In partnership with

Happy Sunday, pals!

Gobble gobble to any readers who are observing American Thanksgiving this year. 🦃 

In today’s issue

• ⚡️ Lightning List - What I’m reading this week

• 🛸 Team me up, Scotty - Your culture is costin’ ya

• ⭐️ Community Spotlight - Gigged.AI makes Gartner list

• 💰️ Sponsor - Goody

⚡️ Lightning List ⚡️ 

👾 Team Me Up, Scotty.

When a startup fails, everyone points to the obvious suspects: running out of cash, product-market fit, or poor timing. But here's the dirty little secret - most startups are hemorrhaging resources through a much sneakier culprit: toxic culture.

According to MIT research, toxic culture is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to attrition than compensation. Let that sink in. Your ping pong table isn't saving you, Captain.

🎙️ Houston, We Have a Culture Problem

The startup world is facing a culture crisis. In a recent survey by CB Insights, 14% of startup failures were attributed to team issues and poor organizational culture. But unlike a spaceship with a fuel leak, many founders don't realize they're losing resources until it's too late.

What does this culture drain actually look like?

5️⃣ Culture Leaks Destroying Your Startup

1. The Hero Complex

You know the type - the "10x engineer" who writes undocumented code at 3 AM, the sales maverick who closes deals but terrorizes the support team, the founder who expects everyone to sacrifice their personal lives because "we're a family."

Reality check: Individual heroes create organizational villains. When you celebrate lone wolves, you create a pack of problems.

2. The Communication Black Hole

Remember that game of telephone you played as a kid? That's your hybrid workplace without proper communication structures. Important information gets lost in the void between Slack channels, Zoom calls, and that one whiteboard in the office that nobody can access remotely.

3. The "Move Fast and Break People" Mentality

The mantra of "move fast and break things" wasn't supposed to include breaking your people. Yet here we are, with 77% of startup employees reporting experiencing burnout, according to Deloitte.

4. The Incentive Misalignment

Here's a fun exercise: Ask your teams what they think they're being rewarded for. Then ask leadership what behaviors they want to encourage. The gap between these answers is where your culture is leaking fuel.

5. Toxic Positivity in Zero Gravity

"We're crushing it!" "Everything is awesome!" "This is fine! 🔥"

Forced optimism is like trying to fix a hull breach with Flex Seal. It might look nice for a second, but it won't hold under pressure.

💰️ The Real Cost of Culture Problems

Let's talk numbers because this isn’t a fluff piece. The economic impact of toxic culture is substantial, with pre-pandemic estimates from the US suggesting a cost of around $50 billion to employers.

• Average cost of replacing an employee: up to 213% of that individual’s salary considering the time it takes for a new hire to reach the same level of efficiency as their predecessor.

• Knowledge loss from turnover: It can take up to two years for a new hire to reach the same level of efficiency as the departing employee

• Presenteeism: where employees are physically present but not fully productive, costs UK employers between £26 billion and £29 billion annually.

• No more investment: Nearly 9 in 10 investors would quickly remove funding from an organization they were invested in that was involved in a bullying or harassment case.

🔧 Fixing the Leaks: A Practical Guide

1. Map Your Culture Current

Before you can fix the leaks, you need to know where they are. Create a cultural current map:

• Survey your team anonymously

• Track your team's energy, not just their time

• Measure psychological safety scores

• Monitor your employer brand sentiment

2. Implement a Culture Stack

Just like your tech stack, your culture needs architecture:

3. Create Culture Resilience

• Build feedback loops that actually loop

• Develop clear escalation paths

• Establish cultural OKRs (yes, that's a thing)

• Make culture metrics part of your board updates

The Sustainable Culture Engine

Culture isn't a destination, it's a journey. And like any good space mission, it needs:

1. Regular System Checks

• Monthly culture pulse surveys

• Quarterly values alignment reviews

• Annual culture audits

2. Course Corrections

• Rapid response to culture signals

• Regular assumption testing

• Adaptive policies and practices

3. Crew Development

• Leadership coaching

• Team capability building

• Culture ambassador programs

TLDR? Here's Your Culture Launch Checklist:

✅ Map your current cultural reality
✅ Identify your specific leaks
✅ Build your culture stack
✅ Implement measurement systems
✅ Create feedback loops
✅ Develop response protocols

Remember: In space, no one can hear you scream... but on Glassdoor, everyone can read your reviews. Build a culture that's worth writing home about.

⭐️ Community Spotlight ⭐️ 

Getting into a Gartner Market Guide is high on the dream list for many companies. This week, Gigged.AI made the cut!

You can scope them out in the Representative Vendors in Internal Talent Marketplaces section alongside the likes of Beamery, Gloat, Dayforce, and Eightfold.

Check out Rich’s social post here and give them a congrats! 👇️ 

This week’s sponsor is…

Holiday gifts your team can choose themselves

Goody makes sending curated holiday gifts to employees worldwide simple. No need to track shipping details, addresses, or t-shirt sizes!

No more guesswork. Simply set a price and let your employees choose. Goody offers trendy, high-quality products from popular brands, like JBL, Mejuri, Oura, MALIN+GOETZ, Therabody, and more. Or design premium merch with your company logo for a personalized touch.

Try Goody for free. Get a $20 signup credit to send your first gift.

Sign up for free

Ads help keep Weekly Workforce running. Please support by checking out this week’s sponsor (clicking them often buys me a coffee) or book in your ad.

That’s all for now, pals. See ya next week.

Eryn