3 workplace culture red flags and how to find solutions
3 workplace culture red flags and how to find solutions
BoomPop Team · 3/7/2022
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Toxic cultures aren’t created overnight.
Bad habits, from poor communication to disorganized workflows, can quietly pile up while more pressing issues grab the most attention. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t already feeling the effects of a toxic culture–and eventually, it’ll catch up with your team.
To help identify the signs people might miss, we asked our own BoomPop team to provide examples of work culture red flags they’ve come across throughout their careers.
Their answers covered a wide range of topics, but a few clear trends emerged. Below, we’ve distilled those trends into key warning signs to be on the lookout for–plus tips on how to begin moving toward solutions.
3 of the biggest warning signs
When a toxic culture comes to a head, it might look like an influx of conflict, a suddenly rising attrition rate, or mass-scale burnout across teams. Often, leaders will scramble to figure out what went wrong–and a frustrated few will wonder why no one cared when the warning signs were visible all along. Let’s explore what some of those signs look like.
1. Normalizing (and praising) a lack of strong boundaries
Pressure to always be available and gradual erosion of work/life balance
Teammates being praised for working weekends, showing off how stressed they are, or making their personal wellbeing secondary to the company’s success
Commonly receiving after-hours messages, notifications, or requests
Few teammates taking a substantial amount of time off and leaders not modeling healthy time away from the office
2. Leaders who fear or reject feedback
No channels to effectively deliver feedback to peers, managers, or company-level leadership
Being hesitant to share a contradictory opinion and having to say what people “want to hear”
No follow-through or accountability once feedback has been delivered
3. Tolerance of toxic teammates and behaviors
Yelling, passive aggression, dismissiveness, or other unhealthy communication tactics being used (or excused) by leadership
Using manipulative tactics to motivate employees or justify bad behaviors, e.g. “we’re like family here!”
Rearranging teams or managers without actually addressing negative behaviors
Working toward solutions
You might have noticed how many of the warning sign behaviors listed above are tied to the actions of company leaders. That’s because culture is a precedent set by those with the most authority.
No matter how many value statements you create, the development of workplace norms is usually an unspoken process where employees mirror the behavior of their managers, who are mirroring the behavior of their managers, and so on.
No matter the size of your company or the kinds of challenges you’re facing, the most important foundation for a healthy culture is to have leaders invested in self-awareness, empathy, and taking decisive action in response to feedback.
Using the red flags above as a model, here are just a few actionable examples that can help set your culture in the right direction:
1. Setting an enforced minimum for time off that applies to everyone and modeling healthy work/life boundaries from top down.
2. Consistently seeking feedback using specific, open-ended questions, and making sure teammates see tangible results.
3. Taking decisive action to root out and solve workplace culture problems, even at the cost of forward momentum or social harmony.
It’s easier to wait around and hope a culture problem solves itself, but we all know that a new leader, new project, or new month on the calendar can’t erase workplace cultural issues.
Building and maintaining trust with your team requires you to actively address toxicity before it reaches an apex, even if it’s uncomfortable or requires significant change.
We all spend too much time at work to suffer through a day-to-day dynamic that’s draining, harmful, and takes away from our personal joy. Identifying and working toward solutions for these red flags will help make your culture stronger–and improve your life beyond work, too.
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