Workplace culture influences how employees interact, communicate, perform, and even how long they stay at the company.

A positive work culture incentivizes:

• • Retention
  • Engagement and productivity
  • Individual and organizational growth

Conversely, a toxic workplace culture leads to:

• • Employee burnout and high turnover
  • Lower engagement and reduced productivity
  • Less innovation and creativity
  • Damage to the organization’s reputation and profits

Recognizing the Signs of a Toxic Culture

Don’t ignore the signs of dissatisfaction or stagnation. Examine these five common indicators of a toxic culture:

1. 1. Unclear or Inconsistent Application of Core Values. A company’s core values establish its culture and define expectations for employee behavior. If core values are not clear to employees, there are no clear expectations for how the organization communicates, behaves, and interacts internally and externally.
   2. Rampant Workplace Gossip. Gossip leads to a pervasive sense of insecurity, anxiety, and distrust among colleagues.
   3. Consistently High Employee Turnover. People choose to leave organizations for a variety of reasons, but a consistent pattern of high turnover is a good indication that employees do not feel respected, valued, or fulfilled in their workplace.
   4. Disrespect from Leadership. Leaders need to recognize that they set the cultural tone through their own communication—both verbal and nonverbal. Employees often emulate the actions and attitudes they witness from their leaders. Signs of disrespect include:

• • • Dismissal of employee feedback
    • Passive-aggressive remarks
    • Microaggressions

1. 5. Inconsistent Treatment of Employees. A toxic work culture emerges when expectations are not consistently and evenly applied. Employees notice a lack of accountability when management:

• • • Unfairly or unevenly applies workplace rules.
    • Reprimands some employees for actions that are tolerated in others.
    • Does not clearly implement or follow established procedures.

Steps to Transform Your Work Culture

Recognizing the signs is the first step. The next is taking decisive action to transform your organization’s culture.

1. 1. Prioritize Leadership Investment. As mentioned in the signs of toxic culture, employees look to leaders to model acceptable behaviors. Therefore, reversing and transforming culture must start with leadership. Start by working to implement clear and uniform processes for transparency, accountability, and communication across all levels.
   2. Define, Communicate, & Live Your Values. Clearly establish and communicate company values and ensure they are reflected in daily operations and decisions. Consider establishing a formal program surrounding your organization’s core values that ensures they are top of mind in everything the organization does. Don’t shy away from providing incentives and recognition for employees who exemplify the organization’s core values in their work.
   3. Promote Psychological Safety. Create an environment where employees feel secure enough to voice their concerns and share their opinions without fear of negative consequences. Live your organization’s open-door policy by implementing regular check-ins and formal channels for continuous, multi-directional feedback.
   4. Swiftly Address Toxic Behaviors. As leaders work to reverse a toxic culture, they may notice employees impeding or detracting from those efforts. Leaders should start by holding private conversations with these employees and give gentle reminders that draw attention to unacceptable actions. Unfortunately, after repeated private conversations and reminders, detractors may need to exit the organization. Retaining detractors signals to current employees that the old, toxic behavior is still being tolerated, inhibiting the cultural transformation.

Don’t navigate this complex journey alone. The Employer Group can provide the strategic HR guidance, compliance frameworks, and leadership training necessary to implement lasting cultural change. Contact us today to build the positive, productive workplace your employees deserve.

This information does not constitute legal advice.