An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Set clear goals and flexibly adjust work assignments according to specific circumstances.
Clarifying the goals of the team and each employee can help enhance the sense of responsibility and direction. Meanwhile, during the process of achieving the goals, specific tasks can be flexibly assigned. Adjusting the work assignment according to the actual situation ensures team members feel fulfilled but not overloaded.
Toxic work environments can have a significant impact on employees’ mental health, productivity, and overall job satisfaction. From poor communication and office politics to bullying and burnout, toxicity in the workplace can manifest in many forms. What are the most effective strategies to address and overcome these challenges? How can organizations and employees work together to create healthier, more supportive work environments? In this interview series, we are talking with with leaders, HR professionals, organizational psychologists, business leaders, and experts about “Navigating Workplace Toxicity: Strategies for a Healthier Work Environment.” As a part of this series I had the pleasure of interviewing Eve Bai.
Eve Bai earned her master’s degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Leeds and currently serves as the Head of International Partnerships and Operations at StudyX.AI. Her personal experience and passion for cutting-edge technology fuel her contributions to the innovative AI-powered education platform. Since she joined the team, StudyX has grown by an impressive 3 million users. In her free time, Eve loves traveling to different countries, drawing and playing video games in the company of her two cats, and is keenly interested in reading news about the latest developments in technology.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Thank you so much for inviting me to share my story!
Graduating from the University of Leeds, I was once an international student, and my years of experience studying abroad ignited my passion for international education. After briefly working in the consulting industry after graduation, I joined IAUSS, an online educational platform providing for-credit academic courses for international students.
IAUSS is a dynamic and adventurous edtech company. I have helped the company establish partnerships with universities around the world to jointly provide high-quality online courses and transnational joint programs for students around the world as an international development specialist.
Indeed, online platforms have greatly improved accessibility for students to study anytime, anywhere. Still, we frequently received feedback from our students who claimed that they couldn’t always get timely support from their tutors. In order to solve this kind of problem of students, we started a new initiative in 2021 and that led to the establishment of the StudyX platform.
As a member of the startup team, I participated in the establishment of StudyX’s initial product design and community policies and was in charge of social media advertising and user research during the Beta testing phase.
In 2022, LLMs began to be widely adopted, StudyX quickly transformed into an AI-driven education platform, achieving a new breakthrough in supporting students’ learning journeys.
Due to my continuous assistance to StudyX over the past few years, I have a certain familiarity with its operations. Along with my personal interest in rapidly developing technologies — especially AI — I decided to officially join StudyX.AI and work full-time earlier this year. Now, I lead the International Partnerships and Operations department, guiding our expansion and helping shape StudyX’s future.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One of the most interesting experiences I’ve had in my career life is about breaking down stereotypes, which ultimately gave me more confidence in my own professional development.
I used to believe that extroverts were naturally better suited to roles involving relationship-building, given that they often appear outgoing, energetic, and enjoy engaging with others. In contrast, introverts are usually thought of as quiet and introspective, perhaps preferring being alone over social interaction. As a typical introvert myself, I started my consulting job under the impression that perhaps I wasn’t cut out for this kind of work, a sentiment shared by some of my then-leaders, colleagues, and even family members.
The interesting part, however, was discovering over time, both in consulting and in my current roles in international partnerships and user operations, that personality doesn’t determine one’s passion or effectiveness in a job, nor does it determine how clients, users, or partners perceive you.
For instance, during my time in consulting, I consistently received high client feedback — some clients still reach out to thank me for the help I provided, often mentioning how our conversations left a lasting, positive impact on them. This feedback was actually quite different from the initial impressions my leaders and colleagues had of me at the time.
When I began working in international partnerships, I did wonder whether my personality might be a disadvantage. But it surprised me when I talked with my supervisors about these concerns — both of my then-department leaders revealed that they, too, were introverts. During my time working with them, I realized that personality type has no bearing on one’s passion for their work, nor does it define professionalism or success. In fact, we should not attach a fixed label to each person’s personality.
