People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream “Working Here Would Suck”

Your first day at work is usually the most stressful one. You work hard to show your best side, you try to make friends during lunch, you do everything to leave a good impression.

And usually, we are so preoccupied with our own performance when starting a new job, we may actually not realize that the workplace is not doing a good job either. In fact, people in these threads (this and this) say that the first impression, not just of you, but of any workplace you enter, is the most important one.

So you have to stay alert and make sure you don’t spot any of these screaming red flags, either during the interview or during your first day at work, that show you that you gotta run, not walk out of there.

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Constantly having people leave. Constantly hiring people. No real training structure for new hires.

anon , fauxels Report

Final score:

121points

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To find out more about what red flags you should watch out for when entering a new workplace, Bored Panda reached out to Gleb Tsipursky, the CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Gleb has been consulting Fortune 500 companies for 20 years and is the author of 7 books, including the global best-seller “Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters.”

“Some potential signs of trouble to look out for when joining a new company,” Gleb explained, “include a lack of transparency from leadership, high turnover rates, and a lack of clear communication and expectations.”

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If you have to pay any amount of money in order to work for them it is a scam and stay away.

owen00600 , energepic.com Report

Final score:

118points

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" "We work hard and play hard"

translation: You'll have no work-life balance but we also all drink too much.

Gerreth_Gobulcoque , fauxels Report

Final score:

117points

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" They’re not prepared for you on your first day.

nikkitgirl , Mizuno K Report

Final score:

111points

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“Another red flag,” Gleb continued, “to be aware of is a toxic or negative work culture, which can manifest through gossip, backstabbing, and a lack of support among colleagues. Additionally, it's also important to be aware of any cognitive biases that may be present, such as the sunk cost fallacy, which may lead you to overlook red flags in the hopes of making the best of a bad situation.”

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" I always ask in interviews what the turnover rate is, or why the person I am replacing left the position. Definitely avoided some sketchy scenarios with those questions.

Pjvie , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

104points

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Treating you like a child- ie. monitoring the time you arrive/leave, timing your breaks/bathroom visits, dress codes that don't make sense for your role, and any other rules that make more sense for a kid than an adult.

If you're an experienced professional in an office setting, you should be basically left to take care of yourself as long as your work is getting done.

Obviously, these rules make more sense for jobs where you need to schedule breaks around other people, or service jobs, or jobs with lots of people with little experience - but still, I hear stories of places that give people warnings for being a minute late.

NixonsGhost , AlphaTradeZone Report

Final score:

96points

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If you constantly get “this is how we’ve always done it” responses to your suggestions.

regularasslady , Monstera Report

Final score:

91points

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If you identify one of these red flags, Gleb argues that it's important to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.

“On one hand, it may be wise to walk away if the red flags are severe and it seems unlikely that they will be addressed or resolved. On the other hand, it may be worth giving the company a second chance if the red flags are relatively minor and there are good reasons to believe that they can be addressed or improved,” the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts explained.

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" People have either been there for decades or a few weeks. No people in between.

desertravenwy , fauxels Report

Final score:

85points

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" You realize that all of the other people working there are related to the person who hired you or the person who is running the place. Run while you still can.

adoptagreyhound , fauxels Report

Final score:

82points

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#10

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If everyone is trash talking everyone else, you don’t want to work there.

ijustsmokeok , Yan Krukau Report

Final score:

81points

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Moreover, “checking with your gut is an initial step to evaluate whether to join a new company, as it can help you to identify potential red flags and to make decisions that are in your best interest.”

“However, it's also important to be aware of cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, which may lead you to overreact or overlook red flags or to make decisions that are not in your best interest,” Gleb explained.

“Therefore, it's important to check with your head and use your head to overrule your gut when your gut and your head disagree,” Gleb concluded.

#11

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If they ask you to clock out and then keep working to finish closing or whatever, run away fast. It's never just a one-time thing.

lilgraytabby , Magnet.me Report

Final score:

77points

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#12

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Employers who bemoan the lack of “good employees who want to work”. If everyone who hires sucks then either you are the most unfortunate business owner in the world or you need to look in the mirror.

YeOldeDingusKhan , August de Richelieu Report

Final score:

75points

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#13

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" My friend got hired at a place that called itself "the family".

Nahhh.

zeroGamer Report

Final score:

70points

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#14

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If they lure you into an interview for a management position, but tell you during the interview that the position has already been filled. Then they ask if you're interested in interviewing for the entry level position instead.

