Views: 162 Downloads: 36

Abstract

Toxic employee behaviors inflict emotional distress on colleagues, negatively impacting their physical and mental well-being and diminishing their focus on work tasks. This study aims to identify and categorize latent toxicity within the workforce of public sector organizations. A mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) approach was employed. The qualitative phase utilized textual content analysis to explore the theoretical literature and supporting theories related to toxic behaviors. This informed the development of interview questions for expert elicitation. Thematic analysis was then applied to the interview data to extract key themes associated with toxic behaviors. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit 13 public sector experts with theoretical and empirical knowledge of toxic employee behaviors. Through interviews, initial model criteria and sub-criteria were identified. In the quantitative phase, content validity was assessed, leading to the refinement of the questionnaire and the removal of three sub-criteria that did not meet the established thresholds. This process resulted in the development of a tool to assess the nature and degree of employee toxic behavior. Analysis of the data ultimately revealed eight distinct categories of toxic behavior, ranging in severity: (1) nearly non-toxic behavior, (2) organochlorine-like toxicity (e.g., DDT), (3) strychnine-like toxicity, (4) asbestos-like toxicity, (5) neurotoxin-like toxicity, (6) nerve agent-like toxicity (e.g., Sarin), (7) mustard gas-like toxicity, and (8) VX-like (lethal agent) toxicity‎.

Keywords: Toxicity, Toxic Behavior, Toxic Personality, Employees, Public Sector Organizations.