Signs of a Neglected Workplace Culture

Examining, understanding—and ultimately improving—workplace culture has taken the spotlight in recent years. And it should! A positive workplace culture generates growth, improves productivity, and builds a business that retains its strongest employees, rather than chasing them away.

Take a moment, and a breath, because it’s actually pretty easy to understand once you’ve been pointed in the right direction. Here are your crystal-clear signs of a neglected workplace culture.

Substantial Dips in Productivity

Huge drops in overall workplace productivity are a sign that your company is most certainly lacking something. When employees cannot meet deadlines or begin to drift away from their former, productive selves, it is almost never wholly the fault of the employee. Sure, there are certainly occasions where personal lives may be interfering, but studies will tell you that this is the exception, and not the rule.

In many cases a lack of productivity is due to an absence of clear goals, no sense of fulfillment, or a poor work environment where employees’ tasks do not match their strengths.

Excessive Breaks, Tardiness, and Sick Days

Simply put, if employees dread going to work, the boss needs to figure out why. While it’s true that any obligation cannot really be labelled as something most would want to do, many employees find that a positive, goal-oriented workplace is fulfilling and enjoyable. If your environment is clear-cut and your workplace is comfortable to work in, employees will pay you back big by showing up ready to work and galvanized into performing at their best.

High Levels of Workplace Drama

When people are unhappy or aren’t content with the workplace, drama usually follows. If you’re feeling disgruntled, it becomes much, much easier to slack off, to complain, or to just have an overall worse mood. This bleeds over into our personal lives, and of course, it bleeds over into our work environment.

If you’re constantly settling problems in Human Resources, then you have an extremely clear sign that your workplace culture is being neglected.

A Complete Lack of Feedback

Do you find yourself asking for feedback, ways to improve, or how fulfilled and happy your employees are—only to get nothing of value back? In many cases, this can indicate a lack of comfort in the workplace. Perhaps you’re asking the wrong questions or using the incorrect forum. Perhaps feedback has been ignored, or even discouraged. In worst-case scenarios, companies will punish employees for providing feedback that the company didn’t want to hear. This is a problem that takes time to alleviate, but by keeping an open door, an open mind, and a consistent finger on the pulse of your workforce, you’ll find that you can learn a lot about how and why to improve.

All of Your Company Goals are Short-Term

Ever feel like your work team or company is just sprinting from quarterly goal to quarterly goal? Goals define a business, and long-term goals give everyone something to work for, and to feel satisfied about when they are on-track to meeting them. A goalless company is one that is adrift and without focus, which in turn robs employees and managers from a sense of purpose, leading to many of the other issues we’ve discussed above.

When you want your workplace or company to thrive, grow, and meet goals, a positive work environment is key. People aren’t robots! We need fulfillment, we need to enjoy our work, and feel a sense of progress for our efforts. Next time you’re examining your workplace for ways to improve it, keep these signs of a toxic workplace in mind.