Why Keeping Toxic Managers Over Good Employees Is Killing Your Business Quicker Than the Plague

You know that one manager—let’s call them “Toxic Tina” or “Micromanaging Mike”—who’s been wreaking havoc on site longer than the circular saw’s been broken? Yeah, them. They might be climbing the corporate/off-site ladder one passive-aggressive email at a time, but they’re dragging your business six feet under in the process.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: keeping toxic managers while good employees flee like it’s a sinking ship full of wasps is the equivalent of choosing termites over tenants. And the damage? It’s spreading faster than the Black Death in 14th-century Europe.

Here’s why your business might already be on life support—and why it’s time to finally send those toxic managers packing.

The Great Exodus: Turnover Is Sky High (And It’s Not a Coincidence)

High turnover isn’t just a red flag. It’s a flashing neon billboard that screams, “Something’s wrong here!” And surprise, surprise: most of the time, the root cause isn’t the pay, the office snacks, or even the lack of casual Fridays. It’s poor management.

Good employees are leaving in droves, not because they can’t handle the work, but because they can’t handle the manager. When team members feel undervalued, micromanaged, or disrespected, they start polishing their LinkedIn profiles faster than you can say “exit interview.”

You can’t build a solid business on a revolving door. Training new staff constantly costs time, money, and morale. And the ones who stay? They're often too burned out or bitter to bring their A-game.

Stress: The Not-So-Silent Killer

Stress in the workplace is inevitable, but when it’s chronic, mismanaged, and completely ignored—congrats!—you’ve just created a breeding ground for burnout.

Toxic managers are often experts in gaslighting, setting unrealistic expectations, and taking credit for others’ work. Under their “leadership,” stress skyrockets while empathy and support are nowhere to be found.

This isn’t just a morale issue—it’s a health issue. Burnout has been classified by the World Health Organisation as an occupational phenomenon. You wouldn't ignore a fire alarm in the building, so why ignore the mental health alarms sounding in your workforce?

Health and Safety? More Like Health and Maybe

Let’s talk about the unspeakable: the way toxic managers bulldoze through health and safety standards like they’re suggestions on a cereal box. Got an employee with a repetitive strain injury? “Power through.” Someone feeling dizzy from exhaustion? “Stay hydrated.” Warehouse short-staffed and pushing people to cut corners? “Just be careful!”

This isn’t just reckless—it’s illegal. But hey, when you’ve got a manager who sees KPIS as more important than people, OSHA might as well be a horror movie villain: always lurking, but never taken seriously… until it’s too late.

If your workplace safety plan consists of a dusty binder and blind hope, and your managers are ignoring basic protections, guess what? You're not just risking lawsuits—you’re making your business a danger zone.

Workplace Culture: As Cheerful As a Funeral

Have you ever walked into a workplace and felt the air get 20 degrees colder? That’s not the AC—it’s morale being dragged behind a toxic manager like a ghost with unfinished business.

A toxic boss doesn’t just ruin a day—they ruin the whole vibe. Gossip, fear, passive-aggression, lack of trust, fake smiles… this isn’t just bad culture, it’s emotional warfare.

And let’s not pretend culture is some fluffy HR buzzword. A healthy workplace culture boosts productivity, innovation, and retention. A toxic one turns even your best hires into bitter ex-employees or, worse, disengaged drones counting down the minutes until 5 p.m.

Your workplace should feel like a collaborative, energised community—not a Game of Thrones battle scene.

The Bottom Line? Your Bottom Line.

Keeping a toxic manager because they “get results” or “know the system” is like keeping termites because they have experience with wood. Sure, they’re familiar—but they’re still destroying your foundation.

Meanwhile, the good people—people-the creative thinkers, the dedicated team players, the quiet MVPs—are leaving. They know they deserve better. And the businesses that recognise and nurture their talent? They’re the ones winning the game while you’re still fumbling with outdated hierarchies and egos the size of Jupiter.

So What Now?

Here’s a radical idea: value people over power. Promote leaders, not dictators. Train your managers in emotional intelligence, communication, and (let’s be honest) basic human decency.

Encourage honest feedback. Protect mental health like you would physical safety. Build a culture where people want to stay, not just survive.

And if a manager is causing high turnover, poor morale, safety issues, and employee stress?

Let Them. Go.

Because keeping toxic managers around isn’t just a bad decision—it’s business suicide dressed in a blazer and holding a clipboard.

Want help spotting the toxic traits before they rot your company from the inside out? Or maybe you're looking for ways to rebuild your culture from the ground up?

Let’s talk. Before your business becomes the next cautionary tale.

Do you need an honest audit of your management system?