Culture. Culture is the new area of focus for employers today in trying to attract new employees, as well as engage and retain their current ones. With so many people considering making career changes and returning to the workforce, employers need to keep their competitive advantage by offering not only appropriate salaries and benefit packages, but also attractive workplace environments or cultures. But what is culture? And how do you know if you are about to walk into a toxic environment? Sometimes, you won’t know the details of your new work environment until you are in it, which is something we’d like to try and avoid at all costs. But sometimes, there are ways to identify if the company you are considering for your future employment is all it’s cracked up to be.
First, let’s define culture. It’s such a buzz word in 2022. Everyone is talking about it that lives and breathes recruitment and/or attracting/hiring/onboarding new associates. But what is it? According to Indeed, culture is a “collection of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that make up the regular atmosphere in a work environment.” A company with a positive work culture ensures that the behavior of their employees aligns with the organization’s goals and policies. Culture is an essential factor in determining how well a new (or established) employee will fit into their environment as well as their ability to formulate meaningful, positive, and professional relationships with their colleagues. The culture of your workplace is powerful! It can impact your work-life balance, your attitude, mental health, growth opportunities and overall satisfaction in employment. It can affect your relationship with others and attitude towards work in general.
There are primarily two types of cultures: healthy, or positive workplace cultures, and toxic workplace cultures. Some elements of a healthy culture that you should be on the lookout for in your search for employment are company’s that offer opportunities for teamwork or collaboration, recognition, frequent and inclusive communication, the ability to be expressive, and organization’s that embrace accountability. Positive work cultures have positive outcomes when it comes to employee satisfaction, retention, performance, and reputation. You can find more information about these traits and outcomes in the Career Advice section of Indeed’s website. My goal today is to help you recognize the culture on the other end of the spectrum, toxic workplace cultures.
I feel as though I am in a great place to share with you how to identify toxic cultures because I have personally experienced it. I failed to recognize, or “see the signs” during my interview process, because I was blindsided by the excitement of a high salary and what I believed was a professional growth opportunity. If you take nothing else away from my articles and my advice, trust me when I say that your mental health and happiness are more important than making a lot of money. When I was working in a toxic work culture, I was personally and professionally at my lowest. How is that possible!? I was making more money and I had a great title working for a company with a great purpose, but I was MISERABLE. I was more than miserable. I don’t know if there is a word to describe the level of unhappiness, stress, and anxiety I felt every single day. Everything in my life suffered. My relationships, my self-esteem, my health, my mental health, my home, my ambition, ME. It was a traumatic experience. The day that I left was liberating and I cried tears of joy and relief.
I am here to tell you it is okay to leave. It is okay to put yourself first and recognize when you are in an unhealthy environment. You are not replaceable. Jobs are a dime a dozen. You will find something else that makes you happy and does not eat away at your self-esteem and mental well-being. Let’s look at some characteristics of toxic work cultures. Many of these characteristics you can investigate during the interview process by asking the right questions and with good observation of your surroundings.
- Little to no enthusiasm, smiles, and/or low energy
Companies with toxic cultures typically have employees with little motivation. They don’t smile much. They aren’t very welcoming or accepting of new employees (you know, that moment when you receive a small tour and are introduced to other employees and the team doesn’t say much, they barely crack a smile, maybe they don’t even look up at you). You may not feel much energy in the room or there isn’t much activity. This isn’t to be confused with a team that may be in a meeting, or busy helping someone on the phone or in a virtual meeting so they can’t pay attention to you or it seems quiet. Be sure to observe the associates that are currently working there and their comments to you, and the way they interact with each other!
- Body language
Similar to number one, pay attention to body language of associates. Things like eye contact, the crossing of arms, keeping office doors closed (okay, that’s not body language but it’s a sign nevertheless). Many people don’t realize the things they do with their face when they are irritated, annoyed, disengaged, or just wanting to be anywhere else. You’ve all heard the expression resting b**** face, well, think of that. You may hear frequent sighs, see team members rubbing their forehead, slow blinking of the eyes, etc. Again, my advice is to pay attention to your surroundings.
- Constant dysfunction and/or confusion
In toxic cultures, there is frequent, if not constant dysfunction. Team members don’t know what the other teams are doing. Sometimes they don’t even know what people on their OWN team are doing. Nobody seems to know what is going on. There is frequent miscommunication, or no communication. Projects are often started and not completed. Things may be changed on the daily basis. Change is normal, and to be expected. But if every day there is a new policy or workflow or the departments are being restructured, this is indicative of someone who is leading by being reactive instead of proactive and thoroughly thinking through changes before implementing them. Be aware of this as you explore new employment opportunities.
- Fear of failure
When you belong to a toxic work environment, you are gripped by the fear of making a mistake or screwing up. Trust me. I’ve been there. Naturally, my personality type has a little bit of perfectionism in it (okay, a lot of perfectionism in it). I want my work to be done well, correctly, and I like to know that I have made a difference. Leaders of a toxic work environment typically have one-way communication and expectations. Their way is the only way, and if you do it wrong or make a mistake, you’ll know it. There is a difference between constructive criticism and making people feel like they are not good enough. If you get a sense of fear, or people afraid to ask questions, or be themselves, run for the hills.
