Toxic culture at work is defined by a pervasive environment of mistrust, exclusion, and poor psychological safety that actively undermines employee well-being and organisational performance.
Key takeaways
- Toxic cultures often stem from a lack of alignment between individual work personalities and team requirements.
- High turnover and low engagement are lagging indicators of deeper cultural fractures.
- Rebuilding culture requires a data-driven approach to understanding how your team naturally thinks and works.
- Psychological safety is the foundational element required to reverse toxic behavioural patterns.
We have all felt it – that heavy, sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach before the Monday morning log-on. When a workplace moves from ‘challenging’ to ‘toxic’, the impact extends far beyond the office walls. It affects mental health, physical well-being, and eventually, the company’s bottom line. At Compono, we have spent over a decade researching what makes teams thrive, and we have seen first-hand how quickly a few unaddressed behaviours can sour an entire organisation’s atmosphere.
The problem with a toxic culture at work is that it rarely announces itself with a megaphone. Instead, it creeps in through small cracks: a meeting where no one feels safe to speak up, a manager who relies on fear rather than inspiration, or a team where ‘The Doer’ is constantly burnt out while others feel disengaged. Identifying these signs early is the only way to prevent a total cultural collapse. In this guide, we will explore the red flags of toxicity and how you can use people intelligence to steer your team back toward health.
Most people think of toxicity as overt bullying or harassment. While those are clear violations, a toxic culture at work is often more subtle. It manifests as a ‘culture of silence’ where employees stop offering ideas because they fear being shut down. You might notice that your most talented people are leaving in waves, or that ‘The Campaigner’ in your marketing team has lost their usual spark and enthusiasm. When communication becomes purely transactional and empathy disappears, toxicity has taken root.
Another major indicator is the glorification of overwork. In healthy environments, high performance is celebrated, but in toxic ones, it is demanded at the cost of personal boundaries. If your team feels they must be ‘always on’ to prove their worth, you are looking at a recipe for burnout. At Compono, we believe that understanding a person’s work personality is key to preventing this. When people are forced to work against their natural preferences for too long, resentment builds, and the culture begins to erode.
Conflict is a natural part of any workplace, but in a toxic culture, conflict is weaponised rather than resolved. Often, this happens because team members do not understand each other’s natural work styles. For example, an ‘Auditor’ who thrives on precision and detail might clash with a ‘Pioneer’ who wants to move fast and break things. Without a framework to understand these differences, these clashes turn into personal vendettas.
This is where team design becomes critical. A team composed entirely of ‘Evaluators’ might become overly critical and competitive, while a team of only ‘Helpers’ might avoid necessary difficult conversations to maintain a false sense of harmony. Toxic cultures often lack this balance. By using tools like Compono Engage, leaders can gain visibility into these dynamics. Understanding that a colleague isn't being 'difficult' but is simply operating from a different work personality can transform a toxic interaction into a collaborative one.
Culture is caught, not taught. If leadership exhibits toxic behaviours – such as favouritism, lack of transparency, or erratic decision-making – the rest of the organisation will follow suit. To fix a toxic culture at work, leaders must first look in the mirror. Are you providing clear direction, or are you leaving your team in a state of constant ambiguity? Are you encouraging ‘The Advisor’ to share their insights, or are you dominating every discussion?
Recovery starts with rebuilding psychological safety. This means creating an environment where people can admit mistakes without fear of retribution. Leaders should actively seek feedback and – more importantly – act on it. When employees see that their concerns result in real change, trust begins to return. We often suggest that managers use the Compono Culture, Engagement & Performance Model to benchmark where they currently stand and identify the specific areas that need urgent intervention.
Fixing a broken culture is not a quick process, but it is a necessary one. Start by auditing your current team. Are people in roles that align with their strengths? Sometimes, toxicity is simply the result of chronic ‘mis-fit’. If you have a ‘Helper’ in a high-pressure, aggressive sales role, they will likely struggle and potentially contribute to a negative atmosphere. Realigning roles based on work personality can alleviate a significant amount of friction.
Next, formalise your communication channels. Toxic cultures thrive in the shadows of gossip and ‘water cooler’ complaints. By bringing discussions into the light through regular, structured check-ins and transparent reporting, you remove the fuel for toxicity. Finally, ensure your hiring process is robust. Bringing the wrong person into a fragile culture can be disastrous. Using Compono Hire allows you to assess candidates not just for skills, but for organisational fit, ensuring that every new addition helps strengthen the culture rather than weakening it.
Key insights
Culture is the sum of every interaction within your business; toxicity occurs when those interactions are consistently negative or misaligned. Reversing a toxic culture at work requires a commitment to radical transparency and the use of people intelligence to understand team dynamics. By focusing on psychological safety and aligning work personalities with the right tasks, organisations can transition from a state of survival to one of high performance.
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How do I tell if my workplace culture is actually toxic?
Look for high turnover, a general sense of fear or anxiety among staff, and a lack of honest communication. If people are afraid to speak up or if gossip has replaced transparent feedback, the culture has likely become toxic.
Can one person ruin a company culture?
Yes, particularly if that person is in a leadership position. Toxic behaviours are often mimicked or tolerated, leading to a ripple effect. However, a strong cultural framework and the right people intelligence tools can help identify and manage these outliers before they cause systemic damage.
How long does it take to fix a toxic culture at work?
There is no set timeline, as it depends on the depth of the issues. However, significant improvements can usually be seen within 6 to 12 months of consistent, transparent effort from leadership and the implementation of better team alignment strategies.
Does remote work prevent or encourage toxic cultures?
Remote work can hide toxicity because interactions are less frequent, but it can also exacerbate it through digital micromanagement or exclusion. The key is to maintain strong, personality-aware communication regardless of where the team is located.
What is the first step a manager should take to improve culture?
The first step is to listen. Conduct an anonymous engagement survey or use a platform like Compono to understand the current sentiment and work styles of your team. You cannot fix what you do not understand.