You can’t understate the importance of the culture your company fosters in the workplace. It might be something intangible, but it has very real consequences. It affects you each and every day. And it can leave you feeling motivated and purposeful or quite the opposite—burned out and wishing you could quit.
The r/AskReddit online community recounted some of the main signs of a toxic workplace, and we’ve collected some of their most on-point insights. Scroll down to have a read. It’s a great cheat sheet to check whether your own management supports its staff or exploits them for a quick profit.
#1
A high employee turnover is a quick way to determine its not a good place to work.
Image source: ManCrisp, Edmond Dantès (not the actual photo)
#2
When boss yells at employees in front of everyone else.
Image source: Message_From_Mars, Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)
#3
When all your coworkers talk s**t about each other behind their backs, you know they’re talking s**t about you behind your back, too.
Image source: galactic-avatar, Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
#4
Lack of promotion from within despite qualified and motivated employees.
Frequent reminders that employees of equal position should not discuss their wage and will be reprimanded if they do.
Image source: cheesehotdish, Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
#5
They put as many tasks as they can on the newer people and call it training
Image source: Shadowy13, Mizuno K (not the actual photo)
#6
Micromanagement.
Image source: rxvf, Jonathan Borba (not the actual photo)
#7
When it feels like you’re in school again. If there’s actively petty drama, it means either the boss doesn’t know or doesn’t stop it. Either way is no good. Also, the moment you start getting criticized for anything not related to your work (looks, intelligence, etc.). You shouldn’t be getting paid to be bullied.
Image source: Notasupervillan, Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
#8
No unions
Image source: Bigleonard, Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
#9
Dirty employee bathroom. Check the ply on the toilet paper too. If it looks like Soviet-era wood pulp – end the interview and scoot out of there.
Image source: blaspheminCapn, Elyse Horvath (not the actual photo)
#10
For me, there are a few:
1. No one ever smiles. I get a lot of people have RBF and aren’t required to smile all day long, but if I walk though my entire workplace and not one person looks even remotely enthused then I probably am in a toxic environment. At my last job, you could go weeks without even hearing someone laugh in be break room because everyone was so dead.
2. Lots of turnover/new hires leaving quickly. This is a huge red flag and the hardest to overcome, because it is such a cycle. Top performers are unhappy, leave and put the workload on everyone else there, which makes them even more unhappy and they will leave soon after. Then, management tries to hire all new people but hey need time to understand the work, and then feel overwhelmed and leave. It ends up with everyone being overworked and no one sticking around for longer than a few months.
3. Finally, changes for the sake of changing. I’m all for innovation and new ideas in the workplace, but I believe that they should be done with a purpose. If no one is sure why something is changing, then it’s a sign that management is spinning their wheels and just hoping that something will stick.
Image source: azcardsfan2056, Mikael Blomkvist (not the actual photo)
#11
Culture of fear. When nobody takes risks, and everybody has a CYA mentality. Then when something goes wrong, everybody scrambles to throw someone under the bus.
Image source: shatteredarm1, cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
#12
When you first start, the managers are unwilling to answer questions you may have. Or are at least condescending about it. Bad sign. If you’re new you should be asking plenty of questions, it only makes sense.
Image source: anon, Polina Zimmerman (not the actual photo)
#13
S****y communication, drama, your boss complains to your coworker about other coworkers, your boss doesn’t do anything to fix issues
Image source: MysteriousMethod, Felicity Tai (not the actual photo)
#14
When everyone hates the boss but can’t honestly tell him/her how to improve out of fear of retribution.
Image source: samcanplaymusic, Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)
#15
Scapegoating and bullying. Someone asked me if I’d noticed that on one foreman’s crew there was always one guy who was the scapegoat. If he left, they’d single someone else out to be the whipping boy.
Image source: russianout, Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual photo)
#16
helping a coworker and getting glares from others during it.
Image source: Omnipotentls, fauxels (not the actual photo)
#17
When there is a work outing every other day and they eg you on to come out and whine when you don’t.
I SEE U GUYS MORE THAN I SEE MY OWN FAMILY
Image source: Chorono, Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual photo)
#18
They tell you there’s ample opportunity for overtime. That just means they can’t keep enough people to run a full crew.
They tell you during orientation not to trust your coworkers, because everyone there is a backstabber.
They offer a reward program for spilling the beans on people violating the rules.
Team leads and managers openly speak ill of other employees in your presence.
People are constantly talking about each other, and then being friendly when facing that person.
Cops are called onto the premises at least once a month due to employee theft, fights, or threats.
Company announces that there won’t be a raise that year, then the later the same day announces record profits.
Reports of drugs being sold on premises are ignored.
All of these happened at a single warehouse I worked at.
Image source: anon, Alexander Suhorucov (not the actual photo)
#19
Employees don’t seem to enjoy being around each other.
Image source: Ayzmo, RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
#20
Silos, people not willing to help others or answer questions.
Image source: mjkubba, SHVETS production (not the actual photo)
#21
When former employees don’t have many positive things to say about the place, whether or not they left on good terms.
Image source: forlornjackalope, Keira Burton (not the actual photo)
#22
The person who is really friendly on your first day, that then slags off their department on your second day probably isn’t the person you want to be friends with. Learned that the hard way. That persons name is now Crazy-*name* in conversation with my friends.
Image source: markedmo, Helena Lopes (not the actual photo)
#23
An extremely lopsided and very open political landscape in the workplace. Good luck being in the political minority.
Image source: reddit.com, Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
#24
The employees whisper stuff about the boss to warn you about his ways.
Image source: anon, RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
#25
When you pick up more training from the gossip rather than the management.
Image source: leader-akiko, Monstera Production (not the actual photo)
#26
When the managers exert their power in every way possible.
It’s a manager’s job to *manage*, not control, and even so, the best way to ensure a task gets done on time is to be constructive and try and let people do what works best for them. The maxim “absolute power unabused is absolute power wasted,” need not apply to leadership positions.
Image source: MagicalMonarchOfMo, CoWomen (not the actual photo)
#27
Your boss controls how and when you can communicate with others, including people on your own team.
Image source: PeligrosaPistola, Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
#28
The employees conspire to either evade or save the management. When the bosses can’t steer the ship you know it’s about to go down.
Image source: TheNextLordMormont, fauxels (not the actual photo)
#29
Internal competition for skilled people and between managers
Image source: JooZt, Alena Darmel (not the actual photo)
#30
When there’s too much of a family vibe going on. From my experience, it usually means the boss let’s a lot of s****y things pass and when they try to reprimand an employee it’s never taken seriously. Everyone does whatever they want and lots of time is wasted.
Image source: EucaMintLavender, fauxels (not the actual photo)
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