Before You Fix Workplace Culture, Find the Root Cause of Workplace Problems First

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering:

• “Why do people keep quitting?”

• “How do I get my staff more engaged?”

• “Why does my team feel so tense lately?”

…you’re not alone.These are the exact questions I hear from leaders, HR teams, and business owners all the time.

And usually, by the time they’re asking them, something already feels “off.”

The tricky part?What you see happening is almost never the real problem.It’s the symptom.

When you focus only on the symptom, you’ll find yourself chasing the same issues again and again. You fix one thing, it pops up somewhere else. You try a new strategy, it works for a month, and then you’re right back where you started.

The Story That Changed the Way I Work

I’ll never forget this amazing manager I was coaching a few years ago.

She was talented, deeply committed to her team, and one of the most empathetic leaders I’ve ever met. But when she called me, she was exhausted. Her team’s morale had dropped, mistakes were becoming more frequent, and the relationships between her staff were getting tense.

Her biggest fear? Another resignation.

She had already tried the usual fixes of team meetings, friendly emails, even buying lunch for the whole team. All thoughtful gestures… but nothing was actually changing.

The more we talked, the more obvious it became that “low morale” wasn’t the real problem.

It was a sign of something else.

As we dug deeper, the root cause started to take shape: poor work-life balance caused by excessive overtime.

The thing is that it wasn’t that people had too much work. They were staying late because she was staying late. No one wanted to be the first to leave. Without realizing it, she had set an unspoken expectation: if you’re serious about your job, you’ll put in the extra hours.

And because she was working hard to keep everything afloat, she didn’t even realize the ripple effect she was having.

Once she saw it, things clicked into place:

• She stopped sending emails after hours

• She began openly encouraging people to log off at the end of their shift

• She started talking about workload and stress during 1:1 check-ins

  
  

It didn’t change overnight, but within two months, her team was more engaged, mistakes were down, and the tension was easing.

She hadn’t “fixed morale.” She had fixed the thing that was breaking it in the first place.

Why This Matters for Every Workplace

What looks like a workplace culture problem is often just the visible layer of something much deeper.

Low morale? Could be burnout, unclear expectations, lack of recognition, or poor leadership modeling.High turnover? Could be role misalignment, toxic dynamics, or unrealistic workloads.Poor performance? Could be lack of resources, ineffective processes, or a disconnect between leadership and staff.

If you don’t take the time to find out what’s actually driving the problem, you end up putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It might look better for a moment, but it won’t heal.

It’s like seeing a crack in the wall and just painting over it. Sure, the wall looks fine for a week… but the crack comes back, and usually, it’s worse. The real issue is in the foundation, and that’s where the work needs to happen.

Questions That Help You Dig Deeper

When something feels “off” at work, try asking:

• What’s really driving this?

• When did this start, and what changed just before it?

• Are people showing the same symptom for different reasons?

• Is my team reacting to me or to the actual workload?

• If I fixed the obvious issue today, would the problem really go away?

These questions will keep you from jumping straight into “fix mode” and help you figure out the real problem you’re solving.

How I Guide Teams Through Finding the Root Cause of Workplace Problems

In my consulting work, I walk leaders and teams through this process step-by-step and help them look past the surface challenges and see what’s really driving the issues they face.

To make it easier, I developed a tool called the Workplace Culture Clarity Wheel.It breaks down six core workplace challenges into their most common causes, and then into the deeper root problems that are often hidden in plain sight.

We use it to:

• Spot the difference between symptoms and causes

• Identify where the real leverage points are

• Build solutions that actually last

  
  

If you’re ready to stop putting out the same fires and start making real cultural shifts, let’s connect. I’ll send you a copy of the Workplace Culture Clarity Wheel so you can start exploring your own workplace challenges in a new way.