Navigating a Toxic Workplace: The Myths and Realities of Turning Around an Unhealthy Culture
Tue Jan 27 2026
In this episode, Dr. Laura talks to Catherine Mattice about navigating toxic workplaces, the topic of Dr. Laura’s new book. Catherine is a workplace culture expert, culture strategist, and author, having just released her own book called Navigating a Toxic Workplace for Dummies. She runs the organization Civility Partners that focuses on creating respectful workplace cultures across all sizes of companies. Dr. Laura and Catherine discuss organizational risk factors that lead to toxic workplaces, and examine the steps necessary to turn such toxicity around.
Catherine shares her journey of observing workplace bullying and experiencing it firsthand. She wrote a paper on toxic behavior in graduate school, which led her to focus on researching toxicity and bullying in workplaces as a career. Dr. Laura and Catherine note that the pandemic has shifted workplace culture, as everyone is now discussing employee experience and engagement, and toxic behaviors are being considered and exposed. They examine what bullying behavior looks like, HR’s role in assisting employees, and how to rebuild unhealthy workplace cultures. This episode exposes the dark side of workplaces and how to improve the culture, something Catherine’s company focuses on doing one company at a time.
“... I want everybody who's maybe considering leaving to understand that quitting is a power move. It does not mean you've lost the battle. It means you've chosen yourself over the employer and that you're taking control back. And so if you need to leave, then leave. Nobody faults you for it.” - Catherine Mattice
About Catherine Mattice:
Catherine founded Civility Partners in 2008. After working in a toxic environment herself she decided this was a problem she could solve, and today is a leading expert on the topic of turning around a toxic workplace culture and building a positive one in its place.
Under Catherine’s leadership, the Civility Partners team has worked with over 250 clients, including Chevron, NASA, Stanford University, Embraer, and the American Red Cross to help their leaders and teams cultivate a respectful and civil work environment.
Catherine is an award-winning author, speaker, blogger, and business owner; has been cited in such news outlets as Forbes, INC Magazine, Entrepreneur, and USA Today; and has appeared as a guest expert on such venues as NPR and CNN. She also has over 60+ courses on LinkedIn Learning and reaching global audiences.
As a keynote speaker, Catherine is widely regarded by audiences around the world as she shares her disruptive and humorous take – and totally actionable steps – on building a positive and civil company culture. Her insights and consulting programs have transformed CEO’s of multi-national companies, leaders of all levels in the US Marines and US Navy, and professionals in companies of all shapes and sizes.
Schedule a consultation call with one of our team members.
Resources:
Catherine Mattice Website
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
“Navigating a Toxic Workplace for Dummies” by Catherine Mattice
“The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins
“I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss” by Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett
Dr. Laura on LinkedIn
Where Work Meets Life™ on YouTube
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
Pre-order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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In this episode, Dr. Laura talks to Catherine Mattice about navigating toxic workplaces, the topic of Dr. Laura’s new book. Catherine is a workplace culture expert, culture strategist, and author, having just released her own book called Navigating a Toxic Workplace for Dummies. She runs the organization Civility Partners that focuses on creating respectful workplace cultures across all sizes of companies. Dr. Laura and Catherine discuss organizational risk factors that lead to toxic workplaces, and examine the steps necessary to turn such toxicity around. Catherine shares her journey of observing workplace bullying and experiencing it firsthand. She wrote a paper on toxic behavior in graduate school, which led her to focus on researching toxicity and bullying in workplaces as a career. Dr. Laura and Catherine note that the pandemic has shifted workplace culture, as everyone is now discussing employee experience and engagement, and toxic behaviors are being considered and exposed. They examine what bullying behavior looks like, HR’s role in assisting employees, and how to rebuild unhealthy workplace cultures. This episode exposes the dark side of workplaces and how to improve the culture, something Catherine’s company focuses on doing one company at a time. “... I want everybody who's maybe considering leaving to understand that quitting is a power move. It does not mean you've lost the battle. It means you've chosen yourself over the employer and that you're taking control back. And so if you need to leave, then leave. Nobody faults you for it.” - Catherine Mattice About Catherine Mattice: Catherine founded Civility Partners in 2008. After working in a toxic environment herself she decided this was a problem she could solve, and today is a leading expert on the topic of turning around a toxic workplace culture and building a positive one in its place. Under Catherine’s leadership, the Civility Partners team has worked with over 250 clients, including Chevron, NASA, Stanford University, Embraer, and the American Red Cross to help their leaders and teams cultivate a respectful and civil work environment. Catherine is an award-winning author, speaker, blogger, and business owner; has been cited in such news outlets as Forbes, INC Magazine, Entrepreneur, and USA Today; and has appeared as a guest expert on such venues as NPR and CNN. She also has over 60+ courses on LinkedIn Learning and reaching global audiences. As a keynote speaker, Catherine is widely regarded by audiences around the world as she shares her disruptive and humorous take – and totally actionable steps – on building a positive and civil company culture. Her insights and consulting programs have transformed CEO’s of multi-national companies, leaders of all levels in the US Marines and US Navy, and professionals in companies of all shapes and sizes. Schedule a consultation call with one of our team members. Resources: Catherine Mattice Website LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube “Navigating a Toxic Workplace for Dummies” by Catherine Mattice “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins “I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss” by Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett Dr. Laura on LinkedIn Where Work Meets Life™ on YouTube Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations: Canada Career Counselling Synthesis Psychology Pre-order Dr. Laura’s new book today: I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating a Toxic Boss Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.