These two experienced, calm, and professional women showed me that it’s absolutely possible to bring one’s unique strengths and charisma to partnership-building roles, no matter how quiet or shy one might seem. They have been inspiring role models for me, encouraging me to bring my own abilities to the forefront as I continue to grow in my career.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Before StudyX was officially launched, I was responsible for user research during the beta testing phase. This involved inviting users to participate in online interviews and issuing related rewards. After talking to all the interviewers, I needed to send a thank-you email to every participant.
While I clearly knew to send individualized emails with rewards for each user separately, I made a silly mistake when it came to the thank-you email. I CC’d the same thank-you email to all 30 participants, thinking it would work like forwarding messages to multiple contacts on IM apps such as Messenger or WhatsApp, where each recipient couldn’t see the others. However, the fact is that all users can see that the email was CC’d to many other users.
While this was an unintentional oversight and none of our very understanding users filed a complaint, it highlighted a critical detail that could have caused issues with user information privacy — like exposing their email addresses to others. This small error had the potential to affect our company’s reputation, making it seem as though we didn’t prioritize user privacy and data security.
This experience taught me the importance of details. Since then, I’ve placed a strong focus on safeguarding other people’s privacy and data security. Especially now that I frequently interact with external partners and users, I understand that, in many ways, I represent our company and any little mistakes can have impacts on the company’s reputation. As a result, I keep reminding myself to double-check important details and always welcome feedback or guidance from colleagues or peers.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
One book that’s had an impact on me recently is Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill. In this memoir, Athill reflects on facing old age as a woman who lives alone.
For a long time, I had a deep-seated fear of aging and an even greater fear of facing death alone. But Diana Athill’s book has been a powerful source of encouragement. She lets readers see how a single woman, navigating this stage of life independently, can still live with strength and intention.
Even in her seventies, Athill remains wise, creative, and vibrantly alive. And I delightfully found so many of her ideas resonated with my own! Reading her book felt like talking with an old friend. Through her words, it’s as if she’s reminding me that aging is just a natural part of life, something everyone will experience. Life may come with its own set of challenges, but none of it is insurmountable. Her story showed me that women can live life on their own terms, pursuing passions and interests well into old age. We don’t need vast wealth, a partner, or children to live a fulfilling, energetic, and meaningful life — even into our later years.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
One of my favorite life lesson quotes is from Patricia Highsmith’s diary: “We like to say it is love we search our whole life long, or we like to say it is Fame. But it is neither. It is understanding. We seek forever one other human heart we can touch and who can touch ours. We seek indefatigably like a hungry animal…And wherever we feel this understanding…there we will go, and nothing in the world can hold us back.”
This made a great impact on me, and I’ve always tried to bring the power of understanding into my life and work. Whether it’s working with colleagues, communicating with customers or collaborating with partners, I would tell myself to see things from their perspectives.
It’s not as easy as it sounds in real life, because you will find that not everyone possesses the capacity to understand or is willing to make efforts to understand others. Also, Misunderstandings can be especially common across different genders, cultures, and backgrounds.
But I always tell myself to stay calm and observe, listen, communicate, and actively share my thoughts. With patience and effort, I find that many seemingly complex issues can be resolved, misunderstandings can be cleared, and relationships between people can grow closer. This, in turn, makes it more likely for both parties to achieve their goals together.
Beyond my personal approach, I have also actively promoted the development of international understanding education. I have participated in several international understanding education forums these years, and hope to establish international understanding education programs to foster intercultural communication skills among the next generation of students in various countries, helping them to overcome misunderstandings and collaborate more effectively in our globalized world.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s start with a simple definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does does workplace toxicity mean?
Workplace toxicity refers to a harmful work environment that includes negative emotions, conflicts and unhealthy behaviors such as bullying, discrimination, poor communication, passive work atmosphere and lack of support. When these negative situations persist in an organization for a long time and lead to low morale, high turnover and reduced productivity, you can recognize these hallmarks as workplace toxicity.
In such an environment, you may feel psychologically unsafe and unwilling to share your honest thoughts, or experience excessive stress — sometimes leading to frequent anxiety or even tears over work. You may also habitually attribute all faults to yourself, doubt your own abilities, and think that problems, even those that have nothing to do with you, or the failure to get a promotion/salary increase as expected are due to your own inadequacy.
