A toxic work culture is defined as the state of any workplace which is not conducive to employee well-being, productivity, and progression. A toxic culture is characterized by conflict, hostile interpersonal relationships, and unethical conduct.
Table of Contents
- What Is Toxic Work Culture?
- 8 Signs of Toxic Work Culture and Tips for Improvement
- Acknowledging a Toxic Work Culture Is the First Step Toward Improvement
What Is Toxic Work Culture?
Toxic work culture is the state of any workplace which is not conducive to employee well-being, productivity, and progression. In contrast to companies with a weak culture, a toxic culture is characterized by conflict, hostile interpersonal relationships, and unethical conduct.
The definition of toxic work culture could vary from individual to individual, based on their diverse personalities. For example, an extrovert who is not comfortable with a closed, cubicle-based office layout may find a typical corporate culture to be slightly toxic.
As your company grows, there is always a risk that your culture will not scale simultaneously. With new recruits joining the organization, and the introduction of demanding goals/targets, the work culture could even become slightly toxic – putting employees under undue pressure and causing dissatisfaction.
Research suggests that combating a toxic work culture is harder than it first appears. A survey of 20,000Opens a new window + employees found that culture-building efforts successfully increased employee engagement by 6%. Yet, an overwhelming 59% of employees were willing to leave the organization. This indicates that toxic work culture is a pervasive issue and requires constant vigilance from employers.
The definition of culture itself varies across companies. According to MIT Sloan’s Culture 500 Analysis of Glassdoor dataOpens a new window , Netflix is among the 25% least collaborative companies, while Alphabet is among the top 60%. These company-specific values and variances will contribute to work culture.
So, here’s what having a toxic work culture can mean for various stakeholders:
- For candidates: A company known for its toxic work culture will struggle to attract top-tier talent. Candidates are likely to enquire about bad reviews on Glassdoor or negative anecdotes shared by friends if they make it to the interview stage at all. For candidates, toxic work culture is synonymous with a weak employer brand.
- For employees: A toxic work culture will hold back employees from bringing their best to work, both personally and professionally. On a personal level, they might be wary of forming relationships, as they are apprehensive about office politics, gossip, and other unethical behaviors. Professionally, they will lack the empowerment to be innovative and productive.
- For employers: In the long run, companies will suffer hugely due to toxic work culture. For instance, it could cause mass turnover in a short period, leading to exponential HR costs. This could even take the drastic form of multiple leadership resignations, bringing down the company’s share value (in case it is publicly traded).
While companies may insist on a unique and individualized culture code (e.g., the clear difference between Netflix and Google), this cannot be a justification for a work environment that impacts employees negatively. For instance, an outcome-focused culture shouldn’t drive employees to put in overtime hours regularly, causing the risk of workplace stress and, ultimately, burnout.
This is why it is so important to keep an eye out for any signs of toxicity in your work culture.
8 Signs of Toxic Work Culture and Tips for Improvement
Too often, companies do not acknowledge workplace toxicity until it leads to a quantifiable event, such as mass turnover, a high volume of employee complaints, difficulty in hiring, a dip in customer service quality, etc.
By then, it might be too late, and you would have to put in a lot of effort to reverse the clock. It is a smarter idea to monitor workplace culture closely, keeping an eye out for any sign of toxicity. This includes the following:
1. Employees are “not sure†about long-term objectives
On the surface, this might seem like a minor issue, arising out of miscommunication. But left alone, this can lead to ambiguity, confusion, the lack of purpose, and even a breakdown of team structures.
Employees aren’t sure of their contribution to a project, making them less accountable for their performance in the workplace. There is also a risk of team members following a manager’s mandate blindly, without visibility into what it is they are meant to achieve.
How does one address this?
Fortunately, this indicator of toxic work culture is easy to address. You can start by redesigning the onboarding experienceOpens a new window , explaining the company’s mission statement to recruits.
Next, managers can take recruits on a walkthrough of daily duties, painting a holistic picture of how individual tasks fit into company outcomes. Reinforce all of this by regular communication on the milestones achieved and the distance yet to be covered.
2. Micromanaging is part of the plan
This is a clear red flag. If one manager micromanages their team, you can conduct training sessions and develop leadership skills so that every employee feels equally empowered. But if every manager accepts micromanagement as part of their key result areas (KRAs), then it is an organizational issue.
This impacts every employee negatively – your managers will feel overburdened, trying to make up for any lapse among their team members. Frontline employees will struggle to express their voice as well.
How does one address this?
You can address this typical trait of toxic work culture by investing in learning and development (L&D)Opens a new window . For managers, this could mean one-on-one coaching on leadership best practices. You could also train employees on soft skills such as communication, innovation-readiness, and teamwork so that they contribute meaningfully to any team project.
Finally, the transformation must begin at the C-suite, with C-level leaders democratizing decision-making across individual business units and managers.
3. Employees joke about being overworked and underpaid
Most of us have heard this at some point in time. But if you look under the hood, there is often a degree of truth behind this casually uttered statement. Not only do employees feel overworked, but it has become almost normalized – so much so that your workforce is okay joking about this experience.
In this kind of toxic work culture, employees feel compelled to work overtime, either due to work pressure or because their peers are doing so.
How does one address this?
Overtime is strictly regulated by law, and employers should ensure that workers don’t exceed the weekly limit mandated by law as well as organizational policy.
Also, if an employee rarely leaves their workstation across a regular 9-to-5 workday, it is a surefire sign of extreme work pressure. Companies can mandate breaks within the workday, institutionalize a specific number of work-from-home hours in a month, and pay commissions for project-based roles. This will help to maintain employees’ mental health, as well as job satisfactionOpens a new window .
