Toxic workplace behavior is a growing concern for HR professionals and organizational leaders. According to a recent iHire report, nearly half of employees (45.9%) don’t trust HR to address toxic behaviors in their workplaces. Even more concerning, 65.2% of those who reported toxic behavior saw no action taken. When trust in leadership and HR erodes, organizations face high turnover, disengagement, and reputational damage.

The TIGERS 6 Principles—Trust, Interdependence, Genuineness, Empathy, Risk Resolution, and Success—provide a clear framework for HR leaders to proactively prevent, identify, and mitigate toxic behaviors at work. By integrating these principles into workplace culture, HR can re-establish trust and accountability while fostering a healthy, high-performance environment.

However, recognizing the need for trust is only the first step—measurable solutions are required. That’s where the Mastering High-Trust Leadership Workshop comes in. This evidence-based training program equips leaders with the skills and tools to build measurable trust, transform workplace relationships, and actively prevent toxicity before it spreads.

How the TIGERS 6 Principles Counteract Toxicity at Work

Trust: Rebuilding Confidence in HR and Leadership

Toxic workplaces are often characterized by favoritism, dishonesty, and a lack of accountability. Employees lose trust when they see leadership protecting bad actors or ignoring legitimate concerns.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Establish transparent HR policies that ensure equal treatment for all employees.
• Promote psychological safety so employees feel safe reporting toxic behavior.
• Train managers in measurable trust-building strategies through the Mastering High-Trust Leadership Workshop to create accountability and openness

Interdependence: Breaking Down Silos and Ending Favoritism

Favoritism and bias (reported by 51.8% of employees in toxic environments) create divisions and resentment within teams.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Foster a collaborative culture where all employees contribute to decision-making.
• Encourage team-based problem-solving instead of hierarchical favoritism.
• Ensure promotion and leadership development programs are based on merit, not personal preference.
• Use trust assessments from the Mastering High-Trust Leadership program to track improvements in team dynamics.

Genuineness: Addressing Gossip and Dishonesty

With 50% of employees citing gossip and 39.4% citing dishonesty as toxic behaviors, it’s clear that poor communication and insincerity breed distrust.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Encourage open, honest, and authentic leadership communication.
• Implement zero-tolerance policies for gossip and misinformation.
• Train managers to lead by example, modeling ethical and genuine behavior.
• Teach leaders to recognize and correct dishonest behavior with real-time coaching.

Empathy: Ending Harassment and Discrimination

Workplace discrimination and bullying (reported by over 31% of employees) destroy morale and lead to high turnover.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Provide leadership training on emotional intelligence and inclusive behavior.
• Conduct regular HR audits to detect and address workplace discrimination.
• Ensure managers actively listen to employee concerns and act swiftly to resolve them.
• Measure progress in reducing workplace conflict using trust-based leadership metrics.

Risk Resolution: Holding Toxic Leaders Accountable

A staggering 78.7% of employees cite poor leadership as the leading cause of workplace toxicity. When toxic behaviors go unchecked, the entire organization suffers.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Train leaders in effective conflict resolution strategies to address toxic behaviors early.
• Implement a formal accountability system for addressing leadership misconduct.
• Provide whistleblower protections to empower employees to report issues without fear.
• Utilize trust-building assessments to track improvements in leadership behavior.
• Teach managers to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making so more ideas and insights can be raised and understood.

Success: Measuring and Reinforcing a Healthy Workplace

Organizations that fail to measure culture and employee well-being, debrief both successful and problematic outcomes and strive for continuous improvement often struggle to retain top talent. A toxic workplace reduces productivity and increases turnover.

How TIGERS and High-Trust Leadership Solve This:

• Use employee engagement surveys to assess and improve workplace culture.
• Recognize and reward managers who foster a positive and inclusive environment.
• Offer ongoing leadership development to reinforce healthy team dynamics.
• Track improvements in leadership performance and workplace engagement using structured assessments.

A Tale of Two HR Realities: Toxic vs. Collaborative Workplaces

Meet Lisa, an HR Director at a large corporate firm stuck in a command-and-control culture. She starts her day drowning in employee complaints, knowing fully that any attempt to hold toxic leaders accountable will be ignored—or worse, backfire. The CEO insists that HR is there to “support management,” which loosely translates to sweeping issues under the rug. Employees report favoritism, but when Lisa raises the concern, she’s met with a smirk and, “That’s just how it is around here.”

One day, an employee bravely submits a complaint about a manager who regularly humiliates staff in meetings. Lisa follows protocol, investigates, and presents her findings—only to be told to “coach” the employee on being less sensitive. Sound familiar? She watches as high-performing employees quietly leave, fueling an endless turnover cycle. HR becomes the scapegoat, rather than the solution.

Now, let’s contrast that with what a high-trust, collaborative workplace looks like. In a company built on TIGERS 6 Principles and the Mastering High-Trust Leadership program, HR isn’t an afterthought—it’s a strategic force. Employees feel safe voicing concerns, knowing leadership acts and responds. Managers are held accountable and trained to provide feedback that fosters growth, not fear. Toxicity isn’t tolerated because leaders model trust, interdependence, and genuine communication.

Lisa, in this healthier environment, spends her day improving leadership programs, supporting cross-functional teams, and helping employees succeed—rather than constantly putting out fires. The difference? A culture that prioritizes trust and accountability from the top down.

Final Thoughts: HR’s Role in Creating a Healthy Workplace

HR teams must take an active role in transforming workplace culture by implementing the TIGERS 6 Principles and equipping leaders with better communication and conflict-resolution skills.

The Mastering High-Trust Leadership Workshop provides a structured, measurable solution to help organizations build the trust needed to eliminate toxicity and improve engagement.

Learn more and enroll in Mastering High-Trust Leadership: Click here

By addressing toxic behaviors with transparency, empathy, and accountability, organizations can restore trust, retain talent, and create workplaces where employees feel valued and engaged.

For HR professionals and HR business partners ready to make a real difference, integrating TIGERS principles and improving leadership trust are the first steps toward creating a thriving, future-facing workplace.

Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton

About the TIGERS 6 Principles™

The TIGERS 6 Principles empower Executives and Consultants with a comprehensive and versatile collaborative work environment and transformational leadership system to resolve avoidable talent, engagement and work community problems that stunt growth and scalability.

A researched and validated collaborative work culture and facilitative leadership model, licensing is available for HR Executives, Operations and Project Managers, Consultants and Coaches to improve their operations and client success.

Enroll in this complimentary webinar to learn more about the TIGERS 6 Principles.