Toxic Employees in the Workplace

Citation: Housman, M. Toxic Employees in the Workplace. San Francisco, CA: Evolv, Inc., 2014.

Abstract: “Toxic employees” impose significant costs on organizations that hire them. These costs include not only direct financial liabilities—such as those stemming from harassment claims, workplace violence, theft, and fraud—but also more corrosive indirect effects. Disruptive behaviors like bullying erode trust, damage organizational culture, and reduce the performance and retention of surrounding employees. Despite these risks, there has historically been little empirical research examining the predictors and consequences of toxic workplace behavior.

To address this gap, we leveraged Evolv’s large-scale workforce data to answer two core questions: (1) can we identify factors that predict whether an employee is likely to engage in toxic behavior, and (2) can we quantify the impact of toxic employees on their coworkers?

Using a dataset of approximately 63,000 employees and more than 250,000 observations, we identified individuals who were terminated for reasons associated with toxic behavior. Applying a range of econometric techniques, we uncovered several key findings:

• Employees who self-identify as strong “rule followers” are 33% more likely to engage in toxic behavior.
• Science-based hiring assessments can meaningfully reduce the likelihood of hiring toxic employees.
• Low scores on Attendance & Dependability and Service Orientation are the strongest predictors of toxic outcomes.
• Toxic behavior is socially contagious—employees are significantly more likely to become toxic when exposed to toxic coworkers.
• High-performing employees are 54% more likely to quit when they work alongside a toxic employee.

This study is among the first to use real-world workplace data to systematically examine toxic employee behavior and its ripple effects. Although toxic employees represent a relatively small share of the workforce (approximately 3–5%), their negative impact on coworkers, culture, and retention is disproportionately large. These findings underscore the importance of preventing toxic hires through data-driven screening and rapidly addressing toxic behavior when it emerges, before it spreads and inflicts lasting organizational damage.