10 Signs of a Toxic Company Culture
Most of us need to earn an income, ideally doing something we love surrounded by great people. Unfortunately, many of us find ourselves dreading each workday, navigating a toxic work culture, or counting down the minutes until we can sign off. For some, the option to work from home has been an escape, but it has not eliminated all the challenges; it’s just created some distance. This space has led many to realize how dysfunctional their work environment is. In the US, over thirty-eight million people quit their jobs in 2021, and this trend is continuing. A recent study found that 6 in 10 employees have already drafted their resignation letters so they’re ready to go when they decide to quit. One of the leading reasons that people leave their jobs is a toxic company culture. In fact, a toxic work culture is 10.4 times more likely to motivate a resignation than compensation. But sometimes it’s hard to know you’re in a toxic work environment when you’re so close to it. So, here are ten signs to look out for and some guidance on what to do about it.
Signs of a Toxic Company Culture
Absenteeism and high turnover
If your coworkers are maxing out their sick days and quitting in droves, it’s a clear sign that something’s wrong.
Gossip and exclusion
Gossiping leads to resentment and creates us-versus-them alliances. It breaks down trust and leaves people feeling excluded and insecure.
Bad or absent leadership and/or lack of trust in leadership
A good leader provides mentorship and coaching, helps you to develop new skills, and communicates clear expectations. Bad leadership does the opposite. Bad bosses are flakey, have inconsistent or contradictory expectations, and show no interest in you as a person.
Communication breakdowns
Leaders and team members continually fail to share pertinent information. Bad communication leads to the duplication of efforts and wasting time on unnecessary tasks.
Work deadlines and profit are prioritized over well-being
People are frequently expected to work long hours, take on extra shifts and more tasks without concern for their mental health or lives outside of work.
Burnout, low morale, and depleted enthusiasm or engagement
Employees are doing the bare minimum, openly expressing cynicism about objectives, or spending as much time as possible doing non-work-related activities throughout the day.
Gaslighting
Leadership frequently flips the narrative around to avoid any accountability. Instead, they place the blame on their teams or other individuals.
Ignoring bad behavior, unequal enforcement of policies
Rules and policies are enforced for some people while others breaking the same policies are completely ignored. Unethical behavior is allowed for the sake of profits or conflict avoidance.
Growth is not supported or encouraged
Your company doesn’t see the value of providing training, new opportunities, or skills development. They don’t care about helping their employees progress and move forward, focusing only on how they can serve the company now.
High levels of anxiety, fear of failure, feeling emotionally unsafe
People fear making mistakes or missing deadlines because of a pattern of toxic responses from leadership in such situations.
What To Do If You Notice These Signs
You might be experiencing some or all of these ten signs of a toxic culture at your current company and wondering what your next move should be. Quitting your job might be a solution, but before you do, evaluate the current situation. Is the toxic culture companywide or is it department specific? If you find that the issues are exclusive to your department, it might be that you’re working for a manager that is creating a toxic environment. In this scenario, consider joining up with other members of your team to raise concerns with Human Resources and work together on finding solutions. A companywide toxic culture is harder to change, but if you feel safe to do so, have a conversation with upper management and Human Resources to determine what plans they might have to improve the culture. If after these conversations you find that management is not taking your concerns seriously or taking measures that are performative but have no real impact, it might be time to move on. And if you feel unsafe in your current job, that’s a major red flag. You should never feel mentally, emotionally, or physically in danger at work. Environments like that are not worth your effort and it’s definitely time to leave.
Moving on
Before you begin the process of searching for new jobs, know what you’re looking for. Take time to jot down ideas on the type of work you’d like to do and define the work environment that would best match your preferences. Also create a list of things that absolutely will not work for you. Knowing what you want to avoid is just as helpful as knowing what you’d like to be a part of. With that knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to find the right opportunity for you. You’ll start to notice language in job descriptions that will either resonate with what you’re looking for or raise red flags and help you avoid jobs that aren’t right for you. Once you apply and start interviewing, you’ll know what questions to ask hiring managers to determine if the environment and leadership style will align with your needs.
Don’t Settle
Whether you decide to try and improve your current workplace or to move on, remember that your well-being is important. We spend a significant part of our lives working and our jobs should provide more than just a paycheck. They should be engaging, allow for a healthy work/life balance, and provide opportunities to learn and grow. You deserve all of those things regardless of what you do for work. Advocate for yourself by working with leaders to improve your current work environment or by seeking out new opportunities that will enable you to thrive.
