People reveal 10 red flags that should never be overlooked before joining a company

Red flags that are hard to notice but are very important at workplaces. 

Being an employee in the modern job market can be extremely challenging. Most employers are solely focused on making profits and do not care much for the well-being of their employees. In such situations, it becomes crucial to identify red flags for certain companies to gauge whether it's safe to work there. Spotting such signs early could be immensely helpful in avoiding a toxic workplace. u/information41 asked the community, "What screams: 'This company is not a good place to work!?'" and people were ready with the most insightful answers. Here are the 10 best replies that people had to share. 

1. Lack of employees working there for more than a year

When the longest-working employee there has been around for less than a year. - u/DanFuckingSchneider. Definitely a very common one. Had a job that I stayed at for about 10 months. At the end of that time, I was already being looked at as a de facto supervisor because of how crazy the turnover was. - u/jonahvsthewhale. Same, due to the insane high turnover at my first salaried job, I was considered an office "veteran" when I quit just shy of being there for 2 years. - u/shaoting. We had a staff meeting at the beginning of April. Management said over 50% of our staff have been here for a year or less. That's a big yikes. - u/Odd_Contact_2175

2. Getting hired too quickly 

Speaking from experience: I met with the hiring manager for an interview and got the offer at the table. They actually gave me more than advertised because of my experience, I started Monday, 8 am. Showed up bright and early. The department manager, office manager and store manager had no idea who I was or that I was coming. - u/subtxtcan. 

3. When it's illegal to discuss wages 

When the boss says that it's illegal to discuss your wage with others. - u/CursedDankMEMES. Let me add on. I worked for an outsourced IT company. When I asked my coworkers if parking, tolls and miles were reimbursed. They could not answer me with a straight answer. Come to find out, it depends on the position. Also, the same owner around the time for my raise, said if I were to move my daughter back to my wife's work insurance plan, I could get a bigger raise. Also, my offer letter and other techs said about profit sharing coming soon. I found out it was on there for 2 years prior to my starting and 1 year after. We never got any such benefit, however, it was on the offer letter. - Reddit

4. Not hiring replacements 

Someone leaves, their responsibilities get piled onto someone else and the business thinks it's working, so why hire a replacement? Then that person eventually caves and now two jobs are piled onto the next person. By the time the company thinks they have to hire someone, nobody wants to do 3 people's work for 1 person's pay. - u/obscurereferences. This reminds me of a job listing I saw 2 years ago for a nonprofit. The pay was $2000/month and required a Master's in a social sciences field, 5+ years of experience and the position seemed like 3 people quit and the manager is trying to fill the positions with 1 person. It required administrative work, HR work, secretary and work with data. - u/katzsen_

5. "Nobody wants to work anymore"

A sign-out front that says, "Nobody wants to work anymore." -u/Bizarre_Protuberance. "We are now forced to be open for shortened hours because thanks to tru-dope's handouts, no one wants to work anymore! If you still have those rare qualities called initiative and hustle, come inside with your resume! (Starting wage $5/hour)." - u/originalchaosinabox. Ugh, this annoyed the s*** out of me when people were blaming the COVID stimulus checks for the fact that places were understaffed. I always wanted to just say, "Bruh, that was almost 3 months ago, how long do you think $600 lasts?" - u/square_tomatoes. 

6. Obnoxious slogans 

"We work hard and we play hard!" - u/20Dazzling. This or mentioning, almost boastfully, how they have a high turnover rate (a lot of times with an explanation like, "because they can't keep up!") the vast majority of times, it is not because they're a fun-loving company that works/plays hard. It means they're very demanding and very well might have a work environment that encourages bullying and other negative behavior. I used to work at a large warehouse for an online retailer as well as a large chain grocery store and there were serious issues at both places. - u/UWCG

7. Comparing it to being a family 

"We're like a family here." This means that they will expect you to do everything for the company. - u/throw_plushie. "We're like a family!" But dad is an alcoholic, mom is suicidal, the children never shower, none of the adult children communicate with their parents anymore and the dog hasn't been outside in a month. - Reddit. 

8. Very few people actually working 

If you see a small few people working and the majority of them f****** around. - u/Dozinggreen66. That's every company. 20% keep it running and drive results. 20% deliver above average. 20% are just average 20% try their best and want to perform but just don't have the skills/abilities and 20% do nearly nothing and get dragged along with the rest. The problem is you can't just get rid of the bottom "trash" because the other people will become the new bottom tier that way. The only thing you can do is promote, compensate and manage this situation the best. But it will always be that. 20/80 rule. - u/onkel_axel. 

9. Tired and anxious interviewers

When the people interviewing you are anxious and tired. When they say disparaging things about the person you're replacing, or about the team you're joining (with the hope that your expertise will fix this seemingly "sub-par" team. In those situations, you will soon discover that you're joining a team of overworked people with no resources that some general manager likes to crap on but not support). - u/dogslogic. I had an interview once where I asked the interviewer, "What is your favorite thing about working at this company" and she sat there for like an awkward 10 seconds and then was just like, "I just took this job after I graduated college because it was the first place that gave me an offer, but I guess the experience has been good." - u/jonahvsthewhale

10. Getting very quick callbacks 

They called me within an hour of applying. - u/Measter2-0. I'll give you one better than that. The first possible career job I applied for. I walked in, asked for an application and filled it out, when I was about to take it to the front desk, a man walked into the lobby, didn't even look at my application and hired me. It was the CEO. I'm pretty sure that place is a front for something. I drive past about once every month driving to the city. Been past it at all hours of the day and not once have I seen a semi getting loaded. Also quite within a week, I got hired for CAD on Softworks or something on PC, didn't get an internet cable and there was no Wi-Fi, so I couldn't download the program). - u/GOW_vSabertooth2