You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Silence is golden.” But when it comes to the workplace, silence can be a sign that something’s seriously wrong. It’s a red flag that leaders often miss until it’s too late. If your team has gone quiet, it’s time to pay attention.
In a thriving work culture, you’ll hear the hum of collaboration, the buzz of ideas, and the chatter of feedback. But when that noise fades, it could mean your company culture is breaking down. And that’s not something you can afford to ignore.
Here are 12 more signs that your company culture is broken, along with tips on how to fix it before it’s too late.
1. Your Best People Are Leaving
When your top performers start jumping ship, it’s not just a coincidence. High turnover rates among your best people are often a cry for help. They’re leaving because they’re unhappy, undervalued, or overworked. And once they’re gone, they take their talent and knowledge with them, leaving you to pick up the pieces.
How to Fix It: Conduct exit interviews to understand why they’re leaving. More importantly, act on that feedback. Create an environment where your top talent feels valued and has opportunities to grow.
2. Mistakes Are Dealt with Harshly
In a broken culture, mistakes are met with punishment, blame, and fear. This creates an environment where people are afraid to take risks or admit when they’ve messed up. And when that happens, innovation grinds to a halt.
How to Fix It: Shift your mindset to see mistakes as learning opportunities. Encourage a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement. When mistakes happen, focus on solutions, not blame.
3. Feedback Is No Longer Shared
If your team has stopped giving and receiving feedback, it’s a sign that trust has eroded. Feedback is essential for growth, development, and maintaining healthy relationships at work. When it’s absent, people start to disengage, and performance suffers.
How to Fix It: Foster an environment where feedback is a two-way street. Encourage open, honest, and respectful communication. And as a leader, model the behavior by actively seeking feedback from your team.
4. People Are Always Gossiping
Gossip is toxic. It spreads like wildfire and can quickly undermine trust, morale, and productivity. If gossip is rampant in your workplace, it’s a clear sign that people are unhappy and that there’s a lack of transparency.
How to Fix It: Address the root causes of gossip by improving communication and transparency. Set clear expectations for behavior and lead by example. Make it a priority to address issues directly rather than letting them fester.
5. Everyone Points Fingers
When things go wrong, do people start blaming each other? Finger-pointing is a sure sign of a broken culture. It indicates that people are more concerned with protecting themselves than working together to solve problems.
How to Fix It: Encourage accountability and collaboration. Make it clear that you value teamwork over individual accolades. When problems arise, focus on finding solutions as a team rather than assigning blame.
6. Communication Is Poor
Poor communication is a breeding ground for misunderstandings, mistakes, and conflict. If people aren’t talking, or if messages are getting lost in translation, your culture is suffering.
How to Fix It: Prioritize clear, consistent communication across all levels of the organization. Use tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep everyone on the same page. And make sure leaders are accessible and approachable.
7. Leaders Stop Listening
When leaders stop listening, employees stop talking. And when employees stop talking, innovation and growth come to a standstill. A leader who doesn’t listen is a leader who’s out of touch with the needs and concerns of their team.
How to Fix It: Make listening a priority. Hold regular one-on-ones with your team and ask for their input on decisions. Show that you value their opinions by acting on their feedback.
8. Creativity Fizzles Out
In a healthy culture, creativity flows freely. People feel safe to share their ideas, even if they’re a little out there. But in a broken culture, creativity is stifled by fear, criticism, and indifference.
How to Fix It: Encourage creativity by creating a safe space for ideas to be shared and explored. Celebrate innovation, even when it leads to failure. And provide the resources and support your team needs to bring their ideas to life.
9. Ideas Are Dismissed
When ideas are consistently dismissed or ignored, people stop sharing them. And when people stop sharing ideas, your company stops evolving. This is a sign that leadership isn’t open to new perspectives or is too focused on maintaining the status quo.
How to Fix It: Make it a point to listen to all ideas, no matter how big or small. Implement a system for evaluating and acting on ideas, and give credit where it’s due. When people see that their contributions matter, they’ll be more likely to keep sharing.
10. Stress Is Rampant
A certain level of stress is normal in any workplace. But when stress becomes the norm rather than the exception, it’s a sign that your culture is out of balance. Chronic stress leads to burnout, health problems, and a decline in productivity.
How to Fix It: Address the sources of stress head-on. This might involve redistributing workloads, providing better support, or encouraging a healthier work-life balance. Consider implementing wellness programs to help your team manage stress effectively.
11. Trust Disappears
Trust is the foundation of any strong culture. Without it, everything else falls apart. When trust disappears, so does collaboration, communication, and morale. People become disengaged and start looking for the exit.
How to Fix It: Rebuild trust by being transparent, honest, and consistent in your actions. Keep your promises and hold yourself and others accountable. Trust is earned, not given, so make sure you’re doing the work to build it.
12. Morale Is Poor
Low morale is the result of all the issues we’ve discussed so far. When morale is poor, people are disengaged, unmotivated, and unhappy. And that’s bad news for productivity, retention, and overall business success.
How to Fix It: Boost morale by addressing the underlying issues that are bringing it down. Recognize and reward your team’s hard work, create opportunities for growth, and make sure people feel valued and supported.
What a Healthy Culture Looks Like
Now that we’ve gone through the signs of a broken culture, let’s take a look at what a healthy culture looks like. If your workplace culture is thriving, you’ll see the following:
- Stress is low: People feel supported and balanced, not overwhelmed.
- Trust is mutual: There’s a foundation of respect and confidence in each other.
- Morale is strong: Employees are engaged, motivated, and happy to come to work.
- People share ideas: Creativity and innovation are encouraged.
- Creativity flourishes: New ideas are celebrated, not stifled.
- Collaboration is strong: Teams work together seamlessly to achieve common goals.
- It’s easy to find support: Employees know where to go for help and feel comfortable asking for it.
- Leaders ask for feedback: Leadership is open to input and continuously seeks ways to improve.
- People learn, develop, and grow: There’s a focus on professional development and personal growth.
- Leaders listen before they speak: Communication is a two-way street.
- Communication is strong and clear: Messages are conveyed effectively, and everyone is on the same page.
- Mistakes are opportunities to learn: The focus is on growth, not punishment.
Seeing More Broken Signs Than Healthy Ones?
If you’re seeing more of the broken signs than the healthy ones, it’s time to take action. A broken culture doesn’t fix itself. It requires intentional effort and commitment from leadership.
Here’s where to start:
1. Start with Listening: Open the lines of communication. Ask your team for honest feedback and really listen to what they have to say. You might not like everything you hear, but it’s the first step toward making meaningful change.
2. Set the Right Example: Culture starts at the top. If you want a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration, you need to embody those values in your actions every day. Your team will follow your lead.
3. Build Trust with Your People: Trust is the foundation of a healthy culture. Make it a priority to build and maintain trust with your team. Be transparent, keep your promises, and hold yourself and others accountable.
Your Startup's Future Depends on It
Remember, your future depends on the culture you cultivate today. A strong, healthy culture is the bedrock of business success. It attracts top talent, fosters innovation, and drives growth. But a broken culture? It’s a recipe for failure.
Your people deserve a workplace where they feel valued, supported, and motivated. And it’s your responsibility as a leader to create that environment. So, if you’ve recognized the signs of a broken culture in your organization, don’t wait to take action. The sooner you start, the sooner you can turn things around.