High performers quit toxic work cultures. Every day on platforms such as LinkedIn, top performers are getting messages from recruiters and competitors who are selling the dream that the grass is greener. If your company has a toxic work culture, high performers have nothing to lose by moving on and trying another company.

High performers know their strengths and are also smart enough to realize that if they can perform well in toxic work cultures, they can thrive in a “culture first” company that looks after its employees.

Six Behaviors of Toxic Co-Workers

(1) Lot and Lots of Meetings

You have a meeting about the issues and concerns are shared. Decisions are made. Everyone in attendance fully supports those decisions.

Then someone holds the "meeting after the meeting." Now she talks about issues she didn't share earlier with the group. Now he disagrees with the decisions made.

And now, what was going to happen never will. Waiting until after a meeting to say, "I'm not going to support that," is the same as saying, "I'll agree to anything, but that doesn't mean I'll do it. I'll even work against it."

(2) Entitlement

An employee did great things last year, last month, or even yesterday. You're appreciative. You're grateful. The only real measure of any employee's value is the tangible contribution he or she makes daily. Toxic emplopess rest on their laurels and coast and indirectly make other team members do their job.

Abdicate Responsibility
The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.

Any task an employee is asked to do -- as long as it isn't unethical, immoral, or illegal, and it's "below" his or her current position -- is a task an employee should be willing to do.

Saying, "It's not my job," says, "I care only about me." That attitude quickly destroys overall performance because it quickly turns what might have been a cohesive team into a dysfunctional group of individuals.

Gossip
Employees who create a culture of gossip waste time better spent on productive conversations. Gossip causes a loss of respect for team members and this diminishes the dignity or respect of each employee.

Cleeky
A great employee doesn't compare herself with others; they compare themsleves to their inner standards.

Toxic colleagues don't want to do more; they want others to do less. They don't want to win. They want others to make sure they don't lose.

Take Credit

A productive worker collaborates with their colelagues and shares the glory. They let others shine. This is patricularly important for an employee in a leadership position. Even if other people don't adopt the same approach, they resent having to fight for recognition that is rightfully theirs.