In addition to work atmosphere and organizational culture, workplace toxicity also includes disorganized roles, chronically excessive workloads, and unrealistic goals.
In short, workplace toxicity is a deeply rooted issue within an organization that hampers employees’ ability to work with positivity and joy and inhibits their potential and creativity.
Can you describe a time when you personally encountered or helped resolve workplace toxicity?
I experienced serious workplace toxicity in my first consulting job right after graduation.
It was a very large company, but its management was very disorganized. The hierarchy in this company was rather complex, making it quite difficult for employees to communicate directly with the leaders who made real decisions.
Each level of leadership set unrealistic KPIs on employees and would blame them for any issues that arose, regardless of the reason. For example, each month, the company would call clients for feedback, asking them to rate the consultant handling their case. If a consultant’s average NPS was below 9 out of 10, they’d be fined publicly during a company-wide meeting without explanation. The company had never informed clients of the scoring rules, resulting in some clients just scoring randomly, while others thought a score above 7 was a very satisfactory high score. This led to almost all excellent consultants having their wages deducted every month.
The management put about 90% of its focus on marketing, and employees in consulting positions are also expected to handle sales responsibilities of the marketing department, and they would be rated by sales performance in addition to their primary duties. Meanwhile, management encouraged a sense of superiority among the sales team, and asked the sales team to treat the consultants who were actually responsible for the execution of the client’s case as their “assistants”. This led to many sales who were not trained in solving clients’ problems interfering too much with the work of the consultants and imposing their non-professional views on consultation processes, which led to the dissatisfaction of many clients — which in turn caused more salary deductions for the consultants.
Due to the high-pressure sales targets and the encouragement of internal competition, unethical competitive behaviors emerged within the marketing department, too. Nearly every day, there would be arguments, breakdowns, and even instances of throwing shoes, slamming doors, and screaming between sales team members. This environment was so far from what I’d imagined in a large company that I often felt I wasn’t even in a modern, civilized workplace — workplace toxicity had driven people to act like savages. It sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? But that’s what I actually witnessed.
The company also encouraged employees to report each other, so even casual conversations could lead to punishment, making the office atmosphere extremely tense.
After multiple failed attempts to address these issues, the consulting team resigned collectively, and I also left within six months.
Having experienced such a toxic environment, I now pay great attention to cultivating a positive work culture within my current team.
For instance, when I first officially joined the StudyX team, I noticed that the proportion of female staff was rather low, which I felt could be detrimental to gender equality and could even foster subtle, indirect gender biases. Therefore, I made it a priority to ensure more opportunities for female candidates in subsequent hiring rounds, welcoming more talented women into our team.
I also adjust department goals and workload distribution according to past data and company objectives, making sure every team member’s workload is reasonable. I’ve also established a rewards system to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be recognized for their hard work.
But I do not encourage unhealthy competition. Occasionally, the HR department asks me to rank employees within my department in ways that might incite competition, such as requesting comparisons between colleagues handling different responsibilities or implying that certain individuals have poor attitudes. I consistently provide fair, objective evaluations without pitting team members against one another, to help maintain a healthy team dynamic.
When a team member makes a mistake, I prefer not to focus on assigning blame. Instead, I privately discuss any challenges they might be facing, then bring the whole team and sometimes involve members of other departments together to actively seek solutions. I also like to engage with my team on non-work topics over coffee breaks or casual chats, often bringing small treats or sharing snacks, coffee, or tea. I value the psychological safety of team members and am committed to creating an open, transparent, positive and pleasant communication environment.
With these efforts, I am very pleased to frequently hear positive feedback from the team regarding our company and department management. Some of our team members even call me the “fairy god leader”.
What were the key signs that the environment was toxic?
We spend a significant amount of time at work and with our team members every day, I believe a toxic work environment is not that hard to be identified. The key signs can be manifested in various ways.
As I mentioned above, it could be frequent conflicts and arguments between colleagues in the office; or a lack of trust between employees which leads to a tense office atmosphere. Persistent low morale is another sign, with some employees experiencing emotional breakdowns at work.