Wisco1856 , Alex Green Report

Final score:

67points

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#15

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Having a guy saying in the 1st group meeting: this company IS NOT a pyramid scheme.

masteroftheseas , fauxels Report

Final score:

65points

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#16

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" They like to micro manage you but then tell you off for not having enough initiative to do something.... then tell you off for doing it due to micro managing and the cycle continues

SwimnGinger- , Jonathan Borba Report

Final score:

64points

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#17

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" A boss who spies on his employees. With hidden cameras.

frankramblings , alessandrozocc Report

Final score:

64points

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#18

My workplace has a sign in the employee bathroom that says, “The best way to appreciate your job is picturing yourself without one.” They also don’t pay benefits until after 2 years and have an incredibly high turnover rate.

They’re great..

arguen Report

Final score:

62points

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#19

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" They don't ask you what your wage expectation is, but instead ask you what you were making at your last job.

SpinPsycho , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

62points

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#20

"We don't "technically" have breaks. We just take smoke breaks and stuff here and there."

No, f**k you. I don't smoke. You can't deny me a meal break, I don't give a s**t how busy you are.

NavyAnchor03 Report

Final score:

56points

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#21

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" A side room to nap is probably the #1 red flag

feartrich , Max Vakhtbovych Report

Final score:

53points

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#22

Being hired for a specific job and then having additional duties tacked on after you are hired.

The company doesn't follow it's own employee handbook or whatever rules and guidelines they have.

Work hours and days change after you are hired.

Telling you which holidays you have off, then not giving you those holiday's off.

Every employee is talking s**t about every other employee.

Poor or non-existent training time.

Management with no management training or knowledge.

Kirkinho08 Report

Final score:

50points

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#23

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If they tell you overtime is voluntary, then get mad when you never volunteer.

anon , wichayada69 Report

Final score:

49points

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#24

Places with truly great culture don’t have management teams constantly gushing about how great the culture is.

If management talks about the culture ten times in the first week you’re there, run. Don’t look back.

LawfulOrange Report

Final score:

45points

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#25

If they say they are family-friendly. It mean that as a childfree person, i will have to pick up the slack of parents. No thank you.

RoughCobbles Report

Final score:

43points

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#26

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" If you work in manufacturing, the company buys cheap and s****y machinery to save money.

If they don’t even value their equipment, they definitely won’t value their people.

330CI01 , Sam Moghadam Khamseh Report

Final score:

43points

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#27

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" The look of defeat on the faces of their employees.

When a place is good to work, their employees seem to be excited to be there. There are smiles, there are jokes, there is enthusiasm.

When a company screws over and abuses their employees? The employees get that look of defeat in their eyes. Their job has no enjoyment, it is merely about survival. When I say survival, I don't mean working to make some money to get food to eat, I mean that you are trying to make it to the end of the day, just to go home and repeat the cycle, each day a bit worse than the next. People don't joke and if they do, it seems to be morbid jokes about the workplace. People aren't social. You can feel the lack of joy. The company has managed to defeat their workforce.

slider728 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

42points

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#28

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" They have literally everything in the building. I interviewed at a place where they had the cafeteria and a nurse station (not healthcare related) in the building. I was pretty desperate for a job so I overlooked this, but was glad they didn't call me back. They didn't allow missed days, and I was told by one of the ladies who let me listen in on her phones that she had missed a day of work so she didn't get any sort of raise that year. If you're sick, they expect you to be in there and doing the job. Worst case scenario you need to visit THEIR nurse.

ImAPixiePrincess , Carlos Magno Report

Final score:

41points

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#29

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Everyone has their own best way to do something and they all tell you in private. It sounds like their helping, but it’s really a symptom of bad management.

rollbackprices , Pixabay Report

Final score:

37points

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#30

People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream "Working Here Would Suck" Toxic work environment such as refusing to address issues and becoming passings aggressive about it.

breiner2 , https://www.boredpanda.com/?p=4763963&preview=true Report

Final score:

35points

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Note: this post originally had 91 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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What do you think ?

Zephyr343 1 year ago

Worst for me is a "newly created role or department" which means they don't know their expectations and you will be reporting to someone like the CFO with little to no oversight.

2points

FABULOUS1 1 year ago

My employer falls under a few of these, and every day that I work for them I am miserable. Every time an opportunity for advancement comes up I am passed up for it, even though any one not in management will say they are surprised I am in the same position 7 years later. Every time one of these post come up I comment, so i am sure you have heard me complain about it before. But I have tried to find a new job, but no one wants to pay me for my experience, they want to start me off lower than I started at my current job 7 years ago.

1point

Danish Susanne 1 year ago

But wouldn't you rather look forward to go to work, than make the same amount of money, you do now and be miserable for a whole working day every day?

0points

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Marcus Lynch 1 year ago

Having to use your own tools, laptop or phone in order to fix equipment or effectively conduct company business has always been a big one for me. The company you work for rents your time - not your stuff too.

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People Share 30 Workplace Red Flags That Just Scream “Working Here Would Suck”

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