Schiller

The person looking for a job is also choosing the place where they will spend many hours of their life, so it is advisable to analyze the signs before it's too late.

When Moisés Blanco's boss calls him at midnight, the protagonist of the novel “Contenido,” which deals with the digital media bubble, locks himself in the bathroom in shame because he can't say “no.” Late-night conversations, the approval-seeking will of a lunatic as a leader, and the attempt to squeeze creative capacity to exhaustion add to this. Faced with this, his partner is clear: Moisés works in a digital cult.

In a fragment of the book, Moisés' boss warns him: “I want you to talk about Zenfire. We are a team. Individuals no longer matter. I don't want stars. Without us, you are nothing; you would be working in a copy shop.” The Mallorcan is not the only character working in a toxic work environment. Andrea Sachs, the famous assistant to Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada,” exemplifies how fiction managed to glamorize a job that would make anyone pull their hair out.

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According to the Work in America 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association, 19% of respondents rated their workplace as toxic, and one in five people stated that their work environment had harmed their mental health. Although the results were collected in the United States, they are not far from those of any other country where work functions as the backbone of identity.

If Moisés Blanco or Andrea Sachs had been able to see the warning signs from the selection process, they would probably have reconsidered working at the startup Zenfire or at the Runway magazine, no matter how much they needed a salary. But what are the signs or strategies for detecting red flags from the hiring stage?

Signs that reveal a toxic work environment

In a changing social context, the obligation to endure a draining position has not aged well. With the entry into the workforce of younger generations, some situations, such as unpaid overtime or precarious contracts, have eroded in favor of others that facilitate work-life balance and free time. The data proves this: according to the Work Relationship Index published by HP, nearly 60% of respondents have increased expectations of how they are treated in their workplace.

Mireia Olivan, 34, has been working in marketing for over a decade and uses social media to alert about possible red flags in job offers or job interviews: “When they tell you 'We are a family,' they probably expect you to work outside working hours or take things too personally.”

To this first warning, Mireia adds a few more: “The requirement of immediate availability may suggest that the previous employee left abruptly or that there will be no proper adaptation process for the candidate who joins.” The specialist also states that not being able to ask questions to the interviewer or having the interview changed more than three times are also worrying signs.

Detecting a toxic boss from the selection process

According to a study by Computrabajo, up to 43% of professionals who have left their jobs have done so because of the leadership style of their superiors. “A bad leadership not only affects performance but also the work environment,” says Álvaro Tejedor, coordinator of the Psychoeducation area at Affor Health, the first Spanish consultancy specialized in psychosocial prevention management.

How can you recognize a toxic boss from the selection process? For Bruno A. Luca, Talent Manager at the free tours platform GuruWalk, the first step would be to research on portals dedicated to company reviews, such as Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees can anonymously express their opinions about the work environment or salaries. “These sites can be valuable allies to obtain information and context,” he explains. However, he recommends not making decisions based solely on one opinion but looking at a trend.

GuruWalk's Talent Manager also suggests observing the interviewer's attitude: “A distracted, unprofessional interviewer who does not pay attention to your answers could be a first sign of the company culture.” After all, if the employer shows no interest in the candidate during the onboarding process, they probably won't do it once hired. On the other hand, Bruno A. Luca urges to ask all the necessary questions to get to know the company better—if the questions make the interviewer uncomfortable, it's a warning sign—and to observe the behavior of the employees interacted with during the process—if they seem stressed or nervous, it's another indication of what the company's day-to-day is like.

On the flip side, there are positive signs that help recognize a good workplace. This Refinery29 article mentions the case of Allison Peck. The Californian shared on TikTok how her boss, when hiring her, offered to provide references from previous employees who had worked under him. “He said, 'Here are three women who have worked for me and who will serve as references.' I called them, and they told me he was the best boss they had ever had. I worked there for years,” Peck tells the American publication.

The role of companies in the work environment

According to HP's Work Relationship Index, only 27% of employees have a healthy relationship with work, making Spain one of the countries with the lowest percentage. Such is the importance of well-being in the workplace that the study shows how Spanish workers would be willing to accept a 7% salary cut if it meant working in places with more empathetic and emotionally intelligent leadership.

“Nowadays, work life and personal life are interconnected,” says Helena Herrero, President of HP for Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The executive emphasizes that it is important to continue seeing progress that seeks to increase the physical and psychological well-being of employees and incorporate measures that ensure work-life balance, such as flexible schedules. Ultimately, implementing certain work mechanisms or strategies to make “it tangible for all employees,” she summarizes.

After all, when it comes to selection processes, it is important to remember that they are bidirectional. “You are also choosing the place where you are going to spend many hours of your life,” says Á

lvaro Tejedor. Therefore, it will always be better not to overlook red flags in the workplace. Only then can we ensure that we do not end up under the yoke of an unsympathetic leader or, in other words, locked in the bathroom to attend to our boss in the early morning.