Recent research suggests “culture rot” is spreading through UK workplaces. More than half of professionals say their organisation’s culture is deteriorating, with many spotting early warning signs. For HR and leaders, this is a signal to prioritise values, leadership behaviour and psychological safety before sickness levels, employee relations issues and turnover spike.
What has happened?
New UK survey data from a global recruitment firm shows that 54% of professionals now see “culture rot” as a serious problem where they work, with a further 28% noticing early symptoms. “Culture rot” describes the slow erosion of values and day‑to‑day behaviour, that once made the organisation successful, until the culture becomes toxic or dysfunctional.
Employees in the research highlighted three symptoms in particular: limited incentives or rewards for effort, poor collaboration across the business, and unclear or consistently broken communication. Many also report misalignment between the values advertised at interview and the reality of working life, especially in organisations that have focused heavily on cost cutting and restructuring in the past year.
Why this matters for employers and HR
Culture rot is more than a “soft” HR issue. When values and behaviour drift, employers see rising stress, more conflict and a higher risk of bullying and harassment complaints. Over time this can translate into sickness absence, formal disputes, constructive dismissal risks and reputational damage in the wider labour market.
The talent risk is equally serious. Studies show many UK workers leave roles because the culture no longer matches what they were promised, and candidates now scrutinise culture as closely as pay and benefits.
What to do now?
- Diagnose the current culture in your organisation. Look beyond engagement scores. Combine listening exercises, pulse surveys and exit‑interview themes to understand how people actually experience your workplace and feel about it, including any pockets of concern.
- Re‑set expectations for line managers.
Provide practical training and support so managers understand their responsibilities around conduct, inclusion and wellbeing, and build cultural goals into objectives, one‑to‑ones and performance reviews.
- Refresh your policies and procedures, and look at reporting routes.
Make sure bullying, harassment, equality and whistleblowing policies are up to date, easy to understand and actively used, and employees are encouraged to do so. Check that staff know how to raise concerns informally and formally, and that they will be taken seriously and matters addressed sensitively, confidentially and in a timely manner.
- Protect psychological safety.
Encourage senior leaders and managers to model respectful challenge, admit mistakes and respond constructively when issues are raised. Link this to your organisation’s values, wellbeing plans and any mental‑health initiatives.
- Fix the reward and workload basics.
Sense‑check workloads, resources and reward structures so people feel recognised and appreciated for their contribution and efforts. Where benefits have been scaled back, explain the rationale and look for low‑cost ways to rebuild trust, recognition and appreciation.
Open questions and watch‑outs
“Culture rot” is a useful shorthand, but it risks becoming a catch‑all label for every workplace frustration. HR teams should instead of focusing on this phrase analyse what the underlying drivers are causing it: poor leadership behaviour, lack of clarity of expectations, a lack of fair processes and limited lived adherence to values.
