- What would you change about your previous job/employer? …
- Tell me about a failure or a time you could have done better. …
- What has been your biggest success so far? …
- What values of your previous/current employer most align to yours?
Workplace culture is difficult to cultivate and maintain. One of the key factors in poor employee morale is working on a team of negative or toxic colleagues. One of the best ways to deal with a toxic worker, is to avoid hiring them in the first place.
Below are three questions you should not waste your time asking, and five questions you should swap in to your interview process as soon as possible. Here are interview questions to help avoid hiring toxic workers.
I’m sure everyone has worked with a toxic coworker. They are the one that adds stress to your day because they are being passive aggressive with their comments, gossiping about others, and blaming others for their errors. Toxic workers are dangerous for morale because too often their attitude can spread to others around them. According to this study, 38% of workers loosened their definition of quality work as a result of toxic coworkers.
Toxic individualsneed to be performance managed and take a lot of time and energy from middlemanagement keep up the positive momentum of change and improving morale for theentire team.
As a manager, you need to ensure that you are hiring the right people for the role. This doesn’t just include hiring qualified applicants, you also must not hire someone who will continue to add toxicity to an already toxic work environment. According to the study above, organizations that avoid hiring toxic workers can avoid $12,500 in costs.
Hiring workers that are potentially toxic employees will make matters worse, whereas a good employee will ideally dilute out the impact of the small group of people that are generating the toxic environment.
Another consideration is, a bright shiny new employee may have the potential to be influenced in to joining the gossip mill, or join in on someone else’s poor work attitude. If they see their coworkers saying, “it’s not my job”, how likely are they to adopt a similar work ethic or start repeating the same phrase?
Want some additional interview questions to avoid hiring potentially problematic employees? Learn some essential interview questions to avoid hiring entitled employees!
Interview Red Flags: Signs of a Toxic Work Environment
Avoiding a bad hire is easier said than done, but these 14 interview tips can help you uncover problems early in the process.
The only thing worse than interviewing people who could bring negative energy into your startup is, well, hiring them.
However, not all entrepreneurs are experienced enough to identify every potential issue during the job interview itself. Whats more, the formality of an interview can actually help hide red flags.
We asked 14 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council to share their best screening tips and tricks that you could also use to ensure you dont hire your (or your teams) next problem employee.
Ask potentially toxic questions.
Ask for the five things the person liked least about his or her last (or current) company. Asking for one thing is pretty common. Asking for five pressures the person to reveal either strategic insights or signs of toxicity. —Sam Saxton, Salter Spiral Stair and Mylen Stairs
Who are 3-5 people in the public arena or your personal or social life whom you admire and why?
Responses here will reveal several things: How informed are they on local happenings, current affairs, politics, or pop culture? Does their response suggest they can’t think of anyone, or simply that they can’t narrow their choices? Were all choices from public life rather than personal or social circles? That may suggest few mentors or role models in their life. Why? If all choices are personal acquaintances, that may suggest noninvolvement in the community or activities outside the home. Why? At least, their answers will reveal their values.
Creative Questions to Ask in an Interview
Why this question matters: This will give you an idea of how thorough your interviewee researched your company, and you can hear them say for themselves why they’d fit in well. Whether they’re interested in your company culture, excited by the challenging goals, or something else noteworthy about your company, you’ll be able to tell who has given some thought to where they submitted their application rather than sending their resume to every hiring company. Those that can pick out something distinctive about your company are often the ones that will stick around, too. Red flags to look for: Those that can’t nail down something specific about your company likely haven’t done their research or have submitted their application blindly to dozens of companies.
FAQ
How can you identify a toxic employee?
- A general negative attitude: Unhappy employees exude negativity, and many times you can’t correct the situation to make them happy. …
- Unwillingness to take responsibility: This often reveals itself in backstabbing and blaming others. …
- Gossip. …
- Sabotage and insubordination.
How do you tell if a workplace is toxic in an interview?
- Red Flag #1: Communication Is Unclear.
- Red Flag #2: The Interviewer Gossips About Current Or Former Employees.
- Red Flag #3: The Interview Seems Too Short.
- Red Flag #4: The Interviewer Gaslights You.
- Red Flag #5: HR is Non-Existent Or Not Respected.
What 3 questions should you not ask when interviewing employees?
Never ask about pay, time off, benefits, etc. (Wait until later in the process to inquire about these things.) Never ask “What does your company do?” • Never ask “If I’m hired, when can I start applying for other positions in the company?” • Never ask how quickly you can be promoted.
