Marvin OnumonuRobert Walters reported that 54% of UK professionals identified ‘culture rot’ as a major problem in their workplace, with another 28% seeing early signs.
Limited incentives or rewards were flagged by 41% of professionals as a symptom.
Poor collaboration was noted by 36%, and unclear or broken-down communication by 23%.
Lucy Bisset, director of Robert Walters North, said: “Culture rot is the silent threat currently impacting business productivity across the UK.
“When values erode and morale dips, businesses lose their edge.
“This isn’t a case of dramatic failures, instead, success is slowly diminished through everyday disengagement, broken communication loops, and declining incentives.”
The report also found 69% of professionals were eligible for bonuses this year, but only 37% were satisfied with what they received.
Most professionals, 76%, said their benefits had been scaled back.
Additionally, research showed that just 14% of professionals felt aligned with their company’s values and culture.
Twice as many said they felt completely misaligned.
Still, 71% said company culture and values were essential when applying for a role.
Bisset added: “Comprehensive reward strategies make up a cornerstone of successful company cultures.
“Removing or reducing employee rewards will rapidly lead to declining productivity and quality of work as employees feel their efforts aren’t being recognised.
“Consistency is key when it comes to culture. If the values and missions outlined in interviews don’t match up with daily life in the office, organisations could quickly lose the loyalty of top workers.”
A separate report from Pearn Kandola showed three-quarters of UK professionals admitted to leaving a job due to workplace culture issues.
Among employers surveyed by Robert Walters, 55% said culture and values were a major focus, but 27% gave it little or only superficial attention.
Most employers, 81%, agreed cost-cutting had weakened their company culture.
She said: “With cost-cutting top of the agenda, many company cultures originally aimed at growth and innovation have turned to focus on survival.
“Organisations must look inward, and spot signs of culture rot before they settle.
“This means refocusing their efforts on rebuilding trust from the top, acknowledging and incentivising high performance, promoting transparent communications and encouraging collaboration not criticism.”
She added: “Good culture isn’t just branding or a ‘nice to have.’
“It’s a powerful performance driver and not something that can be reduced in aid of balancing budgets.”
