Detecting toxic work culture early on

The wrongness of a workplace becomes evident without needing to see colleagues yelling during meetings or crying in restrooms. Toxic workplaces are like slow poison which slowly starts affecting your sleep, your confidence levels and your sense of self worth over a period of time.

The good news is that you can discover early warning signs about workplace toxicity, whether you are currently employed or evaluating new job prospects. Here are the red flags to watch for.

You’re constantly walking on eggshells:

Prolonged workplace stress does not justify the persistent anxiety you feel around specific colleagues. 

According to Priya Ramesh, Co-founder of Orenda Centre For Leadership Excellence and MCC Coach, “Low psychological safety prevents employees from expressing important yet awkward matters. Healthy work environments should allow for individual expression.”

Blame flows down, credit flows up:

Healthy organisations distribute achievements to their teams and view setbacks as chances to learn from them. Toxic ones use their staff members as scapegoats while their leaders receive full credit for all positive outcomes.

The workplace becomes filled with blame rather than constructive problem resolution whenever difficulties arise. According to the iHire 2025 report, 78.7% of employees in toxic workplaces attribute poor leadership or management as the primary cause of the problem.

Everything happens behind closed doors:

Major decisions at work tend to be concealed from public view. Team members whisper to each other in the hallways and use coded language during meetings.

According to Deepa Agarwal, Global Inclusion and Change leader at Re-Link Consulting, “Organisations with a healthy culture promote  openness and transparency in their communications. When organisations withhold relevant information and or treat employees as the ‘other’ group and not as participants in building the organisation, it’s a major red flag”.

People leave constantly:

While compensation issues, such as uncompetitive pay and limited benefits, are significant drivers of employee turnover, research indicates that high turnover rates often stem from deeper, non-monetary factors related to workplace culture, management practices, and career development opportunities.

Feedback feels like punishment:

Real feedback helps you grow. Priya Ramesh says, “Toxic feedback attacks employees through sneering comments and nonspecific feedback that makes it impossible to identify mistakes. Feedback should always be about the task and not personal attacks.”

Work-life balance is a myth:

Another indicator of a toxic work culture is when vacation time feels like a betrayal to the company or when employees must stay available at all times to demonstrate their dedication. 

Deepa Agarwal says,“If employees feel fearful of taking personal time, it is indicative of an abusive work environment.”

The iHire study finds that over 60% of employees have experienced stress-related health issues due to workplace conditions. A report by the Society for Human Resource Management says that 74% of employees say their mental health at work is poor, with 62% blaming a toxic work culture for this.

HR protects the company, not you:

The Human Resources department should function as an employee advocate, yet toxic workplaces transform this department into an organisational shield against legal responsibility. HR maintains a practice of hiding complaints while ignoring problematic behaviours by issuing warnings that lack substance.

You’re losing yourself:

This is the most important test of all. Have you maintained your original personality from your first day? Priya Ramesh says, “A toxic work environment progressively damages your self-assurance while it suppresses your communication and diminishes your value. You withdraw your ideas from discussion, and you replay tough conversations in your mind at night, which transforms you into a more subdued and worried version of your former self. Work should challenge you, not hollow you out.”

How Leaders Can Fix the Problem:

Creating positive change requires effort from leaders who must endure both challenging and unpleasant procedures. The good news is that the right approach can enable a complete culture transformation.

Listen without defending:

Refrain from explaining problems when people share them with you. Just listen. Make environments that enable team members to share authentic details about workplace realities.

Fix the incentives:

Wellness programs fail to deliver results when organisations reward toxic high performers and fail to address senior staff misconduct. According to Deepa Agarwal, “Respect and dignity should be non-negotiables during performance evaluations. Feedback given to develop rather than as an attack, or break a person, is the differentiator.”

Model accountability from the top: Culture flows downward. The first step toward holding people accountable for their mistakes is for leaders to demonstrate accountability themselves. Leaders should maintain complete transparency about their choices and eliminate information secrecy.

Redesign feedback systems:

Move beyond traditional top-down reviews to create regular, multi-directional feedback that’s focused on development rather than evaluation. Organisations must provide training for managers to help them learn effective methods for delivering and receiving feedback. Building trust occurs through the continuous performance of reliable actions.

A study by iHire reveals a significant perception gap between employees and top management. Only 45% of employees rate their workplace atmosphere as positive, while 82.7% of employers believe their environment is positive.

To overcome a toxic culture, organisations need leaders who put people above everything else. The results will automatically follow when employees experience safety, when their voices are heard, and when their value is acknowledged.