Why every office needs a toxic handler

In the workplace, a toxic handler is a colleague with mediation skills who can be called upon to manage tricky situations and defuse conflicts. — AFP

IT’S NOT easy to know how to comfort that colleague who runs out of a meeting crying, or how to approach someone who suddenly starts skipping all team lunches.

It’s even trickier when a major change occurs in a company’s organisational structure (a takeover or the arrival of a new CEO) and employees can suffer to such an extent that it has (negative) repercussions on their work.