10 Little Things that can Highlight a Bad Company Culture

The quicker you can spot them, the easier you can avoid them.

No company openly tells you that they have a toxic culture. They don’t advertise that their employees are unmotivated, their customers are dissatisfied, or their leadership has less trust than Ellen DeGeneres.

And yet you need to know this. In today’s world, culture remains our best sustainable advantage. Others can copy a service or reverse-engineer a product. But few can replicate a high-performing culture.

If you’re evaluating a prospective employer, considering a new supplier, or deciding on a potential merger, you need to understand a company’s culture. Or you’ll end up living with the results.

While few companies actively advertise this information, you don’t need them to. There are plenty of minor things that can tell you a lot about a company. They’re not foolproof. But if you’re lacking information, they’re better than nothing.

So whatever your reasons, keep an eye out for these 10 simple signs. And if you see them at your company, recognize that they could be a warning sign of a much bigger problem.

Imagine texting all of your employees each morning to remind them that company management sees themselves as above the front-line workers. Everyone could start their workday with a refresher that titles matter more than contribution.

Is there that much of a difference between that and reserving the closest parking spaces for management? Every employee starts their day by walking past a bunch of reserved parking spaces. They get an immediate reminder that the company is happy to sacrifice their convenience if it makes the boss’s life a little easier.

There’s absolutely no reason that managers should feel entitled to a closer parking spot than their employees. If the boss doesn’t want to walk, she should get in at 6am and park right up front. Otherwise, drop the status symbols and prove your worth where it counts.

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