Is it the place, the boss, or the week?
You probably typed toxic because it is the word everyone uses. It is also a word that points a finger. Heidi Brooks of the Yale School of Management says the word frames the problem as blame, and Libby Rodney of the Harris Poll calls toxic leadership an investment failure rather than a character flaw (HRD Asia). In a 2023 survey for the Chartered Management Institute, 82 percent of people who entered management said they had no proper management training (CMI and YouGov).
So this test does not ask whether your workplace is toxic. It scores four conditions you experience: whether you can say the thing, whether the rules apply to everyone, whether raising something changes anything, and whether the hours leave room to recover. You get a conditions score from 0 to 100, where higher is healthier, and the condition that is weakest. It names what is missing, not who is at fault.
It takes about four minutes and shows your result without an email. If you manage people, say so on the next screen.
Toxic Workplace Test: the place, the boss or the week
Someone who works with you sent you this test. It is the same twelve statements they answered, and nothing they entered came with the link. If you manage people, say so below and your result opens with the leader view first.
Is it the place, the boss, or the week, and what exactly is missing?
What you get
- Your score out of 100
- Which of the 4 results you land on
- Scores across Safety, Fairness, Consequence and Load
- Your strongest dimension and your gap, and where to start
This test scores conditions you experience at work. It does not diagnose a workplace, a person or you, and it is not HR, legal or medical advice. Unlawful harassment is a legal standard that depends on a protected characteristic and conduct severe or pervasive enough to be abusive; if you think that applies, contact the EEOC in the US, ACAS in the UK, or an employment lawyer. If you are exhausted to the point of physical symptoms, see a doctor. In the US, call or text 988 in a crisis.
This test scores conditions you experience at work. It does not diagnose a workplace, a person or you, and it is not HR, legal or medical advice. Unlawful harassment is a legal standard that depends on a protected characteristic and conduct severe or pervasive enough to be abusive; if you think that applies, contact the EEOC in the US, ACAS in the UK, or an employment lawyer. If you are exhausted to the point of physical symptoms, see a doctor. In the US, call or text 988 in a crisis.
Your next move
If you do not manage people
Your full result names the weakest condition, shows how to separate the place, the boss and the week, and gives you a three column rule: leave, stay and act, or stay and wait. It also lists what to ask in your next interview.
If you manage people
If you manage people, your team could score these four conditions about the corner of the place you run. The psychological safety scale shows whether they can say the thing, and the leader burnout test separates your own load from the place's. A low score names a missing condition, and conditions can be built.
Email me this result
Optional. Your score is already on screen. Enter your details and a copy of this result, your score, your level and your four dimension scores, is sent to you.
Done. Your result is on its way.
Related tools
The four results
Every completed run lands on one of these pages, with your own scores drawn from the link the tool gives you. Each one is readable without taking the tool.
- Quiet PlaceSafety is weakest. People say it afterwards, in private.
- Uneven PlaceFairness is weakest. Rules bend for some people, not others.
- Unheard PlaceConsequence is weakest. Problems are raised and nothing changes.
- Overrun PlaceLoad is weakest. The hours take more than recovery gives back.
Signs of a toxic work environment, written as conditions
Lists of the signs of a toxic workplace tend to describe people. This test describes four conditions instead, because conditions can be built.
- Safety. Problems are raised after the meeting, not in it, and mistakes are hidden rather than admitted.
- Fairness. The same mistake gets a different response depending on who made it, and the same few people get the visible work.
- Consequence. The same problems come up again and again, and nobody hears what happened to the last one raised.
- Load. The normal week does not fit the hours, and one heavy stretch runs into the next.
Why toxic is never a result here. The word describes how a place feels, not what it lacks, and it is hard to act on. Hostile work environment is a legal term with its own test. The EEOC describes conduct based on a protected characteristic, severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would find the workplace intimidating, hostile or abusive, and says petty slights, annoyances and isolated incidents, unless extremely serious, do not meet it (EEOC). If that is your situation, you need an employment lawyer, not a quiz.
How this differs
Many workplace quizzes online ask for your email before the result and end in a verdict about the place. This one shows the result first, never labels a workplace or a person, and names the condition that is weakest, because a missing condition is something someone can build.
Each result also helps you tell whether the problem is the place, one manager or a hard week, and gives a second view for the reader who manages people, because a manager is the person best placed to build what is missing. It is not a version of any psychological instrument, and it does not diagnose a workplace, a person or you.
What happens to your responses
Your score, your result and your dimension scores are shown on screen without an email address. An anonymous copy of the score and the dimension scores, with no name, email or free text, joins the aggregate statistics for this tool, which are published only when a cut has at least 30 completions. Email is optional. Only if you ask for the result by email is it written to your contact record, and only then. The full rules are on the methodology page.
If you need support now
This page is not a crisis service and nobody reads your answers. If you are thinking about harming yourself or you are in danger, reach a person today. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 to reach Crisis Text Line.
In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258. Anywhere else, call your local emergency number. If work is affecting your sleep or your health, see a doctor. A coach is not the right first call for that, and neither is a quiz.
If this is a legal matter
Harassment and discrimination at work are legal questions, and a quiz cannot answer them. In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains what the law covers and how to file a charge at eeoc.gov. In the UK, ACAS gives free, impartial advice at acas.org.uk. An employment lawyer can tell you what applies to you. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions
What are the signs of a toxic work environment?
In condition terms: people say what they think after the meeting rather than in it, the same mistake gets different responses depending on who made it, problems are raised again and again with no change, and the normal week does not fit the hours. This test scores all four and names the weakest.
Is my workplace toxic, or is it my boss?
Silence, unfairness or overload that follows one manager is the boss. The same condition across teams and through a change of manager is the place. A condition that started with a layoff round, a launch or a reorganisation and has an end date can be the week. Each result explains how to tell.
Is a toxic workplace the same as a hostile work environment?
No. Hostile work environment is a legal term. The EEOC describes unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic, severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would find the workplace intimidating, hostile or abusive. If you think that applies, contact the EEOC in the US, ACAS in the UK, or an employment lawyer.
Should I quit a toxic job?
This test does not tell you to leave or to stay. It names the weakest condition and gives a three column rule: leave, stay and act, or stay and wait, with the conditions for each. If your health is suffering, see a doctor first.
Will my manager see my answers?
No. Nothing you enter is sent to anyone. An anonymous copy of the scores, with no name, email or free text, joins the aggregate statistics. The send this test to your manager button copies a link to the blank test, never your answers.
Related tools
- Boss Pattern Test: what kind of boss do you have4 min. Is it my boss, and what do I do about it on Monday?
- Am I the Problem at Work: the common denominator test4 min. Is it me, this one relationship, a hard stretch, or the place, and what do I do this week?
- Micromanaged or Managed: the micromanaging boss test4 min. Am I micromanaged, or managed closely for a reason, and what do I say on Monday?
- Psychological Safety Scale4 min. Is it safe to speak up on my team, and do I know that or assume it?
- Leader Burnout Test: burned out or wrong seat4 min. Am I burned out, not cut out for this, or in a bad environment?
- Leadership Style Quiz12 min. How you exercise authority.
The numbers behind this tool
Aggregate results are published at Toxic Workplace Statistics: Four Conditions, Managers First once a cut reaches 30 completions, under the Workplace Reality Index methodology. It is part of the Workplace Reality Index, which is kept separate from the leader indexes. More free tools are at the tools shelf.