A toxic work culture is a cancer and it can damage or kill your company. Our current business environment and the startup hustle and grind can seem necessary, or even desirable, but creating a culture of systemic overworking is toxic, and over time will damage your company. 

I really liked this LinkedIn post by Adam Grant:

Companies employ people who are the lifeblood of that company. They are the face of the business to prospects and clients. They create the products or services. They oversee the finances. Most companies need good people to stay in business. 

Overworking your people for extended periods of time doesn’t work well over the long term. Yes, there are events like a product launch when everyone will have to work long days and leisure activities may need to be put on hold. Most people are fine with these sprints, but if they are required to do this for more than a finite period of time, they will experience burnout. 

Burned out employees are not productive and may even be actively disengaged or absent from work, which negatively impacts the business. 

Even people who are driven individuals need to rest. They need to take vacations and separate from the business. (Yes, even the founder or senior executive.) Work hard, but also work smart. The number of hours you require yourself or others to put in isn’t necessarily a great metric. 

“The badge of busyness is BS,” I often say. We can get a lot of ego satisfaction from being busy and feeling needed. We also can bury ourselves in our work to hide from things we don’t want to face. It seems like a good thing, and it can be, but only up to a point.

Most companies require creative problem-solving and innovation from their employees. Exhausted and stressed out people will not be able to access their best ideas. It just isn’t possible. 

Yes, even those of you who seem to thrive under pressure. You can’t keep that up forever. 

If you give your employees generous PTO, do you have a culture that allows them – better yet, encourages them – to take time off?

Do you have a culture where the things people do outside of work are discussed and acknowledged? Personal hobbies, family-related activities, volunteer board work, and fitness accomplishments are all valid pursuits. You and your employees should be more than your work.

Your company will benefit from creating a culture that acknowledges both the person and the professional. Your employees will give more and do their best work. 

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash