If you work in a cubicle in Corporate America there's a very good chance you work for a dysfunctional company. If you aren't sure, here's a checklist. If you score a 4 or higher, congratulations, you work for a dysfunctional company.
1. No method for providing feedback on managers
If there is one sure fire way of building an organization filled with terrible managers, it's the lack of opportunity for employees to give feedback on management. Dysfunctional companies are often filled with managers who spend 90% of their time focusing on impressing their managers rather than fulfilling the purpose of management. And you can’t blame them. Their predecessors did the same thing.
2. Competition between departments and managers
Dysfunctional companies are filled with department leaders who are 100% focused on building their own empire. Increase the size of your department and you achieve three things: a larger budget, more control, and a far higher chance of being promoted. Unfortunately, it also leaves you with a company where departments compete with one another, leading to a ridiculous amount of redundancy.
3. Too many layers of management
Dysfunctional companies have more layers of management than they do business units. For example, let's say you work in marketing for a specific product. That product falls into a line of products, which falls into a parent category of products which falls under the overall marketing umbrella. That's 4 legitimate business layers, the 5th being the top of the company. At a dysfunctional company, you may find yourself in a business unit 5 layers from the top but 12 managers down from the CEO. That leaves you with 7 layers of unnecessary management, all of whom require employees beneath them to warrant being a manager. The problem quickly spirals out of control.
4. Short term image of department leaders is more important than long term success
The perception of results and progress is far more important than actual success at dysfunctional companies. This is usually the fault of department leaders who realize that promotions are easier to earn by deceiving those above them. Their entire department is an elaborate set of smoke and mirrors all leading to their eventual promotion and abandonment of the department before someone else is blamed for its demise.
5. Corporate policies on raises, promotions, and internal transfers have created a communist atmosphere
Most people aren't aware of this, but the closest thing to Communism in the United States is Dysfunctional Corporate America. Blanket policies that give everyone at the company the same raise regardless of performance, capping salaries based on BS definitions of job roles created by some HR text book, and capping internal transfer raises are just a few examples of the many methods dysfunctional companies implement to drain any ambition you once had in life.
6. A workplace environment filled with unnecessary recurring meetings
Dysfunctional companies are heavy on people that talk (managers), and light on people who actually perform work (employees). This leads to a never-ending cycle of recurring meetings that all but eliminates any chance of ever being productive. Managers at dysfunctional companies pack their calendars full of meetings to give off the perception of working hard.
7. Constant fire-drill mode
Last, but certainly not least, every dysfunctional company operates based on emergency. You'd think if dysfunctional companies are filled with managers who sit in meetings all day they'd be able to anticipate upcoming issues, right? That’s where you’d be wrong. If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve done nothing for 4 weeks, don’t get too comfortable. That’s just the calm before the storm.
Do you work for a dysfunctional company? If so, you may enjoy Life in the Cubicle’s Top 25.
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