There are certain types of management styles that just destroy employee motivation. The old-school “MANAGEMENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” approach is proving to do more damage than good. Though there is data to back up how poor management can negatively affect a business, companies may be unaware of the things that can cause disengagement in the workplace. The factors that cause low employee engagement. So here’s a list of the ten things that will destroy a company’s culture. Here are the company culture killers:
1. Big Egos
When people are solely focused on making themselves better and don’t pay attention to the people around them, it can rub people the wrong way.
There are a lot of creatives out there that prefer to do things on their own, but at the same time, the outline or purpose of an assigned task is to make the company/team better. If there is a task being worked on at the office, it’s not a one-person show. Get the opinions of others and try not to brag about the fact that you did it all on your own.
Aside from this affecting tasks, people with large egos tend to think they’re better than what they are. They will opt to brag about their accomplishment, as opposed to working with others on creating something larger to get an even bigger win.
The second that egos are set aside, great things tend to happen.
2. Micro-Management
Micromanagement is one that a lot of people stress over. There’s nothing more annoying than a manager that is willing to dissect a piece of work as it’s being done.
Micromanagement is an innovation killer. It makes employees feel stressed, and it is not optimal for any department. There are even parody songs that poke fun of micromanagement.
It is just not cool and should not be tolerated. If you were to survey employees, you’d probably find that the majority will not approve of adding extra reviews and management as a part of their workflow.
3. Eliminating Perks
This one may not sound bad, but it’s a good way to kill your company culture. When a new employee is hired, they are committing to the organization and all that it has to offer. One of the worst things a company can do is to not keep their promise.
Perhaps this is something that should be discussed company-wide. If it’s causing the company to lose a lot of money, it’s better to obtain the information and show it to employees, so they know why.
4. Bureaucracy
Adding too many layers of management will destroy an organization. Imagine having to get one thing approved by several layers of management. Things need to get done, and the faster (and higher quality) the better.
The two ways of going about it would be to start looking into Agile methodologies or try having a “flat” organization. When your company can stop having so many layers just to make decisions, it’ll be able to act fast, fail fast, keep going and do new things.
5. Disengaged Employees
One of the bigger subjects we like to cover is employee disengagement and how it affects workplaces. These company culture killers are only on this list because they negatively affect the people around them. Thus, creating a not-so-fun workplace.
Times are changing and the forward-thinking managers out there are thinking about new strategies to engage these kinds of employees, in order to unlock their potential. Once they get an engagement system in place, it will help the attrition caused by employees leaving the company.
6. Calling Employees Out
6. Calling Employees Out“Praise in public, criticize in private” – Vince Lombardi
This is a no-go for any organization. Going back to the point earlier, there shouldn’t be a feeling that someone is above anyone else. Though people may have more experience and are a manager, receiving criticism (no matter how small it is) shouldn’t have to be being publicly chastised.
Any manager that uses their platform to abuse their leadership and call others out in front of others is not a true leader.
7. Di
shonesty
shonestyLies and deceit will tear an organization apart. Not only that, but omission and maneuvering around to avoid telling the truth is a complete bad look for a company’s management.
If things are going awry, let your employees know. No one likes being lied to, especially not a large group of people that work toward a common goal. Make sure your office isn’t running like an episode of House of Cards and start being honest.
8. Lack Of Transparency
This goes hand-in-hand with being dishonest to colleagues. A company that is not transparent with their employees doesn’t allow them to get the bigger picture in what they do.
When employees don’t know the why behind things, it doesn’t allow them to be as productive as they could be. When companies are transparent, for better or worse, they get the most out of their employees. Employees tend to be more productive and aware of what the company’s intentions truly are, and they understand the decisions that need to be made in order to succeed.
9. Threatening Job Security
9. Threatening Job SecurityUnless it’s in a reality TV show (“The Apprentice” reference in the graphic), this should not actually be practiced by leadership. Threatening dismissal can mess with employees’ confidence, as they end up working “not to get fired” instead of trying to succeed at their tasks.
If this is currently happening to you, just make sure to have a paper trail and ask for clarification. It’s wrong for good employees to get fired over someone not using their leadership for good.
10. Never Offering Praise
10. Never Offering PraiseThough it may not seem like that bad of an offense, this one can kill employee motivation, big time. Not giving employees recognition or praise makes them feel as if they don’t belong.
It doesn’t have to be anything too out of this world, but as long as leaders are listening to feedback and giving the proverbial pat on the back, it should be fine.
The last thing you want to do is build a company culture with negative things surrounding it. Nothing good comes out of it and your employees will probably turn into zombies.
