In brief
- When a company never decides what its culture should be, it doesn’t go without one. It runs on a default.
- The two most common defaults are the law (Level 1) and whoever is in charge (Level 2).
- Each default leaves signs you can see, if you know what to look for.
No company sets out to build a culture where people are afraid to speak up, or where the rules change depending on your manager. Those cultures happen anyway, because a company that never decides what its culture should be still ends up with one.
I think of it as a default setting. It’s the culture you get when nobody chooses. And like most defaults, it’s easy to miss because it’s always been there.
In the Toxic Culture Pyramid™, there are two defaults. At Level 1, the law sets the standard. At Level 2, whoever is in the room does. Here’s what each one looks like from the inside.
Signs your default is the law (Level 1)
- Problems get attention when they sound like legal risk. A complaint about being treated unfairly waits. A complaint that mentions a lawyer gets a meeting the same day.
- The handbook is the culture. Ask what’s expected of people here, and you’ll be pointed to a policy.
- HR is called in to protect the company. People see HR as the department that documents things, not the one that helps.
- Reviews exist to build a file. The performance process is designed for the day someone has to be let go.
- People keep their heads down. They follow the rules, and they also do whatever keeps them safe. Nobody volunteers bad news.
- “Is it legal?” ends the conversation. If the answer is yes, the discussion is over, even if the decision doesn’t sit right with anyone.
The law is the right floor. Every company needs it. But a culture that runs only on the law tells people what they can’t do and nothing about how to treat each other, so everything below the legal line is left to chance.
Signs your default is whoever is in the room (Level 2)
- Your experience depends on your manager. Two people in the same role have completely different jobs because they report to different people.
- The same behavior gets different results. One leader shuts down disrespect immediately. Another laughs it off. Both think they’re handling it.
- People learn the person, not the company. New hires figure out what each leader wants, because there’s no shared answer to learn.
- High performers get a pass. When results are strong, behavior that would get someone else in trouble gets explained away.
- The culture changes when a leader leaves. A new manager arrives and the team’s whole way of working shifts with them.
- People transfer to get away from a manager, not toward a role. Internal moves are really escapes.
In my experience, Level 2 is where most companies are, and it feels normal because every leader is doing their best with the standard they brought with them. That’s the problem. Ten leaders means ten standards. I walk through how that plays out across recruiting, onboarding, reviews and the rest of HR in HR Already Has a System. Nobody Designed It.
Side by side
| Level 1: the law | Level 2: whoever is in the room |
|---|
| What sets the standard | Legal and policy requirements | Each leader’s own judgment |
| What people learn | Stay out of trouble | Learn your manager |
| What gets handled | What creates legal risk | Whatever the person in charge cares about |
| What people say | “It’s not against policy.” | “That’s just how he is.” |
Why the default sticks
Defaults are hard to see from the inside. If you’ve always worked this way, it doesn’t look like a choice. It looks like how things are.
They also tend to hold up when the business is doing well. Revenue covers a lot. It’s often only when good people start leaving that anyone looks closer, and by then the default has been running for years. Gallup found that 52% of employees who voluntarily left their jobs said their manager or organization could have done something to keep them. In my experience, a lot of those exits trace back to a default nobody questioned.
And most companies can show signs of both. It’s common to see Level 1 in the policies and Level 2 in the day-to-day: the handbook covers the legal side, and everything else is left to each manager.
The verdict
Every company has a default setting. The question is whether you’ve ever looked at yours.
If the signs above sound familiar, it doesn’t mean anyone failed. It means the company never made a decision that only it can make: who it is, and what it expects from people as a result. Until that decision is made, the law or the person in charge will keep making it for you.
That’s the difference between Level 1 or Level 2 and Level 3, where the standard comes from the company’s own identity. I explain all three in What Is the Toxic Culture Pyramid™?, and if you’re seeing early signs of a culture slipping, 7 Signs Your Culture Is Starting to Slip is worth a look.
Questions worth asking
- How many of the Level 1 signs would your employees recognize? How many of the Level 2 signs?
- If your best manager left tomorrow, would their team’s culture leave with them?
- When the last good employee quit, did anyone ask what the company could have done differently?
Read next: The Tell: What the Reasons Behind Bad Behavior Reveal About Your Culture
Frequently asked questions
What are the signs of a toxic work culture?
Look at what sets the standard. If problems only get attention when they sound like legal risk, the law is the standard. If people’s experience depends on which manager they have, the standard is whoever is in the room. Both leave most behavior unmanaged.
What does it mean for a culture to have a default setting?
It’s the culture a company ends up with when it never decides what its culture should be. The default is usually the law or the judgment of whoever is in charge.
Can a company be at Level 1 and Level 2 at the same time?
Yes, and it’s common. The policies cover the legal side, and everything else is left to each manager.
How do you change a culture’s default setting?
By deciding who the company is and what that means for how people treat each other, then holding everyone to that standard.
