Colleagues breaking down into tears in meetings

[Givenup2026]

I have never experienced this before. Yes out workplace is chaotic, but I didn’t think it was that chaotic or toxic.

It definitely has left me speechless and I don’t know what am I supposed to do beyond offering my support.

I didn’t want to jump ship, but I think I might to actively start looking.

has this happened to anyone before? And what ended up happening?

.

It was just a random project meeting nothing special

I’ve also been that woman crying and ending up so stressed and on meds because of a toxic job thankfully no longer work for that awful company that was a good 9 years ago.

I also imagine it’s even more regular now these days with every day to day life stresses and more companies treating staff poorly.

This.

The stress is real.
The sheer anger at lack of resources, and feeling that you are failing people you are trying to help because you just can't provide hat they need.
It then only takes one additional circumstance going on in your life at the same time and it pushes you over the edge.
Frequently.

At my previous toxic workplace I once went to go cry in a cupboard but there was already someone hiding in there.

... or to get a different job ...

NC for this but one of my friends named her little boy "Digby"....I kid you not!

Yeah my school gave the person who co-ordinated the trainees an office specifically so the trainees had somewhere private to go to cry.

the rest of us just had to use the staff loos.

One person crying might be a "them" issue. Several people crying sounds like shit management. Unmanageable workloads, issues falling on deaf ears and not being supported or being mistreated. It's surprising how much a team can endure if they feel supported.

Looking at you, Rachel Reeves ...

^ This. Somehow teachers are supposed to be impervious to abusive behaviour from fellow staff, students and parents.

exactly

I cry when I'm very frustrated or can't express myself. So I'm not necessarily upset just struggling to communicate my feelings.

I am on the spectrum.

Quite a few people cry in my workplace. It IS a toxic environment.

I mean that doesn’t work in every job though. Emergency call handlers, nurses, ambulance staff etc etc
there is always a particular patient/job that gets you. Stuff like the Manchester bombing, pretty sure almost every call handler would have cried at some point that shift or after it

Three separate colleagues have broken down this week. I’m exhausted but not emotionally exhausted

Unless you have a staff member who is particularly vulnerable and you didn't realise, or manipulative, tears in a meeting are a big management fail. The sort of news that's likely to result in extreme emotion needs careful delivery so it's not a shock. If a shock is unavoidable, you deliver it quick then ask if people want a few minutes then regroup. No individual should be publicly put in a position where they hear something that could bring them personally to tears. If they've made a big error, then a private meeting is required.

Yeah, I’m a teacher, and have seen three teachers (in two schools) in the last year just completely break and have to be led away from some toxic little shit/s who have never heard the word ‘no’.

Needless to say the staff turnover in those schools is rather high.

It was none of that it was genuinely stress related

I don’t think it’s that easy to up and leave a job. Although, I’ve been incredibly fortunate that when I’ve been that unhappy in a role my circumstances at the time meant I could.

I do think a manager should be appalled if their team are at the point of crying publicly. Personally I’d be looking to myself to understand why and fix the problem sharpish.

What support was offered to the person that cried?

But you already said that it's a stressful environment. They may or may not be in the same boat than you. They may be dealing with more stuff than is obvious to you or they may be more sensitive. In any case, they have hit a breaking point that you haven't.

Well none beyond “let me know if I can help you with anything “… I mean what else can we do? We’re peers on different teams.

Yep people don't cry in meetings for nothing. One person you could imagine they also have personal stuff going on and everything has got the better of them. Multiple people and you're looking at a failing workplace. If you're ok then you don't really need to do anything but be aware if it's not addressed then it could be you in the future.

May I ask what industry you're in?

I cried in Teams meeting with my boss and a peer once. I hadn't long been back from my second mat leave and just felt crushed by the weight of responsibility and desperately sad about being separated from my children. I could barely keep on top of my home life, let alone work! My boss understood he was asking too much of me too soon and backed off a bit. But not for long!

The place I work isn't particularly chaotic or toxic, I don't think moving jobs would help me unless it was a downgrade in responsibility and therefore pay, which isn't an option! I think for some the reality of juggling work and any home life stuff / responsibilities you have on is just a daily struggle that sometimes gets too much and leads to you crying in a meeting! At least I was on a Teams call so I could just leave the call and send a message after to explain.