You might also notice workplace toxicity when you find that team members hardly share their own ideas and just simply echo the opinions of their leaders.
The signs can also be recognized when employees’ reasonable demands or feedback go unaddressed for a long time, or leaders rarely express affirmation to team members and never celebrate the achievements of the team.
Ultimately, a toxic work environment will be reflected in high turnover rates and strong employee attrition.
What are some of the most common causes of toxic work environments, and how can leaders recognize these issues before they become pervasive?
Common causes of toxic work environments include lack of effective communication, authoritarian management style, excessive pressure, poor teamwork, and lack of recognition and rewards.
Also, I think that lack of diversity in an organization can easily lead to workplace toxicity for minority gender/ethnic employees. Sometimes it may be difficult to detect, but it has been proven that lack of diversity does make it difficult for leaders to hear the voices of these employees and some issues that have a great impact on them are difficult to be noticed.
Leaders can identify these problems through employee feedback, observing team dynamics, and paying attention to team members’ emotional changes. For example, I am sensitive to the emotional shifts of team members. If a team member seems to be in a bad mood, I will talk to her/him privately and ask if she/he has encountered any problems at work or in life, and prepare a small cake or warm beverage for the employee to offer comfort. If the employee’s bad mood comes from work, I’ll proactively discuss potential solutions with them.
It may be easier for leaders to identify and address workplace toxicity in relatively smaller teams, but I believe that even when leading large teams, leaders can identify problems in the work environment timely if they are willing to create a good working environment for the team.
What steps can employees take to address workplace toxicity if they feel uncomfortable or unsupported by leadership?
If employees feel uncomfortable or unsupported by leadership, they can take several measures to address workplace toxicity:
First, I think employees can seek support from trusted people, such as sharing their feelings with friends, family, or reliable colleagues, and seek their support and advice. Everyone can face unpleasant moments at work, and some are not enough to constitute a toxic work environment. At this time, actively sharing your feelings and getting support will give you the strength to work through the tough times. When it comes to toxic work environments, seeking support and advice from people around you can also help with problem solving.
In a toxic work environment, toxic behaviors and incidents may be encountered frequently in a certain period. Employees can record these details to provide concrete evidence when necessary.
Employees can try to communicate with their direct supervisors or HR to express their feelings and concerns. Sometimes, leaders or HR may not be aware of the issues or how the employee is feeling if the problems are not reported. Actively providing feedback can help department leaders and HR identify possible workplace toxicity as early as possible, which can help solve certain problems within the team faster and more directly.
If communication with superiors or HR remains ineffective, or if they lack the ability to resolve the issues, employees can also consider using internal channels, such as using the company’s internal complaint or feedback mechanism to formally reflect the problem and attract higher-level attention.
Seeking external resources is also one way to deal with workplace toxicity. If internal channels are still ineffective and you are not ready to leave this job, you can seek professional counseling or workplace coaching. Professional counseling may teach you how to manage your emotions in such an unpleasant environment and face toxic things at work with a positive mindset.
If the situation does not improve in the end, it’s time to evaluate whether you need to consider looking for a new job opportunity then. Although the future is uncertain, sometimes even a temporary departure from a toxic environment can help restore confidence and vitality.
What role does mental health play in navigating workplace toxicity, and how can both employees and organizations prioritize mental wellness?
Mental health is crucial in navigating workplace toxicity because it helps employees cope with stress, build resilience, and improve overall well-being.
Employees can learn to express their feelings and needs to avoid emotional suppression. Sharing feelings with reliable colleagues, friends, and family members to get emotional support can be beneficial.
In addition, seeking professional psychological counseling or therapy when necessary is also a good way to fight emotional suppression.
Employees can also manage their emotions more effectively by engaging in activities they are passionate about, such as hobbies and social activities. This could distract you from work-related stress in a healthy way, and help maintain a positive mindset towards life.
Organizations also play an important role in cultivating employee mental health.
Regular team-building activities can strengthen team cohesion. For example, We have set up a monthly team-building budget of $150 per person, ensuring that each department could hold various activities every month. We also organize at least 2 company-wide outings annually. It can be camping and barbecues, or a week-long tour in other cities. Strong team cohesion can create a positive work atmosphere and reduce the breeding of work toxicity.