- No team building, separate work groups, and silos
A classic sign of a toxic work culture is lack of employee interaction with one another and engagement. In a healthy environment, associates from different departments or teams WANT to interact. They enjoy working together and collaborating on projects. A good leader encourages this, welcomes it, and supports it. When individuals “stay in their own lane” or choose to be siloed from each other, this indicates that the collaborative efforts have not been welcomed in the past or there have been some negatives experiences from trying it before. Many of these classic signs of toxic workplace cultures are connected. For example, there may be a lack of interest in collaboration because there is poor communication or goals are not made clear. It could be because of the low morale and dark energy. Typically, there is more than one sign and they are usually always connected to one another.
- Gossip
Did you think gossiping was just a high school thing? Think again! Unfortunately, companies that have a toxic culture is a breeding ground for gossip and mistrust amongst associates and managers. When associates don’t feel supported, this leads to lack of trust. If it’s not made clear that gossiping and talking about one another will not be tolerated, it runs rampant. This includes everything from talking about an outfit someone is wearing, to a comment that was made in a meeting, to who someone went out with over the weekend, and everything in between. Work is meant to be a positive and supportive environment FOR EVERYONE. Associates should be encouraged to seek out their manager or human resources if they have a legitimate concern about a colleague. A good manager or leader does not tolerate gossip in the workplace.
- High turnover
How many people have held your job in the past year? How many new associates have come on board (replacing old ones, not due to company growth)? These are questions that you should definitely ask as you interview for new career opportunities. Had I known that two other people had held my position in less than six months, I probably would have had more questions about the role and how I would fit in. Companies with toxic cultures have frequent turnover, typically because associates are unhappy and leave. This is costly and leads to aggravation and frustration, only adding fuel to the fire of an already unstable work environment.
- Passive aggressive behavior
I don’t know what’s worse, interacting with someone who is openly negative all the time, or working with someone who has a pattern of indirectly expressing negative feelings. Someone who is passive aggressive may appear to be supportive or enthusiastic, but in reality, they express their resentment by demonstrating negative behaviors. Some examples include silence, avoidance, sarcasm, and weaponized kindness. They may derail a project on purpose or choose to miss a deadline because they resent being asked to do something. Be very wary of passive aggressive behavior in the workplace and avoid it at all costs.
- No work life balance
It is one thing to go above and beyond your job description or to stay an hour past your normal work time to wrap up a project or assist a coworker. It’s another to be working 7 days a week, checking your email every 30 minutes on the weekend because you’re afraid your boss has sent yet another email, and be losing sleep at night worrying when/how you will get your work done. That’s not living. I am a hard worker. I am team player. I am a dedicated employee. However, I am also a mother, a wife, a stepmother, a daughter, a sister, a friend and everything in between. While work is important, it does not replace the relationships and the roles that you play in your life as a whole. A good leader respects his/her associates time outside of work and recognizes that an associate who has time to recoup their energy and leave work at work is a more engaged and energetic associate.
It is important to note, the higher your role is within an organization, the more responsibility you have. In my former role, there was an expectation that I be available to work 24/7 that was not made clear to me during my interview. While I knew the role had more responsibility, I did not realize the amount of time I was expected to be at work. I should have asked better questions. Asking questions such as “What are your communication expectations during nonwork hours?” or “Should I expect to receive and respond to calls and emails when I am not working?” will give you some insight as to the level of expectation.
- Trust your gut
When all else fails, or if you are still having doubts, trust your gut. All kidding aside, it is probably the best indicator if something doesn’t feel right to you. There is an expression “If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.” I 100% support that. I knew about a month into the job that I accepted that something “wasn’t right.” I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt like I didn’t fit in. I felt like a square peg trying to fit in a circle hole. My personality didn’t fit, my work style didn’t fit (well, it fit with my team, but not my supervisor) …I didn’t fit. I kept saying “Give it more time, you are entering a new industry” but I knew all along that I was in the wrong place. It’s okay to know when something isn’t for you or isn’t good for you. When I made the decision to leave, I went to talk to the Pastor of our church because I was feeling like a failure. I shared with him my situation and I got all teary eyed. He stopped me and said “Kate, why on Earth do you feel like a failure? You stood up for yourself and what you believe in. You made the decision to put your family first, to put yourself first. You’re not a failure by any means. I am proud of you, and your family should be too.” It was in that moment that I realized it is okay to trust your gut and take care of yourself. I left that job, started working a remote, temp job until I found my next position and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to walk away from something that wasn’t good for me and where my talents were not appreciated or welcomed.
To summarize all ten of these signs into one piece of advice: PAY ATTENTION. Pay attention to your surroundings, to body language, to other associates, to customers, to the environment. Pay attention to attitude and tone and how your questions are received and answered. Ask A LOT of questions. You spent up to 40 hours a week or more working, it is important that you like what you do and that you feel appreciated and supported by the people you work alongside and by your supervisor.
There are PLENTY of jobs out there and PLENTY of amazing companies to work for. Don’t stay stuck in a toxic environment because you are afraid. The evidence out there just doesn’t support that type of thinking!
