A great culture may be the driving force behind your company’s success. People thrive in a supportive and encouraging environment, which encourages them to go outside the box and surpass your expectations.
A toxic culture, on the other hand, may be a liability. If your team is working in a gloomy, unfriendly, or unpleasant atmosphere, it will be difficult for them to focus on the important tasks.
This type of environment breeds tension and worry, making it difficult for employees to focus on their task. A toxic culture can lead to greater personnel turnover over time, and a particularly toxic culture may even result in litigation.
What is a toxic culture?
A toxic office culture is one in which employees feel uneasy, undesired, or unable to concentrate. Toxic cultures are the consequence of structural issues such as overwork, poor communication, and ineffective HR processes.
Toxic cultures may take numerous shapes from the perspective of employees. Any of the following toxic work culture examples may cause your team members to complain:
- Closed groupings that alienate other team members are known as cliques.
- Discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly because of their color, age, or gender.
- Team members fail to build interpersonal relationships, resulting in alienation.
- Individual teams that function as a company within a corporation are referred to as silos.
- Colleagues who refuse to help each other on assignments are referred to be non-cooperative.
- Harassment: Bullying or abuse directed at team members in the workplace.
Any of the aforementioned symptoms might indicate a hazardous work environment. However, many of these issues are only apparent when you’re at the office with your coworkers.
How do you know if a culture is toxic?
If a work environment is toxic, it’s going to make it difficult for your employees to be productive, no matter how highly qualified they may be.
“Every unhappy family is miserable in its own way,” says an old adage. The same may be said about toxic workplace cultures, which can manifest in a variety of ways.
There are some common red flags that you’ll see in any organization, such as:
Unfocused Employees
Employees may lose attention and get distracted at work as a result of a poisonous culture. They may not be as driven to work, resulting in a drop in productivity. Customer satisfaction may also suffer as a result of faults and rework.
Communication Problems
Many important aspects of success may be harmed by a toxic atmosphere, one of the most costly being communication. Certain employees may refuse to communicate with coworkers they consider toxic, resulting in a breakdown in communication and a lack of collaboration.
Bad Reputation
Your toxic office culture will eventually become well-known. Employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs may post negative evaluations on sites like Glassdoor or just chat with their coworkers. In any case, a toxic workplace may jeopardize an organization’s good name. Ideal applicants may not apply, and high-performing staff may not be able to cope with the unfavorable atmosphere.
Staff turnover
People who detest their coworkers are far more inclined to look for a new job. As a result, there is more staff turnover, which means more money is spent on recruiting, training, and keeping personnel.
Employee Lawsuits
Employees may feel compelled to take legal action in response to a hostile work environment. This is especially frequent in companies where harassment, bullying, or discrimination exists – particularly if the HR department has failed to address the problem.
What causes toxic work culture?
Toxic corporate culture is sometimes an indication of more serious organizational issues. The following are some of the most prevalent issues:
1. Overwork
Stress and burnout may occur when individuals are overwhelmed with duties. People may act defensively as a result of their stress, which might be misinterpreted as hostility. In the long term, stress may wreak havoc on your culture by causing interpersonal conflict.
2. Lack of recognition
People applaud the accomplishments of their coworkers in a healthy culture. What happens, though, when people do not believe their own accomplishments are being adequately recognized? This might create an unhealthy feeling of rivalry in some societies. Others may just get disengaged as a result of it.
3. Unclear focus
A team is at its finest when everyone is pulling in the same direction. When the direction is uncertain, individuals will begin to debate over what should be prioritized, resulting in friction and silos.
4. Inconsistent values
Everything you do should be guided by your company’s ideals. One of the elements of a great business culture is transparency. Employees won’t be able to live your principles on a daily basis if they can’t see them, and without strong values, your culture will become confusing and fractured.
5. Bad examples at the top
Leaders are looked upon for social indications by employees. Employees will typically conduct in the same manner as senior leadership if they are polite, principled, and honest. However, when top leaders exhibit toxic behaviors, the rest of the team will quickly follow suit.
6. Lack of HR expertise
HR practices that are well-designed can assist to eliminate undesirable behaviors while also encouraging workers to support and appreciate one another. When the HR department is overburdened and unable to focus on cultural issues, toxic work cultures evolve.
How do you change a negative work culture?
The first step toward a more pleasant working environment is to recognize a toxic work culture. You may begin taking actions to correct a problem once you’ve identified it and determined how it impacts your team.
It can take a long time and a lot of work to realign an organization’s culture. The following are the essential actions you should take:
1. Acknowledge the issues
Hearing from your employer that some parts of the company culture have grown poisonous may be quite impactful. A public acknowledgement helps reassure employees that you are aware of the problem and are trying to resolve it.
2. Get leadership buy-in
Senior executives must comprehend their position in corporate culture. Leaders must not only support the HR team’s culture approach, but also set a good example for the rest of the organization. Discuss employee engagement and retention with your leadership team, since both suffer severely in a toxic culture.
3. Restate your values
Most businesses begin with a positive culture. Small groups grasp the company’s mission’s strategy and values, and they recognize how their efforts must be in line with those principles. If your company’s culture has become toxic, it may be necessary to reaffirm some of those beliefs and remind employees of the company’s goals.
4. Keep measuring and monitoring
Even if you believe your company has a healthy culture, it’s a good idea to keep track of current satisfaction levels. To gain a deeper understanding of your culture’s present situation, use pulse surveys, one-on-one feedback sessions, and focus groups. Use stay interviews and departure interviews to obtain data on the fundamental reasons of worker turnover if you have a problem with it.
Bottom Line
Your HR team plays a vital role in promoting a thriving organizational culture. When that HR team is under-resourced or inexperienced, things can go wrong, and you may find yourself dealing with a toxic work culture.
SW HR Consulting has been helping companies to build their teams and values for over 10 years. Contact us to find out more about our unique hr outsourcing services and see how our expertise can benefit you.
