Signal File: is the workplace going through its culture reckoning?
From toxic leadership and stalled careers to AI scepticism and office mandates, this week’s signals show how workplace culture is being tested from every direction
At a time of uncertainty, change, and record-low levels of employee engagement, workplace culture is under scrutiny from every angle. Leaders are starting to openly acknowledge the toxic work environments, employees are seeking progression outside their organisation, and the gap is widening between how executives and workers view AI and the office.
This trajectory suggests that culture is no longer judged by what organisations say they value, but by how trust, support and opportunity are experienced day to day.
Toxic culture reaches the top
New research from Businessolver finds 33% of CEOs now describe their own workplace culture as toxic, up 25 percentage points year on year, while 40% of employees say the same, an increase of 18 points. The findings from its annual State of Workplace Empathy study point to a widening gap between how organisations talk about empathy and how support is experienced when employees need it. As toxicity becomes visible even at board level, culture is increasingly being framed as a business risk rather than a soft issue.
In action: Organisations will need to look beyond stated values and assess how support, fairness and leadership behaviour play out in everyday moments.
Employees leave to move up
A new SHL survey of more than 2,000 workers across the US and UK finds two-thirds believe they will have to leave their employer to advance their career, despite wanting to stay. Only 42% said their manager fully understood their skills beyond their current role, while 59% of US workers believe their employer favours outside candidates over internal development. The findings suggest limited visibility of employee capability is quietly pushing talent out of the business.
In action: Organisations may need better ways to assess and map employee skills so that progression opportunities are recognised before people look elsewhere.
Leaders and workers split on AI
New polling from Microsoft finds 84% of UK business leaders believe Britain can become a world leading AI economy within five years, compared with just 41% of employees. While 71% of workers already using AI say it has had a positive impact on their work, 35% worry it has reduced their job security and 57% fear it will limit opportunities for young people entering the workforce.
In action: As AI reshapes working practices, organisations will need to pair adoption with honest communication about job security, skills and career progression.
Unions push back on office mandates
The Unite union has opposed plans by NatWest to require its nearly 40,000 UK staff to work from the office two days a week from February 2027, ending the bank’s remote-first policy. Unite argues the bank bypassed agreed commitments to consult on attendance changes, warning of higher travel and childcare costs for staff. The dispute follows Barclays delaying its own return-to-office plans after union opposition, signalling that organised labour is becoming a significant force in shaping hybrid policy.
In action: As office mandates tighten, organisations will need meaningful consultation and a clear rationale for in person time to avoid eroding trust.
High performance masks a culture problem
A confidential culture survey of the Great Britain Cycling Team has found that ‘toxic’ was the second most common word riders used to describe its World Class Programme, after ‘driven’. The survey uses the employee Net Promoter Score common across UK businesses, with 2025 scores falling to minus 42 for male riders and minus 31 for female riders, down from 5 and 20 respectively in 2023. British Cycling has since introduced an action plan focused on psychological safety and leadership behaviours.
In action: High-achieving organisations will need to recognise that success can mask falling morale, and that psychological safety underpins sustainable performance.
