Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them [Paperback]

Peter J. Frost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Human interaction is never flawless. Even the best relationships produce tension and at times, unpleasant emotions. Since organizations are comprised of people, all organizations generate emotional pain as part of the process of doing business: producing new products on tight deadlines, setting benchmarks for performance, creating budgets, crafting company policies, and so on. Getting the job done is rarely painless. But when emotional pain goes unmanaged or is poorly handled, it can negatively affect both employees and the bottom line - in essence, it becomes toxic.In "Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them", Peter J. Frost argues that the way an organization responds to pain determines whether it remains toxic or becomes generative, whether it endures as a debilitating poison or is transformed into a force for healthy organizations. According to Frost, when ignored, toxic emotions betray employees' hopes, bruise their egos, reduce their enthusiasm for work, and diminish their sense of connectedness to their company's community and goals. Compassionate responses to pain, on the other hand, encourage those who are suffering to effect constructive changes in their work lives. Despite their powerful role in employee performance, toxic emotions are rarely addressed by organizations. Instead, most companies respond to pain informally and unconsciously through self-selected individuals whom Frost calls 'toxin handlers'.Typically a senior manager or someone with a high emotional intelligence capacity, toxin handlers soften the blow of emotional pain for others, but over the course of time, absorb much of the pain they handle to their own detriment. They are often unrecognised, unrewarded, and poorly supported by their organizations. And, while they often provide a temporary relief from the symptoms of toxic organizational pain, toxin handlers alone are unable to eradicate toxic emotions for the long-term."Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them" suggests that handling toxic emotions effectively is an important, though unrecognised set of competencies that must be understood and embraced - not only by toxin handlers, but by leaders, managers, and the organization as a whole. Through rich examples of how individuals and organizations have managed emotional pain successfully, Frost describes the key skills necessary to cope with emotional pain and to manage it effectively, and offers concrete courses of action for organizations to institutionalize compassion in the face of emotional pain.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter J. Frost is the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor of Organizational Behaviour on the Faculty of Commerce of the University of British Columbia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422102858
• ISBN-13: 978-1422102855
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Strategy & Competition

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent look at "toxic handlers"..., July 1, 2007

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them (Paperback)

Have you ever read a book that caused you to view your work environment in a whole new light? This book did it for me... Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them by Peter J. Frost. I now understand a bit more about the role I play, as well as how to support others who play that role to a far greater degree than I do...

Contents: Emotional Pain in Organizations; Sources of Toxicity in Organizations; The Work of the Toxic Handler; The Toll on Toxin Handlers; Healing the Healers; At the Interface - What Handlers and Their Organizations Can Do; Leaders Handling Pain; The Compassionate Company - Architecting Responses to Pain; Looking through the Lens of Pain; Notes; Index; About the Author

The premise of this book is that every organization has toxicity in it when it comes to emotions and interactions between employees and management. While that's to be expected, the real problem comes in with the people who unofficially deal with that toxicity. Frost calls them "toxic handlers", and they are critical to the functioning of a company. These people are the ones that soak up the irrational and emotional behavior of those above them, and then filter out the toxins in order to pass along the message to those who need to do the work. Likewise, they are also the "go-to" people when others are having emotional difficulties and need someone to talk to. The problem lies in how the handlers deal with the constant barrage of garbage that comes at them. If they internalize and take on the pain of others, there's a very good chance that they will end up frustrated and burnt-out. Then when they leave, everything crumbles down as there's no one to absorb that pain any longer, as their function was not recognized. But by following many of the steps and suggestions offered here, it's possible to successfully play that role and still not end up as a victim yourself. Frost also covers how organizations need to recognize the people who play these roles, understand the stress and pressure they're under, and give them the assistance they need to not become a casualty.

Having worked at Enron nearly up to the end, I can readily identify with everything in this book. And in a number of areas, I tend to be a minor toxic handler, in that I'm concerned about the well-being of others in any particular structure I'm part of. I also can now see a number of people who I've worked for who are major toxic handlers, and I think I have a better idea on how best to help them do their job better...

An excellent read, and one that could change the way you view your official (and unofficial) org chart...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them, March 25, 2010

By 

Douglass Doherty (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them (Paperback)

The text was informative and thought provocing. It is recommended reading to everyone working in the office invironement from management to the cleaner. Not just for the HR manager to keep but must be shared with the whole organisation.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent overview of impact of toxic emotions at work, July 8, 2008

By 

Anonymous (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toxic Emotions at Work and What You Can Do About Them (Paperback)

Nice overview of toxic emotions at work and their impact on the culture and the individual.