Surviving a Toxic Work Environment Starts with YOU with Teri Chilcoat

About this episode

Dr. Christie interviews Teri Chilcoat about surviving a toxic workplace through self-awareness and personal accountability.

Today on Productive Joy, Dr. Christie interviews Teri Chilcoat—an HR expert, author, and “clarity creator”—about surviving a toxic workplace by focusing on self-awareness, self-control, and self-care. Teri emphasizes that even when you can’t quit, you always have options, including building skills, pursuing hobbies, or creating a practical roadmap from a calm, rational mindset. Her book, Surviving the Toxic Workplace, centers on personal accountability, reclaiming power, and choosing how to react when leaders lack self-awareness, while also explaining how managers can improve through EQ, communication, and training. She shares how gossip worsened her situation and how gratitude and perspective shifts can change workplace stress. Teri defines productive joy as helping others reach “aha” moments and offers her book via Amazon and a free two-chapter sample by texting POWER to 33777. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Meet Teri Chilcote 00:42 You Always Have Options 01:41 Roadmap Out of Stuck 02:52 Why the Book Focuses on Self 05:54 Managers and Self Awareness 07:58 Leading Up to Toxic Leaders 12:09 Gratitude and Taking Back Power 14:48 Defining Productive Joy 16:54 Puzzle Mindset and Book…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Christie McMullen

Guest: Teri Chilcoat

Topics covered

• toxic work environment
• self-awareness
• self-care
• personal accountability
• emotional intelligence
• workplace stress

Keywords

• toxic workplace
• self-awareness
• self-care
• emotional intelligence
• workplace culture
• leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Surviving the Toxic Workplace

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