07.11.2025

UK professionals say ‘Culture Rot’ has arrived in their office

The latest findings from global talent solutions partner Robert Walters reveal that 54 per cent of UK professionals now identify ‘culture rot’ as a significant problem in their workplace, with a further 28 per cent saying they’ve noticed its warning signs.

The Workplace’s Next Big Problem?

‘Culture rot’ references the slow erosion of culture and values that once made an organisation successful, leading to the development of a ‘toxic’ or dysfunctional work environment. Over time, undermining employee morale, collaboration, and overall organisational performance.

Top ‘symptoms’ of culture rot identified by professionals:

Limited incentives or rewards (41 per cent)
Poor collaboration across the company (36 per cent)
Unclear or broken-down communications (23 per cent)

“Culture rot is the silent threat currently impacting business productivity across the UK”, says Lucy Bisset, Director of Robert Walters North. “When values erode and morale dips, businesses lose their edge. This isn’t a case of dramatic failures, instead, success is slowly diminished through everyday disengagement, broken communication loops, and declining incentives.”

Reduced Rewards

Findings from Robert Walters’ Employee Benefits Guide highlight that while 69 per cent of professionals were eligible to receive bonuses this year, only 37% were happy with the bonus they received.

More broadly, UK professionals are noticing their company perks being reduced, 76 per cent state that their benefits packages have been ‘scaled back’ this year.

“Comprehensive reward strategies make up a cornerstone of successful company cultures. Removing or reducing employee rewards will rapidly lead to declining productivity and quality of work as employees feel their efforts aren’t being recognised,” Bisset notes.

Culture and Values Wane

Worryingly, only a minority (14 per cent) of UK professionals now say they currently feel aligned with their company’s core values and workplace culture, meanwhile double the amount report feeling completely misaligned.

Despite this, 71 per cent of workers still say that these are essential factors they consider when applying for a job.

“Consistency is key when it comes to culture. If the values and missions outlined in interviews don’t match up with daily life in the office, organisations could quickly lose the loyalty of top workers,” says Bisset.

Indeed – according to a recent report from Pearn Kandola, three-quarters of UK professionals have admitted to leaving a job due to issues with workplace culture.

Cost Efficiencies Hamper Workplace Dynamics

Over half (55 per cent) of the UK employers surveyed by Robert Walters stated that culture and values play a major role in their organisation. Meanwhile, in contrast, more than a quarter (27 per cent) said they receive little or only superficial emphasis.

In fact, most employers (81 per cent) agreed that company-wide cost cutting has significantly weakened their overall work culture.

Bisset concludes: “With cost-cutting top of the agenda, many company cultures originally aimed at growth and innovation have turned to focus on survival.

“Organisations must look inward, and spot signs of culture rot before they settle. This means refocusing their efforts on rebuilding trust from the top, acknowledging and incentivising high performance, promoting transparent communications and encouraging collaboration not criticism.

“Good culture isn’t just branding or a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a powerful performance driver and not something that can be reduced in aid of balancing budgets.”

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