Many employers are struggling to find qualified workers. An oppressive company culture may be turning away skilled workers and qualified applicants.  I’m seeking your help. If you’ve  been the victim of a bad company culture or negative co-workers and bosses, please share your story. See below for more details

frustrated workerJane started a new job a few months ago.  The opportunity for using her skills and advancing her career seemed perfect. The increase in pay was a bonus. The new job provided a pretty nice boost to her ego too – she was recruited and courted aggressively. She felt very special and that her new employer was a big positive step for her career.

But almost immediately after starting the job, everything changed. Each morning as she headed out to work, she got this awful gut-wrenching feeling.  She felt anxious. The feeling worsened as she parked her car in the company lot and then S-M-A-C-K – it felt like she walked into a brick wall as soon as she cracked opened the door to her office.

She started to think she made the wrong decision.

The work culture at her new place of employment is horrible. Her co-workers are constantly bitching, back-stabbing, and gossiping. “If they spent half as much time doing their work as they do complaining about everything and everyone,” Jane rationalized it might be tolerable.

When it comes to bad-mouthing, it seems that nothing is off-limits at Jane’s new company. If the conversation among workers isn’t about management taking advantage of the employers and customers, then the fangs reach out to tear apart another employee. If it’s not an employee, a customer becomes the target of sarcasm and scorn. Managers are not immune from the pessimism and negativity either.

What’s worse, this group is vicious and relentless when it comes to attacking family members – kids, spouses, partners, almost anyone seems to be fair game. In fact, blaming family (and almost anyone else within reach) for personal problems seems to be an Olympic sport of one-upmanship. And many of these workers perform at the highest level. If there was an award for blaming others, many of these employees would be wearing gold medals.

And just today Jane overheard what she feared most.  Bets were being waged by her new co-workers about how long she would last – when would she quit.  Apparently Jane lasted longer than they thought she would and a few co-workers lost the bet. She didn’t know whether she should be pleased or hurt.

It didn’t take long for Jane to notice that most employees were here today, gone tomorrow.  It was like workers entered and exited on a revolving door. The turnover rate made it nearly impossible to get her work done. Almost every day Jane was working with a new hire …and that was on good day. On many other days, the business was short-handed because a significant number of workers didn’t show up at all.  Each time she caught some light at the end of the tunnel, it went dark again.  The good employees it seems can’t run away fast enough as soon as they realize how negative the employee attitudes and culture of this company really are.

For those of you still reading, did I hit a nerve?  Have you ever experienced something like Jane feels?  Have you ever quit or turned down a job because of the environment or culture or negative co-workers? Is this what is happening in your workplace right now?  Please share your stories with me – privately, confidentially, or publicly.  You can reach me via email, phone, or social media. All responses will be kept confidential upon request.  Thank you in advance for sharing your personal experiences.