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Six questions to ask job seekers to help identify people who could become toxic

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Of course no supervisor wants to hire someone who’ll create a toxic work environment that disrupts the performance of the rest of the work crew and, even worse, prompts a current team member to quit the job or pursue a potentially costly discrimination lawsuit.

So what questions can you ask during job interviews to identify potential red flags that could indicate someone might become a toxic staff member after he or she starts the job?

To spot a potentially difficult employee, maintain a professional but somewhat relaxed tone during the job interview. That way, the individual is more likely to reveal his or her true self.

Once the tone of the conversation has been set, ask targeted questions that could reveal red flags indicating that the job seeker could become a toxic employee.

Here are six interview questions to help reveal a potentially disruptive future employee and the red flags to look for in their responses:

1. Tell me how you handled a situation in which you disagreed with a coworker. Red flags: Defensiveness, blame shifting, or a refusal to compromise.

2. How do you deal with workplace stress? Red flags: Complaints about the work environment or a tendency to lash out.

3. What’s the biggest misconception people have about you? Red flags: An overly defensive response or a refusal to acknowledge personal flaws.

4. How do you handle feedback? Red flags: Claims that the individual never really needs feedback or indications that he or she becomes defensive during feedback sessions.

5. Tell me what you did when you realized that you’d made a mistake. Red flags: Refusal to admit to mistakes or insistence that other people were at fault.

6. Describe a situation in which you had to adapt to change at work. Red flags: Resistance to change or difficulty adjusting.

(From the February 27, 2026, issue of HR Managers Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)