Workplace culture ultimately determines your happiness in a job. Here’s how to access a company’s culture and check your values align.

Workplace culture, or more specifically, colleagues and culture, were rated pretty highly according to this LinkedIn global talents trend report. This comes as no surprise. Think about it — you’re going to be spending the majority of your week with your place of work, so it has to be a good match from the get-go.

But how do you suss out a company’s culture before you even start working there? If you’re interviewing for a new job, it can be tough to suss out how your future employer treats their employees. Fortunately, we have some practical tips to help you get a feel for a company’s culture.

Why is company culture so important?

While pay and job title are usually at the forefront of one’s mind, you should absolutely add company culture to your decision-making process. There will always be good and bad days on the job, and how a company deals with said good and bad days will contribute to your overall happiness in the position.

Knowing a company’s work culture at the interview stage, it sets expectations for how people behave and work together — and that means you further down the line too. It also helps you see how well they function as a team. Is this something you could slot yourself into for the long haul? Or does a company’s “we’re a family” ethos make you shudder?

To avoid the latter scenario, here are some ways you can assess a company’s culture before accepting a job.

Know your values first

Without knowing what’s important to you, how will you assess if a company is actually right to work for? If you’re not sure where to begin, here’s a list of values you can take inspiration from.

• Diversity and inclusion
• Flexible working
• Personal development opportunities
• Mental health and well-being
• Social events 

Tailor your questions to see if values align

So you’ve got your values, what next?

You need to think of questions to ask that can help suss out how a company responds to them. For example:

• What diversity and inclusion initiatives does the company have and is there room to get involved?
• What’s your approach to flexible working?
• What’s the progression map for this role?
• Do you run social events within the company? If so, how often?
• How do you ensure the well-being of the team, particularly during stressful periods?

Look for evidence of their claims

They’ve answered your questions and you’ve nodded along approvingly. But are they walking the walk?

Make sure they give examples of how they ingrain the values that matter to you. Do they post about their social activities or D&I initiatives on social media? Are there any company reviews that support their claims? Speaking of reviews…

Check reviews on the company’s profile online

Sites like Glassdoor are great for reading company reviews. They’re especially useful if they include reviews from current and past employees in your position. If you find a mismatch in how the company presents itself in the interview, vs what’s said online, you may need to weigh up whether it’s worth working with them.

Assess the overall vibe

If the company you’re interviewing with has great employment prospects and ticks your boxes in terms of values, then you should accept the job, right?

Not necessarily.

If the vibe felt off, this could affect your outlook on the job further down the line. Perhaps you weren’t left with enough room to ask questions, were rudely interrupted or didn’t agree with what the hiring manager said about a particular topic. The overall hiring process is a huge indicator of how you’d be treated as an employee, so always take this into consideration.

Ultimately, the right place for you is an environment where you feel comfortable and optimistic you’ll thrive in. The vibe of the place is going to play a huge role in that.

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