Toxic culture is the biggest risk to organisation results and reputation. It not only undermines results – unhappy people are significantly less productive, than happy ones – it also leads to increased workforce mental health issues and even the suicide of employees. Nine News is the latest in a long line of organisations (including Country Road Group) who failed to address the concerns of employees and actively presided over conditions that proved to be toxic for many employees. These conditions often led to trauma for employees and in Nine’s case has tarnished their reputation for years to come.
For my latest book I reviewed over 50 toxic culture reports from around the world, from a police force that dressed as Nazis for a ‘cultural event’; to a university described as ‘…the most miserable soul-sucking place to work’; to issues within the United Nations. All could have taken steps to prevent the toxicity from arising and becoming a media story, all neglected to do so.
There are generally three reasons why these cultures made it into the media:
- Behaviour of senior leaders
Whilst every employee has responsibility for culture, it is role modelled from the top. Therefore, like a stone dropped in a pond, the behaviours of senior leaders create ripples that reach every corner of an organisation. And when those behaviours turn toxic, the waves can be devastating. Look no further than the recent allegations against WiseTech CEO Richard White, which not only wiped billions from the company’s market capitalisation but also brought it’s name into disrepute. The same thing happened at Sony Australia in 2023. And when senior leaders display toxic behaviours then there is a good chance that those below them will follow suit.A 2023 Gallup study revealed that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. And when senior leaders model toxic behaviours, middle managers tend to mirror them leading to the lose of good staff and enhanced media interest.
No-one is above the rules, not least the very people who should be role modelling what they expect of others. Senior leaders need to be exemplary in their behaviour to set the tone for everyone else.
- Poor working conditions
Culture isn’t created in the boardroom – it’s built (and often destroyed) in the daily experience of your people. And that experience starts with the manager they report to, the behaviours they’re exposed to, the support they are given, the processes they need to follow, and the tools they’re using.Harassment, bullying, micromanagement, inequity of pay and conditions all contribute to a toxic culture, so you must have a zero tolerance towards them.
- Not living their values
Values are one of the six pillars of organisation culture. They are defined as ‘principles or standards of behaviour’. Putting aside the fact that most values are badly written, if the organisation has offered to state what they are, then they need to live them in plain sight, every day.Qantas is the latest example of an organisation that hasn’t practised what it preached. It has a value of Genuine: ‘We act with honesty and integrity’ yet in mid-October the Federal Court in Australia ruled that they had illegally dismissed 1,700 ground crew members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quite the opposite of its value. If your business has a set of values, it’s critical that managers understand how to put these into practice every day, not abandon them when times get tough or in the pursuit of results.
Even as recently as 5 years ago, an organisation’s culture was a ‘black box’. No-one could see into it, unless they worked within it. This is not the case any more. Your culture is in a perspex box and everybody is interested in it, especially the media. If you are found to have created the conditions for toxicity, not only could it affect the lives of employees forever, it could also kill results and reputations too. Doing nothing and hoping the culture takes care of itself is no longer an option.
Written by Colin D Ellis.
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