CEOs and Editors have recently been stepping down over and over and over and over again due to the toxic work cultures and systemic racism they built, yet not much space has been given to the employees of these companies and what comes next for them. Like most crime movies, we tend to focus on the villains and their deplorable deeds that get just punishment, while glossing over the victims who now have to carry on with their lives, traumatized by the experience.
If we want real change and improvement in the toxic workplace, it’s not just the “bad apple” CEOs who need reform. It’s the power systems they put in place, the people they hired and promoted to protect those systems. It’s also the people they fired, ignored, or passed up for deserved promotions whose careers were stalled. For every article taking down one of these prominent executives, there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of people who struggled under their regime and now are attempting to rebuild their career. This moment is not just about taking down horrible bosses, it’s also become a time where people who have been historically marginalized are finally feeling empowered to share more honestly their experiences with prospective employers and shift the power dynamic. As one Black executive on the content side put it “there is only so many times you can cover for your white bosses insecurities.” In the past, the emotional weight of a toxic work culture was carried by an employee and cloaked with positive platitudes about one’s work experience, we are now seeing a group of diverse executives challenge the status quo in a normally vulnerable spot: the job interview.
A marketing executive who identifies as queer recently left a high-profile role after being fed up with the systemic racism on display at her employer. After taking some time off, she started interviewing for new roles and applied a new tact. She now directly and respectfully asks tough questions on company culture.
"It's empowering. Earlier in my career, I would be afraid to ask. Now, I see it as a way to winnow down opportunities, find out quickly which companies are action-oriented and which just say they are."
For some, it’s a great opportunity to go deeper and test the mettle of their prospective employer on what specific protocols the company has put in place and what actions they have taken. An Asian-American agency executive, said “I’ve actually been asking on interviews (both informational and formal employment). I’ve never felt like I have been in a position to ask and have it not threaten my chances. And if it does, fuck it! I don’t want work there if they still don’t get it in this climate.”
James Turk, CEO and Founder of development and learning consultancy The Turk Group, agrees.
"Before going to any interview, do your research so you aren't surprised with their answers. Empathetically say ‘I looked at your results on Glassdoor and am curious as to how you all have responded to what former employees have said." He stresses "what we all want is a job where we are psychologically safe, our working relationships are fair and transparent and we are fairly compensated. This should be mutually beneficial."
Turk reminds prospective employees to look for companies who can share real action when it comes to inclusivity. "Diversity is who you bring into the organization, inclusion is what you do with them."
For those with a strong moral compass, leaving multiple toxic jobs might get you labeled as a job hopper, a phrase that seems antiquated in a world of mass layoffs, media consolidation and COVID-19. However, it still does come up in the interview process. The marketing executive shared she had this come up in interviews a few times in her last round of interviews. "I tackle it head on. There are more important things to me, like my family and their health, than staying at a job for some random amount of time."
Turk suggests taking honest stock of what you went through, what you were still able to accomplish and more than anything else, knowing your worth. "Learn to be comfortable talking about it and prospective employers will be as well." For some, he suggests creating a resume that is more biographical, sharing the skills and passions you've honed over your career, freeing you from the standard chronological resume that sometimes focuses too heavily on how long you were in a certain role.
With more companies coming under scrutiny for toxic work cultures, it’s imperative we make sure that the firing of a CEO doesn’t become an empty symbolic gesture. In order for work culture to evolve, we need to be able to have these honest discussions during the interview process and challenge leadership to take actionable steps in fostering a fair, transparent and safe work environment.
*Note, I granted anonymity to these executives as every single one is tied to a NDA. It’s estimated 1/3 of the American workforce has signed a NDA and it’s something I will definitely cover down the line.