interventions against toxic employees with job security protection. Companies hesitate to violate these employment safeguards, even when toxic workers undermine the team.
High performance
In rare cases, toxic employees also happen to be top performers who drive significant productivity. Companies are often willing to tolerate noxious behavior from rainmaker sales reps, genius engineers and maverick visionaries who generate outsized business results. However, this permissiveness ultimately corrodes organizational culture and encourages other employees to act out. When top performers are allowed to remain toxic, it signals that bad behavior will be condoned as long as the numbers are good. But even star performers must be held accountable for egregious actions that threaten other employees or the company’s well-being. No level of sales or innovation excuses harassment, discrimination, fraud, security breaches, or violence.
Risk of retaliation
Since toxic employees are prone to aggression, spite and manipulation, companies legitimately fear retaliation after firing them. There are many cases where disgruntled former employees reacted with disturbing retaliation such as workplace violence, cyberattacks, massive data deletions, social media smear campaigns and files lawsuits with fabricated claims. Organizations worry that firing toxic workers may trigger retaliation that ends up causing more damage and legal exposure than simply tolerating the bad behavior. However, most toxic employees don’t actually follow through with retaliation, especially when thorough documentation shows the firing decision was justified. And no company should ever yield to threats of revenge or blackmail. Overall, while retaliation risk is a valid concern, it does not justify allowing a toxic employee to remain in place poisoning the work environment.
How can companies fire toxic workers?
While firing toxic employees presents challenges, companies are not powerless in the situation. There are proactive and prevention measures organizations can take to build defensible cases against toxic workers, overcome legal hurdles, and minimize retaliation risks. Here are some best practices that enable companies to remove problematic employees while reducing liability:
| Best Practice | Description |
|---|---|
| Start documentation early | At first sign of toxic behaviors, start recording incidents in writing to build evidence over time. |
| Follow HR protocols | Consult HR early and ensure termination follows company policies and legal protocols. |
| Look for clear violations | Build airtight case by showing toxic behaviors violate company policies, codes of conduct, etc. |
| Apply rules consistently | Don’t make exceptions for star performers – hold everyone equally accountable. |
| Involve legal counsel | Have employment attorneys review termination plans to identify potential legal risks. |
| Address performance issues | Clearly document performance problems separate from behavioral issues. |
| Consider reassignment | Move toxic employee to new team or manager to get fresh start before termination. |
| Watch for retaliation | Monitor former employee communications and behavior after firing for retaliation signs. |
| Increase security | Change passwords, access controls, alarm codes to block fired worker from accessing premises. |
How can companies prevent toxic hires in the first place?
While mitigating current toxic employees is crucial, the ideal solution is to avoid hiring toxic workers at all. Preventing toxic hires eliminates many of these termination challenges. Here are some tips to filter out toxic applicants during the recruiting process:
- Ask values-based questions in interviews to assess integrity and ethics.
- Give candidates situational scenarios to see if they choose self-interest or teamwork.
- Require reference checks from former managers at previous employers.
- Use personality assessments to identify dark triad traits like narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
- Conduct extensive background checks to uncover past misconduct.
- Observe how candidates treat receptionists, servers, assistants to gauge true character.
- Avoid resume gaps which can signal past terminations or issues.
- Watch for pattern of short tenure jobs, which may indicate relationship problems.
Conclusion
Toxic employees do enormous damage to organizational culture, productivity, and the mental health of fellow team members. However, firing these problematic workers is riddled with challenges and legal risks. To build defensible cases for termination, managers must fastidiously document all behavioral incidents and performance issues. Following company protocols and involving HR and legal experts can help navigate termination while avoiding retaliation lawsuits. With proactive prevention in hiring and diligent monitoring after firing, companies can protect themselves from the havoc wreaked by toxic employees.