Potential California employees may not consider the environment, or culture, of their prospective employer when applying for a position. “Bro-culture” and other toxic working environments are beginning to drive quality employees away from employers where this behavior is acceptable.
What is “bro-culture?”
“Bro-culture” is a term often used in employment law to describe a workplace dominated by young, white males who spend time partying after work together and create an exclusive, clique-like group in the office or workspace. This behavior can lead employees and potential clients to feel as if the company is not taken seriously.
Additionally, women and people of color are less likely to accept positions within a workplace like this. Employers may also find that they have difficulty retaining these employees. Though employers cannot control what their employees do with their free time, they can work to mitigate the effects of this culture during the workday.
Other types of toxic work environments
One key sign of a toxic work environment is high employee absence and turnover rates. People do not want to work where they do not feel comfortable, so they quit. Likewise, they will take or request an excessive number of days off as a group or department to avoid stress.
Employers who expect overtime and weekend work on a consistent basis will also find that their employees are leaving in droves. Studies have proven that employees who work longer hours consistently actually are less productive. This environment can quickly lead to employee burnout as well.
Employers who hire employees of the same demographics are less likely to attract and retain qualified employees who do not fall outside of those demographics. In order to preserve diversity and keep the most talented individuals, employers should hire those with a wide range of experience and talents.
Finally, prospective employees can be turned off from a career when a company’s listed values do not match up with their daily dealings. For example, if “teamwork” is a touted value in the workplace, employees may assume that everyone has a fair share in carrying the workload. When this doesn’t happen, employees can become disenchanted quickly.