There are some phrases in the workplace that immediately make workers toe, for example, using “family”.
The term can be comforting, making workers feel warm and fuzzy.
But today, when employers describe their workforce as “like a family”, many modern workers hear something like: “we expect unconditional loyalty and unwavering devotion from our staff.”
Why? As workers cite the euphemism some employers use to pack in excess work, on social media and company review websites like Glassdoor.
You might think that hiring managers today would avoid that language at all costs.
Think again. Not only do employers still use the phrase “red flags” that signal high stress or a toxic work culture, but they also put it in job ads.
Employment analytics firm Revelio Labs combed job ads for phrases like “must handle stress,” “can work under pressure,” “can multitask,” and “fast-paced environment”—and they found that they used “red- flag language ” more and more.
At the end of last year, more than a quarter of job postings contained at least one phrase that would be considered a red flag. Despite the new focus on the inclusivity of business, this is up from 18% in January 2016.
There are indeed some instances where using the language is important – for example, some jobs are generally more stressful than others, so it’s better to highlight them sooner rather than later.
However, companies that use these phrases are often more likely to struggle with hiring talent.
On average, the researchers found that a one percentage point increase in the share of posts with at least one red flag phrase was associated with 0.48 more days to fill a job.
“Job applicants pay attention to language in job postings,” the report said. “A red flag phrase that implicitly describes a demanding job without work-life balance can be a turnoff.”
This resonates with Revelio Labs previous research, published in MIT Sloan Reviewwho found that a toxic work culture is a key driver of the Great Resignation and is more disruptive to workers than low pay.
Top companies and industries
The researchers also analyzed job postings at the 20 largest companies in the US for red flags—and Starbucks was the biggest offender by a long shot.
As of 2020, more than 75% of Starbucks job postings include at least one red flag and it takes an average of 82 days to fill a vacancy at the coffee chain.
Bank of America came in second with 57% of job postings containing phrases that could describe a toxic environment, followed by Amazon with 45%.
By comparison, Walgreens Boots Alliance was the organization that used the least amount of red flag lingo, with just 1% of job ads. It takes an average of 31 days for a pharmaceutical retailer to fill a posting.
Startbucks did not respond fortune‘s request for comments when publishing.
Sector and job trends
The researchers found that marketing vacancies had the highest share of red flag phrases in the last two years.
Red flag posts in marketing commonly use the phrases “fast-paced environment,” and “work under pressure,” according to the report.
Meanwhile, about 30% of job ads in the financial sector and 29% in the sales industry contain at least one red flag phrase—ranking in second and third place for industry titles that use the most red flags.
For businesses still struggling to use inclusive and welcoming language in 2023, the researchers have a tip: “Maybe ChatGPT can help get job posting text right?”
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