How Toxic Employees Get Promoted – Don’t Let It Happen.

1. Perceived Short-Term Results

Toxic employees might exhibit behaviors that appear productive in the short term. For example, they may push hard to meet deadlines, take on high-visibility projects, or outperform colleagues in measurable metrics. This can lead management to reward them with promotions, without fully considering the long-term effects of their behavior on team dynamics or company culture.

2. Inadequate Management or Lack of Awareness

Sometimes, managers aren’t fully aware of the toxic behavior or don’t recognize its negative impact. Toxic individuals can be adept at hiding their true nature from leadership, especially in hierarchical organizations where leadership is far removed from day-to-day team interactions. In other cases, leaders may fail to address or intervene in toxic behavior because they are overwhelmed, disengaged, or lack the skills to manage difficult employees.

3. Manipulation or Office Politics

Toxic employees are often skilled in navigating office politics. They may flatter superiors, take credit for the work of others, or engage in manipulation behind the scenes to position themselves for advancement. Their ability to “play the game” can sometimes outweigh their actual contributions or leadership qualities, which may lead to promotions despite their negative impact on others.

4. Lack of Consequences for Bad Behavior

Some organizations fail to hold employees accountable for toxic behavior. If a company does not have clear systems for managing workplace culture, conflict, and employee behavior, toxic individuals may continue to rise through the ranks. In some cases, toxic behavior might even be normalized or overlooked if it’s seen as just part of the “drive” or “toughness” needed to succeed.

5. Failure to Recognize the Importance of Soft Skills

Promotions are sometimes based on technical expertise or productivity metrics, rather than on emotional intelligence or interpersonal skills. Toxic employees may excel in tasks that are highly visible or quantifiable, while their negative impact on team cohesion, morale, and long-term company success is overlooked. If the company’s promotion criteria focus primarily on hard skills, toxic individuals might be promoted despite their poor interpersonal conduct.

6. Lack of Alternatives

In some cases, the organization might not have a viable replacement or a better option for a role, especially if the toxic employee has been in the position for a long time or holds a specialized skillset. The company may feel pressured to promote them out of necessity, even if they’re aware of their negative traits, in hopes of “moving them up” and minimizing their impact on the team.

7. Failure to Prioritize Team or Company Culture

Some companies prioritize individual achievement or performance over the collective well-being of the team. In environments where there is little emphasis on culture, collaboration, or employee well-being, toxic behavior might be tolerated or even rewarded as long as the person “delivers results.” Companies that don’t prioritize building healthy, sustainable teams might fail to see the long-term damage caused by promoting toxic individuals.

8. Lack of Clear Criteria for Promotions

In some workplaces, promotions are subjective, and decisions are made based on vague criteria or favoritism. Toxic employees who have ingratiated themselves with key decision-makers may be promoted without objective performance assessments or feedback from peers. This can lead to toxic behavior going unchecked and employees who are otherwise good candidates for promotion being passed over.

9. Entitlement or Overconfidence

Toxic employees may exhibit a sense of entitlement or overconfidence, pushing aggressively for promotions or advancement. They might have the ability to manipulate their perceived worth in the eyes of upper management, even if their actual contributions do not justify the promotion. Over time, this can lead to them being promoted simply because they have been persistent in seeking advancement.

10. Cultural Tolerance of Toxicity

Some organizations have a “tough love” culture where aggressive, competitive, or cutthroat behavior is either normalized or even encouraged as a sign of leadership or high performance. In such cultures, toxic employees may be promoted because their behavior aligns with the company’s values—however problematic those values may be.

In the long run, promoting toxic employees can have serious consequences, such as reduced team morale, higher turnover, and a negative impact on productivity. Ideally, organizations should prioritize a comprehensive evaluation of both technical and interpersonal skills when making promotion decisions, and take into account the overall impact an employee has on the team and company culture.