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The culture your company fosters can literally make or break the business. Don’t believe it? 

So, how do you know if your organization has a good or bad company culture? We’ll give you the warning signs of a toxic company culture to look out for, which will help you find out if your company has a culture problem or not. 

5 Signs of a Toxic Work Culture

1. Employee Burnout

If the majority of employees are feeling burned out, that’s the first red flag. Burnout isn’t just caused by work overload; it can also be from having challenges with a manager, too many meetings, disconnection among teammates, or just not feeling secure or comfortable. 

2. Office Gossip

It’s impossible to say that all gossip is bad or can all be stopped, but there’s a limit. Too much gossip can signal a toxic workplace. Healthier workplaces are honest and encourage clear communication. But when there’s gossip, it can cause problems, distractions, and distrust. 

3. Poor Work-life Boundaries

A poor company culture usually has poor boundaries. When employees send late-night emails or Slack messages, managers text employees all the time, or teammates skip events to focus on a project instead, that is another red flag. Healthy company cultures encourage a balance between work and personal lives and create environments where employees can be focused and efficient during appropriate times. 

4. Low Use of Time Off

Have you ever wondered why many employees don’t use all of their paid time off? Whether there’s a certain number of PTO or an unlimited policy, it’s clear that some employees are afraid to take time off or just unable to. Whether it’s an annual vacation or even a sick day, employees think twice before taking a day off. This is a major sign of a toxic company culture. Employees tend not to take time off if they fear the repercussions or feel like they have too much work to do.

5. High Turnover

Last but not least, high employee turnover rates are also a red flag of a company’s work culture. While a regular turnover rate is normal, if many employees are leaving left and right, it could have to do with several reasons, from poor pay or lack of appreciation to limited development opportunities or just bad managers. Turnover is not only a big sign of poor culture, but it also costs companies a lot of money. 

Amanee Hasan

Amanee Hasan is a Senior Content Writer at ZenHR, an award-winning and top-rated HR solution that offers world-class HR software services in the MENA region. Her main focuses are SEO, UX writing, copywriting, and creating content highlighting the latest HR trends, and gives organizations and individuals the tools they need to create successful work environments where people thrive.