Kirstie McDermott outlines the various signs your company culture could be toxic.
When you’re happy at work, you know it: you’re doing work that you enjoy, and which gives you satisfaction and fulfilment. You’re not bored or looking around for something better, opportunities for advancement or further training are available and all-in-all, things are good on the 9-5 front.
You might have a work bestie you get on great with, or a team that you gel particularly well with. When work is good, you’ll know it because you’ll have a manager or team lead that supports you (and sometimes challenges you to do better, too), and you’re on-board with the company’s mission and goals – you believe in what it stands for. These are all signs of a workplace with good company culture.
But when work is bad, it’s a different feeling. Management is disengaged or absent, hours are long, shifts get changed on a whim and feedback is overwhelmingly negative. The work environment is toxic and it’s likely to be all coming from the top. This is what is known as a poor company culture, and it is a top driver of why you might want to pull back from doing your best work – also known as “quiet quitting” – or simply leave altogether.
A recent study from MIT Sloan confirmed that toxic work culture is the number one reason people give for leaving their jobs. It seems there are a lot of problematic companies out there too: Google searches for “toxic work environment quiz” increased by 700% in April of this year.
So what should you be looking out for at work, in order to spot a workplace with bad culture? According to Stacy Norman, COO and founder of BizClik Media Group and March8, the community of women executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals, there are certain behaviours companies display that can be used to define their culture.
The first thing to watch out for is a blame culture. “Blame is probably one of the worst things you could have,” Norman says. “It’s where projects are wrong or clients are unhappy, and fingers get pointed. It is easier to blame that person and forget they are on your team and you work together. When you have a blame culture, people won’t innovate, and they will sit around waiting for direction.”
Secondly, look around you and see how the entire business communicates. Does everything happen in silos? “This is where different departments won’t communicate, and don’t communicate. They don’t have a combined objective,” she says.
“Within any business, a process has to go 360. It should start and finish in the same place. If that communication breaks down, that process breaks down. So this is something that’s very, very important that you do.”
Thirdly, how does your workplace treat its employees? “You have to innovate your staff, you have to grow your staff,” Norman says. If this isn’t happening in your workplace, think about your position within the company, because when you do work in an enriching environment, you’ll be happier, do better work, have defined goals and feel part of something bigger than yourself.
If you’re ready to make a move to a company you’ll love working for, we’re taking a look at three jobs below, and there are plenty more to discover on the Professional Beauty Job Board too.
MAC – Retail Artist – MYER Garden City – Casual, The Estée Lauder Companies, Perth
Estée Lauder seeks a MAC – Retail Artist for Myer Garden City. As a highly skilled make-up artist, you will combine your creative and technical expertise and passion for people to provide a welcoming, inspirational and personalised in-store experience which educates and delights customers. You will also like working as part of a high performing team to create impact with in-store events and to ensure that the store always achieves our high standards of visual merchandising to stand out against our competitors. Apply now.
Chanel Beauty Advisor, Myer, Melbourne
Myer Melbourne City has an opportunity for a Chanel Beauty Advisor to join the team. Reporting to the Counter Manager, you will provide exceptional experiences and services to customers, meeting their needs in every way by recommending additional services, representing and advocating for Myer to generate customer loyalty and maintain a strong client base. You’ll need superior and efficient operating standards and will demonstrate extensive product knowledge. Get the full job spec.
Hairdresser, Hairhouse, Narre Warren
If you love making people feel confident, empowered and beautiful? Hairhouse has a great opportunity for a Hairdresser to join its friendly team. You’ll attract and establish a regular clientele, deliver professional and personalised hair services and homecare advice as well as provide full consultations, product advice and rebooking to maintain your client’s hair plan and goals. Find out more now.
This article was written in partnership with Jobbio.
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