It is also important to establish transparent communication channels and an open company culture. This helps employees build psychological safety and eliminate mistrust in the workplace.
Companies can also provide support resources such as mental health counseling and employee assistance programs (EAPs), etc. Organizations can provide training sessions to team leaders and coach them on how to establish a healthy workplace. Meanwhile, workplace mental health training and stress management courses can be provided to employees.
Can you share some strategies or practices that individuals and teams can implement to create a healthier and more productive work environment? Please share your “5 Strategies For A Healthier Work Environment”?
1. Promote open communication.
Employees can actively share their work experience and feelings with colleagues or leaders. In our company, employees always rush into our founder’s office or give him a call to seek his help when they need support. It might not be so easy like this in other organizations, especially large ones, but it can be helpful when you express how you feel.
Organizations should also establish regular team meetings and one-on-one check-ins to encourage employees to share opinions and feedback. In my team, I encourage team members to share their feelings or voice any issues during team meetings. And we’ll find solutions for these problems together.
2. Set clear goals and flexibly adjust work assignments according to specific circumstances.
Clarifying the goals of the team and each employee can help enhance the sense of responsibility and direction. Meanwhile, during the process of achieving the goals, specific tasks can be flexibly assigned. Adjusting the work assignment according to the actual situation ensures team members feel fulfilled but not overloaded.
3. Focus on work-life balance.
Team leaders can encourage members to take breaks and avoid overtime. I believe work efficiency is more important than working hours.
Due to the development of technology, some organizations can also support flexible work arrangements. In the practice of the past few years, which have been shown to improve overall employee well-being.
Sometimes work can be bustling and stressful, but please remember to take time for the life you love. Finding your true self in life will help you return to work with energy. Work and life complement each other, and fulfilling and purposeful work will also make your life more exciting.
4. Establish a supportive culture.
Organizations can encourage mutual support among team members and cultivate the habit of sharing and celebrating successes to cultivate a positive working atmosphere. For example, I often celebrate every milestone achieved with team members, and actively ask team members if they need any support for upcoming tasks.
5. Provide training and development opportunities.
Investing in employees’ career development, enhancing team capabilities and confidence through training and skill improvement can also help build a healthier work environment. Take our company as an example. We have a chat group on our CRM which is called Learning and Growth Group, where we share learning materials that we think are helpful for team development on a daily basis. We also invite external experts to the company for training or experience-sharing more than 2 times a month. Our team members are also encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences and train other employees as professional coaches once a month. It’s exciting to get the chance to learn new stuff often and also feel so proud to share our knowledge with our peers.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
If I could inspire a movement, I think I would continue to make efforts to advance gender equality. While we’ve seen tremendous progress for women globally in the 21st century, with more exceptional women thriving in influential positions across industries, given the size of the global population and gender ratios, true gender equality remains a distant goal. Especially in some third-world countries, many women are still regarded as men’s appendages, and even their personal safety cannot be guaranteed. Even in some countries and regions where women’s rights are developed far ahead of other places, there is still indirect gender discrimination, which is very subtle but actually restricts women’s development. There is still a long way to go in women’s equality. I want all our sisters, mothers, friends, daughters, and all those housewives and professional women’s voices to be heard.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
If I had the honor, I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with Ali Wong. She is my favorite stand-up comedian and I love her performances in the Netflix series Beef.
I appreciate how she confidently speaks out about the various challenges that women, not just Asian women, face in life, transforming those experiences into sharp satire and humor. Many of the issues she discusses resonate deeply with me and reflect the real experiences of countless women, yet we often remain silent. It’s amazing that Ali Wong has the courage to voice our struggles and be heard by thousands, and not in a painful but hilarious way. Sharing a meal with her must be a delightful experience.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You’re welcome to learn more about StudyX.AI through our official website. To stay updated on our latest news, you can also follow us on social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Discord. If you’d like to connect or share ideas, please feel free to reach out to me directly on LinkedIn.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Navigating Workplace Toxicity: Eve Bai Of StudyX.AI On Strategies for a Healthier Work Environment was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.