I have six nametags hanging up in my office. Each comes from an institution I previously worked at, plus my current one. Some are small, some are large, shiny, and gaudy. Five of these nametags have memories connected to them, with multiple stories of amazing students, great professional development opportunities, and how I’ve developed some proverbial “battle scars” over the years. I’ve worn these to new member presentations, bid day events, important stakeholder meetings, and so many others I can’t remember. I hold these as relics; they keep me humble and help to remind me of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come personally and professionally.
However, with each nametag acquired, I feel I have been in an endless cycle of getting to an institution, holding so much hope for my future and career, then eventually discovering the monsters of inequity under the bed. Repeatedly, I faced high dysfunction within offices and teams, and multiple counts of disrespect and prejudice. I’ve had numerous conversations with supervisors in which I questioned, “Why don’t you advocate for me?” “Why don’t you see me?” and reminding them, “You promised me this would be different.” There are moments of human resources meetings, documented emails, and emotional and intellectual guards that I had to put up to get myself through one workday at a time.
For me, the end of every nametag story ends with “I can’t do this anymore; I need something different.” I used to seek advice from those in the industry about what I should do, and I would get responses to cut my losses and “see it through.” Eventually, I got to the point of centering and honoring my needs. Unfortunately, these employers are known as “toxic (or dissonant) organizations.” Author and consultant Annie McKee describes this term as “[places that are] rife with conflict, fear, and anger. The environment causes people to have physiological responses as if they’re in a fight-or-flight situation. Healthy people become ill. Immune systems are less effective…when you walk into a toxic situation, you can actually feel like something is wrong” (Chapman, 2014, p. 4).
Over the past seven years, some nametags have been worn for two to three years, and some only for one. Truthfully, I do face some scrutiny from that when I share my professional journey or on the job search. This is also known as “job hopping.” “Job hopping” is defined as “the activity of changing jobs frequently within a period of two years” (Pawar & Pandit, 2023, p. 2). Although the act of job hopping has occurred for years, Millennials (those born between 1980-1994), and Generation (Gen) Z (those born between 1995-2012) have popularized the trend due to a multitude of reasons. Globally, “91% of Millennials between the ages of 25 and 34 tend to change their job within three years…and Gen Zers are changing jobs at a rate of 134%, which has increased post 2019” (Pawar & Pandit, 2023, p. 2).
Although there are many reasons why one would leave a position, the workplace environment — whether in person or remote — remains a top reason why people (such as myself) leave positions after a short time. Toxic work environments, for me personally, have led to bad physical and mental health, and complications within my own job search due to some employers not trusting that I will stay long enough at their institution because of my resume.
Although I am a superfan of leaving somewhere that doesn’t serve you, I also understand that not everyone has the ability to do so. Everyone should be able to be employed somewhere they enjoy and stay as long as they would like. As I’ve reflected, these are the ways that I have taken action to stay in a position:
Check Yourself. How does your body feel when you come into the office? Has your health changed due to work stress? Also, check your role in the environment. Are you contributing to the toxicity? What is in your locus of control to change?
Seek Support. One of the beautiful things about our profession is that we value the power of relationships. For me, being able to process with (and vent to) a therapist (if you can afford one!), trusted colleagues, and friends has served as medicine in a toxic workplace. I will add a caveat that it is important to find people who are in your corner and want to see you win. Not every person is good for you, and not every piece of advice is valid. Be able to practice strong discernment when it comes to finding people you can trust.
Properly Advocate. It is important to learn how to stand up for yourself in the face of toxicity. Work with a friend, therapist, partner, etc., to create a plan to draw your line in the sand. Each toxic situation is unique and will need an approach that meets that particular situation. That may also mean that you are including your human resources office if you have faced some high-level toxicity.
If you have accomplished these things, and there is still toxicity, it may come to a point of job searching. If you are job searching, it is imperative that you ask questions that help you understand the context of a position. Instead of asking “what’s the office/institution like?” I instead ask, “What types of people are successful here? What types aren’t?” Asking that question in particular usually gets employers thinking about their culture. It also provides a mental picture for me to analyze, as I am also interviewing them in the search process. (As a side note to employers: sometimes people are seeking employment because they are unhappy with where they’re at professionally, and that’s okay. We don’t need to be criticized for deciding to search.)
To quote Toni Morrison’s Beloved, “you are your best thing” (p. 134), and only you can make that particular decision of job searching with the factors of your life involved. Thankfully, my life factors have provided opportunities to be open to jobs across the country, with my latest one being closer to home.
My sixth nametag is the most exciting, because its story is still unwritten. Thankfully, with the skills I have developed over the years, I will have the fortitude to withstand whatever comes my way. Here’s hoping this nametag is the primary one for a (long) while.
References:
Chapman, G. D., White, P. E., & Myra, H. (2014). In Rising above a toxic workplace: Taking care of yourself in an unhealthy environment (p. 4). essay, Northfield Publishing.
Morrison, T. (n.d.). Beloved. Alfred A. Knopf.
Pawar, J., & Pandit, R. S. (2023). A STUDY ON THE TREND IN JOB HOPPING POST PANDEMIC AMONG MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z. “PARIDNYA”-The Modern Institute of Business Management Peer Reviewed Journal, 9(1), 2–2.
About the Author
Hammed Sirleaf Jr. serves as the inaugural associate director for fraternity and sorority engagement at Wake Forest University. An alumnus of the College of Charleston and Oklahoma State University, he is currently a doctoral student at Delaware State University, where his work centers on student engagement and inclusive leadership. Outside of work, Hammed enjoys writing, attending concerts, and spending time with friends.
