What happened
Kelly Cooper, founder of the Centre for Social Intelligence in Ottawa, wrote a column on bad workplace culture, as reported by Talent Canada. Her argument is that culture is a financial and risk issue, not an HR side project. She says more diverse teams and more women in senior roles are bringing long-hidden power habits into view.
She cites several cost figures. Harassment and bullying reportedly cost the Canadian economy about $19 billion a year in absences and lower output. In the US, toxic cultures drove US$223 billion in turnover costs over five years. For burnout, she estimates a Canadian employer with 500 staff can lose more than $3.4 million a year in output.
Cooper spends much of the piece on mobbing, a coordinated effort led by someone with authority to isolate and discredit one person who is seen as a threat. The target is often a strong performer who asked awkward questions. Her remedy is a set of leadership skills she calls social intelligence: self-awareness, self-control, empathy and accountability. She suggests auditing culture through honest conversations, not only surveys.
These are the author's own estimates and opinions, not new research.
Why it matters if you are hiring
Bad culture shows up in your hiring numbers before it shows up in a report. Strong people leave, vacancies repeat, and the same roles get reposted every few months. Each replacement costs recruiting fees, ramp-up time and the knowledge that walked out.
The column points to the people who most often get pushed out: those who speak up and challenge how things are done. Those are often the employees you most want to keep.
For Canadian employers, the practical pressure falls on first-line managers, supervisors, team leads and department heads. Technical skill gets people promoted, but how they treat their teams decides whether anyone stays. If you hire or promote into those roles, test for it. Ask for specific examples of how a candidate handled conflict, took criticism and dealt with a dissenting team member. Check references on how the person treated people, not only on results.
Candidates are also watching. A reputation for a closed or fearful culture narrows your pool, especially among experienced people with options.
One thing to do this week
Pull the last 12 months of exits for one team or department and look at who left and who they reported to. If one manager accounts for a cluster of departures, hold a direct conversation with that manager and add people-leadership questions to your next supervisor interview.
Traverse helps employers across Canada and the US find operations, finance, sales and other professionals who have led teams well, and we screen for how they work with people as well as what they have delivered.