Who’s to blame for toxic tech culture? Survey says: Management

Workers largely blame management and HR for creating toxic work environments throughout the tech industry, with 45% of respondents to a recent poll by online training firm TalentLMS saying they plan to quit their current position due to toxic behavior.

TalentLMS commissioned an online poll of 1,000 tech workers who identified their workplaces as toxic, defined in the report as matching the cultural attributes MIT Sloan researchers identified as the “toxic five”: disrespectful, non-inclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive. Over two-thirds of respondents said the culprits behind the toxic working conditions were management or HR, with relatively few blaming their own colleagues:

• Twenty percent blamed leadership/senior management, while 18% blamed middle management and 17% their direct supervisors.
• Fourteen percent pointed the finger at human resources.
• Just 15% blamed colleagues on their team, while an additional 16% blamed those from other teams.

According to the survey, employees say the main factors creating toxic conditions are demands to work longer for the same pay, little or no transparency and communication from management, and a dearth of common consideration and courtesy. Other drivers included backstabbing and inappropriate remarks. Almost half (45%) said the deluge of layoffs to hit major tech companies in recent months had made the problem worse.

Dimitris Tsingos, co-founder and president of TalentLMS, developed by Epignosis, told IT Brew the survey shows a pervasive disconnect between upper and lower levels of the organization. Many expressed their suspicion superiors don’t understand or acknowledge—or are actively cultivating—the hostile environments.

“Specifically, managers were found to be frequently disrespectful and inconsiderate of employees, according to 42% of respondents,” Tsingos wrote via email. “This reveals that, behind the surface of shiny perks and ultra-modern workspaces, tech companies sometimes blanket dark corners where employees are treated disrespectfully.”

“The other key disconnect the survey revealed is between what leadership thinks about the culture in their companies and the day-to-day reality,” Tsingos added. For example, the survey found 45% of employees in toxic environments felt their leaders lived in a bubble, while nearly as many (43%) reported managers ignored signs of dysfunction. Forty-five percent said senior leadership promoted unhealthy competition between managers and their employees.

Bullying was also rife, with 40% of the respondents saying they encountered it frequently, and an additional 22% saying it happened sometimes. The survey also determined over 4 in 10 respondents were expected to be on call outside of work hours, and/or noticed a culture of antagonism and territoriality between different teams. Almost half (47%) believed their organizations wouldn’t change in the future or would get worse.

“To diagnose toxicity, managers should create systems and procedures that shed light on toxic patterns,” Tsingos told IT Brew. “Gathering data via employee surveys and talks is a good start. Another useful tool is 360 feedback policy—unlike traditional performance evaluations where managers assess employees, this way everyone is evaluating and is being evaluated.”

“To make this work, it’s crucial that managers create a trustful atmosphere where employees are encouraged to give honest feedback,” Tsingos added. The survey found almost half of the respondents believed training could ease the issues, with Tsingos recommending soft-skills training for managers in particular.

Update 07/17/23: This story has been updated since it was first published.