Okay Brene Brown, I am hooked on your podcast Dare to Lead. I tried not to get sucked in but she has so much great content and has the best guests that I was really putty in her hands.
The episode that started the addition off is titled, How Toxic Cultures are Driving the Great Resignation, which I am sharing with you here (link below). As a self-professed organisation culture geek I could not pass this one by. The guests are Dr. Donald Sull and his son Charlie Sull. There isn't the space, in this article, to write about all the amazing work they are doing and articles/papers they have written. Go check out the podcast episode on the Dare to Lead website and all their details are there.
Wow they talk some amazing things about the impact of toxic culture on engagement and attrition - all backed up by data and facts. So if you are into data driven insights and make data driven decisions, then read on. If not then read on anyway because the information, they share to too good not to listen to. TIP #1: If you work in a leadership position then this episode is a must. TIP #2 Culture is not just for the HR department - this episode calls out that the CFO needs to be interested in company culture as ultimately the culture affects the bottom line (good or bad).
Most of us can probably describe a toxic culture -sadly many of use may have worked in such a place. What I love about the Sull's work is that, through their research they distill toxicity into 5 key areas. The following are the 5 aspects that drive people to leave (in descending order):
Disrespectful organisations
Non-Inclusivity
Lack of integrity or dishonesty
Cut throat environment and behaviour
Abusive managers
These reasons, folks, are why people are leaving organisations - forget the conversation about burn out and compensation. Sure employees are moving to other roles for more money but they probably wouldn't consider leaving if the above criteria didn't exist. Yet managers don't really want to talk about these things - it is easier just to pay them more or give people extended sick-leave than actually tackle the root cause.
It is time to change because there are generations of people entering the workforce who absolutely will not tolerate bad behaviour because they have been taught to stand up for what they believe in and call out what is wrong. There are also generations already in businesses who are also getting bolder and speaking up and walking out.
Is it time that you looked at your business and the reasons why people are leaving, not joining, not committing so much or why people are not engaged. Have really honest conversations with people about how they feel at work and then once you have listened - I mean really listened and not just looked at the stats from the latest engagement survey.....
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
Take a listen to the episode
https://brenebrown.com/podcast/how-toxic-work-cultures-are-driving-the-great-resignation/
I also recommend listening to all the Dare to Lead episodes - you have time in the car, during a walk, in the bath, making dinner so no excuses.
Reach out to me if you want to know how to have conversations with your employees about what matters to them at work. My consulting company can help you www.vanessa-murphy.com