The transformation of a workplace into a toxic environment can be insidious but there are numerous signs the culture is rotten.
Culture problems and a reluctance to share bad news were among the factors that led to failings within Queensland Rail, according to Commissioner Phillip Strachan's inquiry.
While they cannot speak about the situation at QR specifically, Fairfax Media rallied experts to explain more generally how a workplace culture becomes toxic, the signs and what can be done to fix it.
What are the signs your workplace culture is toxic?
Sarina Russo Job Access psychologist Tegan Charlton said the signs included staff conflict, people not showing up for work, a high turnover, lack of engagement, poor performance, an increase in WorkCover claims and bullying.
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"You'll see a decrease in team morale, when you walk into a toxic environment you might notice people don't speak as nicely to people as they could," she said.
"That festers a little bit and can really jump from one team member to another."
HR expert Mark Souter said the number one sign was high turnover, especially of good employees.
"The other sign would be longer-term employees, people who have been there for an extended period of time who are just there as passengers and not necessarily contributing to the culture as a whole," Mr Souter said.
Mr Souter said another sign was when people were not empowered or trusted to do the jobs they should do.
"When they're afraid to take calculated risks and do things that may be an opportunity to change or course correct for the better," he said.
"If you have an organisation that is positive in culture, they usually have a margin to take calculated risks."
Ms Charlton said workplace culture could be a difficult concept because it was not like an item in the budget.
"There's not going to be a line in the sand where you can say, yes, this is exactly the culture that we want for every unit everywhere because there'll be certainly different nuanced differences that you want across different teams," she said.
"It's harder to measure and it's harder to fix but it can be done, and you can look at some of the signs and symptoms as your big KPIs to working out if your culture is OK or if there is an issue - that can point you in the right direction."
What are the causes of a toxic workplace?
Ms Charlton said the primary cause was when demands in the job outstripped resources.
"That tends to lead to an increase in stress, high turnover, low engagement, poor performance if we don't feel we can meet the demands of our role," she said.
Ms Charlton said a lack of clarity, being unsure about the boundaries of the role and poor organisation communication were also factors.
"When the messages aren't coming through appropriately from the top down or going back either," she said.
"A real lack of clear, directional vision as an organisation as a whole can cause disarray and cause a toxic environment where no one knows what they're doing."
Mr Souter said a toxic culture was caused by leadership.
"People reflect what they see in the leaders, be it good behaviour or less positive behaviour and that's reflected through the organisation," he said.
"A fish typically rots from the head and that's not dissimilar to an organisation's culture."
How common is a toxic workplace?
Mr Souter said he did not think culture issues were a systemic problem.
"I don't think it's common, I think it's something that organisations are becoming more aware of," he said.
But he said the culture could change over time.
"You can't become complacent," Mr Souter said.
"Trust takes a long time to build and a moment to be dissolved."
How do you fix it?
It can be difficult to fix a toxic culture but it can be done.
Ms Charlton said the first step was to recognise issues, which could be done through an engagement survey, looking at exit interviews and performance management.
Then, you need to get the organisation together to re-establish the vision of the cultural expectations across multiple levels.
"You could also look at things like hiring for culture, so by building that into the recruitment practices, you could change up some of your interview questions to look at cultural fit and how people work within teams," Ms Charlton said.
Developing good monitoring and feedback processes are also important to see if change is working, and also creating a safe environment so people feel they can disclose workplace issues.
Ms Charlton said if the organisation did not have a strong HR department, to hire an external provider to help with the change.
Mr Souter said managers were the ultimate owners of culture in a workplace, but it was owned by everyone.
"Managers need to spend time and attention on this sort of area to make sure they understand what sort of role they have in permeating culture," he said.
"If people see an opportunity to change their own reactions to something then they should do that, they should have an opportunity to speak to the leaders and managers about how they feel in a transparent way."
But if the culture did not change, some employees may decide they need to move elsewhere, Mr Souter said.
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