Toxic Workplace Culture: Why Good People Leave and Others Never Apply

Building a great team takes time.

Keeping one takes leadership.

Over the years, we’ve watched organisations build exceptional teams, only to see talented people gradually move on because of decisions, behaviours and leadership at higher levels.

It’s one of the hardest things to witness as recruiters. Not because the people weren’t capable, but because the environment around them changed.

It’s a reminder that attracting great people is only half the challenge.

Creating an environment where they choose to stay is what matters most.

Every week we speak to talented professionals who are considering their next career move.

Increasingly, they’re not leaving because of salary, career progression or location.

They’re leaving because of workplace culture.

As recruiters, we’re in a unique position. We hear from organisations working hard to build great workplaces, and we hear from candidates who quietly explain why they’re leaving. Over time, patterns begin to emerge.

What Does a Toxic Workplace Culture Look Like?

Toxic workplace cultures rarely develop overnight.

More often, they evolve gradually when poor behaviour goes unchecked, accountability disappears, communication breaks down and organisations stop listening to what their people are telling them.

Through our conversations with candidates across Western Australia, we regularly hear about:

• Bullying and intimidation.
• Favouritism and inconsistent decision-making.
• Poor leadership and unclear direction.
• Leaders avoiding difficult conversations.
• High performers being protected regardless of how they treat others.
• Teams operating in survival mode.
• Employees feeling unsupported or unheard.
• Workplaces where people no longer feel safe speaking up.

What concerns us most is that these stories rarely come from one unhappy employee.

They often come from multiple people who have worked in the same organisation, sometimes across different teams and at different levels.

When the same concerns continue to emerge, it’s usually a sign that the issue is cultural rather than isolated.

The Cost to Employers

The consequences of a toxic workplace culture extend far beyond staff turnover.

Good people leave.

Others stay but disengage.

Managers spend more time managing conflict than leading their teams.

Recruitment becomes harder.

Retention becomes harder.

Performance suffers.

The cost isn’t limited to replacing employees. Productivity declines, engagement suffers, leadership time is consumed by issues that should never have reached that point, and teams lose confidence in the organisation’s ability to address problems.

For many organisations, the greatest cost is one they don’t immediately see.

The loss of trust.

Once trust begins to erode, rebuilding it is far more difficult than maintaining it in the first place.

Your Reputation Is Already in the Market

News travels quickly.

Current employees talk to former colleagues.

Professional networks share experiences.

Recruiters hear recurring themes.

And increasingly, candidates are researching employers before they ever submit an application.

We’ve seen talented candidates decline interviews or withdraw from recruitment processes after hearing consistent feedback about an organisation’s culture.

Not because of salary.

Not because of the role.

Not because of the location.

Simply because they don’t believe the workplace is somewhere they want to build their career.

In today’s connected world, employer reputation is shaped just as much by conversations as it is by careers pages, social media or employer branding campaigns.

Employer brand isn’t created by marketing alone.

It’s built every day through the experiences of your people.

Just as positive workplace cultures build strong reputations, toxic cultures do too.

The difference is that rebuilding a damaged reputation takes far longer than creating one.

What Healthy Workplace Cultures Have in Common

The organisations that consistently attract and retain good people aren’t necessarily those with the biggest budgets or the highest salaries.

They’re the organisations where leaders communicate openly, address issues early, hold people accountable regardless of position and create an environment where employees feel respected and heard.

Great workplace cultures don’t happen by accident.

They’re built through consistent leadership, clear communication, accountability and respect.

Importantly, culture isn’t changed by rewriting a set of company values or launching another internal campaign.

It’s shaped by the everyday behaviours leaders model, the standards they uphold and the decisions they make when no one is watching.

As recent research published by Harvard Business Review suggests, lasting cultural change starts by changing behaviours, not slogans. Small, consistent improvements in leadership behaviours often have the greatest long-term impact.

Questions Every Leadership Team Should Be Asking

No workplace is perfect. Every organisation faces challenges from time to time. The important question is whether leaders are listening, recognising patterns and taking action before small issues become bigger problems.

Consider asking:

• Why are our best people leaving?
• What themes are emerging from our exit interviews?
• What would former employees tell a recruiter about working here?
• Do our leaders model the behaviours we expect from everyone else?
• Do employees feel safe raising concerns?
• Are we acting on employee feedback?
• Would our people recommend us as a great place to work?

These aren’t always easy questions to answer.

But organisations willing to ask them honestly are far more likely to build workplaces where people choose to stay, grow and recommend others to join.

What We’ve Learnt

After almost two decades of recruiting across Western Australia, we’ve learnt that workplace culture has become one of the biggest factors influencing hiring and retention.

Candidates are listening.

They’re researching employers.

They’re talking to current and former employees.

They’re asking recruiters questions.

And increasingly, they’re making decisions about organisations before they ever apply.

Culture isn’t what appears in your values statement.

It isn’t what appears on your careers page.

It’s what your employees say about your organisation when you’re not in the room.

That’s the reputation that attracts, or repels, your next great hire.

Further Reading

Workplace culture is a complex topic, and there’s a wealth of research exploring its impact on leadership, employee wellbeing and organisational performance. If you’d like to explore the topic further, we enjoyed reading:

• Safe Work Australia – Leadership and Culture 
  Practical guidance on how leadership behaviours influence workplace culture, employee wellbeing and organisational performance.
• Harvard Business Review – To Change Company Culture, Start with One High-Impact Behavior
  An evidence-based article explaining why lasting cultural change starts with changing leadership behaviours rather than simply rewriting company values or running another training program.

Attracting talented people will always matter.

Keeping them is what builds exceptional organisations.

We hope this Employer Insight has given you a fresh perspective on the role workplace culture plays in attracting, engaging and retaining great people.

From the Team @ Sense Recruitment 
Suite 6, 996 Hay Street, Perth WA
Phone: +61 8 9481 8111
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.senserecruitment.com.au