If you’ve just handed your notice in at a toxic workplace, or you’re thinking about quitting your job, you might be feeling overwhelmed and anxious when it comes to applying for new roles.
At IDEX Consulting, we’ve helped thousands of individuals on their career path, and have seen just how traumatic a toxic job can be. This is why we want to share our knowledge so that you can recover from your experience and enter your next job with a fresh perspective.
How to heal after leaving a toxic job
If you want to heal from a negative job experience, it is important to take time to process your experiences so that you can properly move forward and learn from your time at your old role.
It helps to think about what made your previous workplace so toxic - whether you think about this on your own or talk it through with a professional or friend, doing this can help you identify certain triggers and then set boundaries for similar situations that may arise in the future.
This process will also help you develop coping strategies so that you handle any challenging situations and better manage your relationships with colleagues and maintain a healthy work environment.
Five ways to recover from a toxic work environment
Understand your worth
If you didn’t feel appreciated at your last role, you may be experiencing self confidence struggles and have doubts about your professional and personal potential.
Self affirmation will help you overcome this - you should take time to think about the character traits that have helped you achieve and succeed both professionally and personally. Writing this down will help boost your self confidence.
Once you’ve got a list, you can add your achievements to your CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. This exercise will also help you prepare for future interviews.
Decide who to stay in contact with
Once you’ve handed your notice in, think about who you’ll stay in contact with and how you wish to contact them. For some colleagues, you may want to connect on LinkedIn and others you might be comfortable meeting for a coffee. Where possible, you should try to leave your role on a positive note, but you don’t need to stay in touch with colleagues who are negative and bring you down.
Have a plan
When you start looking for a new job, prioritise companies that take pride in their office culture and work/life balance. Websites such as Glassdoor offer excellent insight into a company’s culture, so does speaking to prospective business’ employees.
You could also consider speaking to recruitment specialists who have helped place account executives in workplaces and know the different work cultures in the General Insurance industry.
If you loved the job but had issues with the workplace, then look for a similar role at a different business. If the role wasn’t enjoyable, have a look at different roles within the industry. Setting out a career progression plan can help you identify your next steps.
Set boundaries
Setting personal boundaries is really important - especially when it comes to self preservation and mental health. You should think about what’s important to you in a workplace, and you consider a red flag. Whether this is expectation surrounding workload, overtime or the company culture, think about what you do and don’t want in your next role. Doing this can help you prioritise your well being and security.
It is also helpful to look at your own professional behaviour and how that works in a workplaces’ dynamic. The General Insurance industry has a wide range of demographics - what is acceptable in one office may not be in another. Try to think objectively about your influence and how you can use that.
Remain positive
A positive attitude is vital if you want to go into your next role with a fresh perspective. If you start to think negatively, try to remember your achievements and the opportunities that lay ahead of you. Make positive thinking a habit and you’ll find it becomes a mindset. Try and avoid workplace gossip and move forward.
If you’re looking for your next role, speak to the recruitment specialists at IDEX. We provide independent recruitment in the Insurance, Financial Services and Legal sectors.
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