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Now, 'toxic' isn’t just a cheeky refrain but a haunting reality. 'Toxic behavior' or the 'toxicity of a workplace' isn't just out of a song; it's the symphony of a myriad of ill-fated life choices. For some, it’s the ripple effect of dubious parenting, turning darling kiddos into dreaded office trolls hungry for misguided validation. Others might cloak their insecurities in a facade of aggression, dubbing themselves Type A, Alpha, Sigma, or whatever the buzzword bingo winner is nowadays. After all, when the going gets tough, the tough get... toxic!
Why do people think work shouldn’t be hard or they wouldn’t make mistakes ? That’s the point of work- it is hard- especially when you spend five years doing nothing at all in law school even getting up in the morning and showing up on time would feel hard. But that doesn’t mean it’s an unreasonable expectation. And you will make mistakes and those will get pointed out - some seniors may have a warm touch but others might not have the time or the inclination to baby you. They may point out your mistakes or errors quite brusquely and go on their way. The senior who doesn’t baby you is actually teaching you. The person who tells you to finish your work before you leave to go get drinks with your friends is holding you freaking accountable.
This is what happens when you take complicated ideas in psychology, disability, and gender studies and then put them on Instagram. Genz is very sure of their own righteousness and politics - but they don’t see the cruelty of calling everything they don’t like abusive and toxic.
Toxicity in my view would refer to how conducive the work environment is for you to function. Is asking someone to work 12-15 hours toxic, when that's the industry standard and you know is required/ expected out of you before you join the profession?
If a client is demanding a deliverable in an unreasonable time , is it toxic if the partner expects the team to work and meet the deadline?
For some all these may be signs of a toxic environment but for someone who really wants to make a mark - these are expectations one has to meet.
Can you fight against them? Yes for sure. Will it bring a change? Most probably not. Not at an associate level (have to meet the partner/ senior associate 's expectation), not at a senior associate level (has to meet the partner and client's expectation), not at a partner level (has to meet the client's demands). At a client level? No, they'd rather go to some other law firm who is ready to pounce on the client.
Sorry if this also sounds "toxic" but this industry really is a "man eat man" world.
Can anyone shed some light what is the meaning of this word and what should be right basis of declaring a firm as toxic.
As far as I know every other profession has some more or less same hectic stories.