When was the last time that you thought about your company’s work culture? Is it a positive place to be? A construction company where employees collaborate with one another on-site and offer constructive feedback? Or is it a toxic environment where employees compete with one another, managers play favorites, and communication is either lacking or entirely destructive?
A toxic work culture can have far-reaching and long-lasting adverse effects. Investing in your company’s culture is one of the best things you can do – especially when construction companies are all vying for top talent. Remember that your company culture must be continually cultivated over time. And as much effort goes into building a positive workplace environment, it can all quickly disappear.
In this article, we will review some of the most common effects of negative work culture.
Employee Turnover
Suppose your company does not inspire employees and provide positive experiences and opportunities. In that case, it probably will not be long until they start to look for another position – and other construction companies will be more than happy to have them! A toxic work environment will quickly lead to burnout when we spend so much time and energy at work. Constantly posting job openings, screening candidates, and training new hires requires time and energy that could be saved with a more positive work environment.
Decreased Productivity
When your employees feel like the company cares about them, they will return the sentiment in their work. A toxic work culture does precisely the opposite. It demotivates employees and makes them less invested in their projects. This often means that they are less dependable and require more time to complete the same tasks – and the quality usually suffers as well. In a negative work environment, employees are also more likely to call in sick, leave early, or engage in personal activities while on the job.
Lowered Workplace Morale
It is important to remember that a toxic work environment is pervasive, and it may stem from just a couple of dissatisfied employees but can ultimately affect your entire team. It is absolutely critical that managers are aware of their employees’ sentiment and office gossip. If you start to see signs of a toxic work culture taking root, do your best to work with or remove the responsible parties before any long-term damage is done.
Negative Company Reputation
Your company’s reputation is absolutely critical, and it will determine whether high-quality talent will want to work with you and whether high-value clients will want to hire you. If your company starts to develop the reputation of having an unhappy staff, it might not be long until you start seeing external effects.
A toxic work culture affects your staff, your management, and even your prospective clients and applicants. All of the adverse effects mentioned above equate to lost profits. If this does not have you convinced that your company culture requires your time and attention, nothing will.
Photo by Pablo Stanic on Unsplash