Learn More: What Is Work Culture? Definition, Components, Examples, and Best PracticesOpens a new window
4. Communication with leadership is strictly on an “as-needed†basis
Opaque hierarchical barriers often mark toxic work culture. This means that frontline employees have access only to their immediate managers, and not to the senior leadership. This limits visibility dramatically.
If an employee has any queries on workplace policy (let’s say a question on pay transparency), they must reach out to the manager and wait for a response. Eventually, employees will feel like their voice isn’t heard, and the senior leadership operates out of an exclusive ivory tower.
How does one address this?
You can curb this challenge at the very roots when defining a company’s culture code.
Make regular communication part of your operational blueprint. The week starts with a CEO town hall, a different C-level leader sends out a signed newsletter every week, and there is a dedicated email trail/Slack thread/group chat, where employees can reach out to senior leaders directly.
5. Revenue-centricity at the cost of employee morale and well-being
In a company where profitability and revenue generation comes at the cost of employee well-being, employees are bound to feel undervalued. This type of toxic work culture often expects employees to give up their personal time and sacrifice work-life balance for the sake of the company’s success.
For instance, let’s say a customer wants to schedule a meeting on a day when an employee has planned a holiday. If the employee alters their plans and comes into the office (and this happens regularly), you could be dealing with a toxic work culture.
How does one address this?
Companies like Virgin have been outright on this issue. Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, had this to sayOpens a new window : “My philosophy has always been, if you can put staff first, your customer second and shareholders third effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and you yourself are happy.â€
In other words, it is advisable to make employee centricity the cornerstone of your workplace culture, basing professional decisions on how it would impact employee well-being.
Learn More: 5 Ways to Strengthen Workplace Culture When Times Are ToughOpens a new window
6. Compensation and rewards without recognition
A toxic work culture doesn’t necessarily mean low-paying jobs.
It might be that the company is compensating employees adequately for their efforts, yet employees do not feel sufficiently valued. This means that there is an apparent lack of recognition and appreciationOpens a new window of employees’ contributions (which doesn’t always have to be a monetizable reward).
How does one address this?
You can address this challenge arising from a toxic work culture through a robust reward and recognition program. Apart from standard rewards – gift cards, bonuses, etc. – make sure to socially recognize employees who go the extra mile in the workplace.
You can also celebrate events like Employee Appreciation DayOpens a new window to highlight the day-to-day efforts of various employees. Social recognition is a particularly valuable tool here, as it builds a positive, collaborative, and almost “family-like†work culture.
7. Policies and benefits aren’t consistent across the workforce
This means that decision-making frequently hinges on bias and stereotypes rather than an objective analysis of the situation.
Let’s say a company has a flexible work-from-home policy – one team follows a culture of presenteeism, coming into office even when a team member is unwell. Another team is rarely in the office, liberally leveraging work-from-home to ease their workloads. Situations like this can incite hostility and cause disengagement with one’s peers.
How does one address this?
Once again, the resolution begins with the C-suite.
Senior leaders must set an example of how to implement company policies. If your company offers unlimited vacationOpens a new window , the CEO must take a specific number of days off every year. This ensures that the same rules apply across the board, without favoritism, bias, or differential behavior among the leadership.
Learn More: 4 Ways to Foster a Culture of Recognition in the WorkplaceOpens a new window
8. Employees can’t imagine discussing their side hustles at work
As the gig economy gains momentum, more and more employees will try to follow their passion and earn profits, outside of their regular workday. A survey of 3,560 respondentsOpens a new window found that 35% of people have some sort of side hustle, earning an average of $25 per hour.
But employees are often secretive about their entrepreneurial ventures, anxious that their employees will reprimand – or even terminate – them if they find out.
How does one address this?
An intolerant attitude toward side hustles is a reliable indicator of toxic work culture. It implies that the company isn’t open to innovations outside the workplace and would rather antagonize employees instead of embracing their passions.
That’s why companies like Google let employees dedicate 20% of their time to side projectsOpens a new window , cutting into their primary workday. You can adopt similar policies – or simply ask managers to discuss their employees’ hobbies/passion projects openly.
Acknowledging a Toxic Work Culture Is the First Step Toward Improvement
Building a positive work culture isn’t a set-and-forget exercise. You need to formulate a culture code, monitor employee sentiment, and update the code dynamically to maintain the quality of your work environment. Research suggests that there are several gaps in the current state of work culture – here are the findings of a 2020 survey of 40,000+ employeesOpens a new window :
- 38% cite an “Us vs. Them†attitude as a major cause for conflict.
- Nearly 25% report feeling like outliers in the office community.
- 60% say that those in authority act with respect “very rarelyâ€.
- Only 1 in 5 managers understand that it might be difficult for an employee to say no to a work request.
- 47% of employees don’t see a clearly understood baseline for behavior in their organization.
- Only one-third strongly agree that they can be “their authentic self†in the workplace.
These statistics speak volumes about the state of work culture and the level of toxicity that could creep in. This is why it is critical to stay vigilant and nip any sign of toxic work culture right in the bud.
You can start with employee engagement surveysOpens a new window , identifying the causes of disengagement, which often overlap with the triggers of toxicity.
By taking proactive measures and staying focused on employee well-being, you can push the needle in the right direction and deliver nurturing, positive experience to every employee. These experiences will cumulatively make up the perceived culture in your company, helping to attract top-tier candidates, retain your high-value talent, and drive long-term profitability for the company.
Have you ever experienced a toxic work culture at your organization? If so, what were the first tell-tale signs? Tell us on FacebookOpens a new window , LinkedInOpens a new window , or TwitterOpens a new window . We are eager to know about your views!