A toxic workplace can leave you drained, confused, and constantly on edge. This test helps assess the level of toxicity across several key areas, including psychological safety, favoritism, boundary violations, poor treatment, and dysfunctional leadership.
1. There is no clear planning or direction, and that is very stressful.
2. Sometimes we are spoken to in a way that puts us down.
3. The rules change depending on who you are.
4. I have to watch my words at work because I can get into trouble for telling the truth.
5. The workload is excessive and overwhelming.
6. We are expected to put up with rude or offensive behavior.
7. My coworkers stay silent about important issues and don’t speak up unless things become absolutely unbearable.
8. Expectations can change without any warning or explanation.
9. Some people get away with things that others are punished for.
10. We are expected to be reachable and available even after work hours.
11. I am afraid to make mistakes at work because others either blow them out of proportion or secretly enjoy seeing me fail.
12. Basic standards of communication are not always met in this workplace.
13. Hard work and good performance are not necessarily acknowledged here.
14. Questioning decisions feels risky.
15. Some important issues are simply being ignored or minimized.
16. There is a lot of sarcasm, backhanded compliments, and open ridicule in this workplace.
17. Management will often blame a weaker person who has nothing to do with the problem.
18. If you say no to unreasonable demands, you are treated like a lazy or difficult employee.
19. My coworkers keep their real opinions to themselves to avoid negative consequences.
20. Generally, management handles problems poorly rather than effectively.
21. You need to play office politics to succeed here.
22. Our concerns are often brushed off as unimportant or silly.
23. We are racing from one emergency to the next, even though many of them could be easily prevented by proper planning.
24. Most of the confusion, stress, and chaos here are actually caused by leadership, not the work itself.
25. We are expected to keep going even when we are clearly overloaded.
What we are testing
Lack of Psychological Safety: Do you feel safe expressing your opinions in the workplace? Are you free to ask questions when you don’t understand something? Are you terrified of the consequences of making an unintentional mistake? Can you raise concerns without being seen as difficult? Do you constantly fear punishment? Do you get blamed for things you didn’t do?
Poor Treatment: Are you disrespected as an employee? Is rude behavior the norm? Are your concerns dismissed as exaggerated or unimportant? Does leadership make you feel small and ignored?
Double Standards and Favoritism: Do the same rules apply to everyone equally? Do some people get away with things others can’t? Does everyone have equal opportunities? Do some people get more recognition than others?
Leadership Dysfunction: This category measures the effectiveness of leadership. Are problems handled effectively? Are goals and expectations clear? Does leadership unnecessarily stress employees? Does everything feel unstable overall?
Pressure and Boundary Violations: Are you asked to do an unreasonable amount of work? Are you forced to do other people’s work? Do you have to work overtime? Are you expected to be available beyond working hours? Are your personal boundaries constantly being crossed?
Low Toxicity
Your results suggest that, generally, your workplace doesn’t seem to be highly toxic. Things can still get stressful at times, and there may be poor decisions, personality clashes, and occasional unreasonable demands, but what matters is that these problems are isolated incidents rather than an overall pattern. So while this doesn’t mean that unhealthy dynamics are completely absent, it does mean that they are not severe enough to become dominant and affect people in a significant way.
Moderate Toxicity (Somewhat Toxic)
According to your results, your workplace shows signs of toxicity, even if there are some positive dynamics present at the same time. This kind of situation can leave you confused, tense, anxious, and frustrated. The problems may not be constant, but they likely happen often enough to make it difficult to focus on work without unnecessary distractions. In this type of environment, people are forced to adjust instead of expecting it to function properly. For example, you may feel like you need to stay quiet about important issues, take on other people’s work, or work overtime just to avoid getting into trouble. Your Category Scores above offer more insight into where the toxicity is concentrated (Lack of Psychological Safety, Poor Treatment, etc.).
High Toxicity
Your results suggest a highly toxic workplace. A high score here usually means that unhealthy dynamics aren’t just occasional exceptions, but a regular pattern in the work environment. You may feel threatened, disrespected, mistreated, and pressured. You may be confused about what is required of you and feel paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes. Problems may be handled poorly, and favoritism may be present. You can get more insight into your particular situation by looking at your Category Scores above.
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