Every October, we enjoy a little fright for fun. But in too many workplaces, people live through their own haunted-house experience year-round: ghosting managers, mysterious policies, and the constant dread of “what’s really going on”. Scares might be entertaining at the cinema, but in the office, they only create stress. A good workplace should be somewhere people want to run to, not run away from.
Here are seven ways to keep the ghosts and ghouls out of your culture:
1. Stop the graveyard silence
Nobody wants to sit in the dark wondering how they’re doing or whether it’s safe to speak up. Even a quick “here’s what landed, here’s what to adjust” can cut through the guesswork, ease anxiety, and keep everyone moving in the same direction. For Gen Z, regular feedback is a baseline expectation. StaffCircle reports that 73% would likely leave an organisation without frequent feedback and communication.
Recognising the value of consistent feedback, many companies now favour regular check-ins over annual reviews, and some go further. SaaS company Typeform runs “F-Word” workshops to normalise feedback, gives out “typecoins” so peers can reward each other with micro-bonuses, and runs “feedback on feedback” loops to refine its approach. New hires also spend a full month onboarding; not just to learn expectations, but to share and integrate fresh perspectives.
For Typeform and other listening organisations, feedback isn’t a one-off event; it’s simply how the business runs. As Birthe Mester, Organisational Culture Expert and Founder of Culture Dividend, says, “Culture is the sum of everyday behaviours. When feedback happens in the moment, people respond in the moment. That rhythm builds trust, creates accountability, and enables collaboration and, with that, accelerates outcomes. It turns culture into a real performance multiplier.”
So this Halloween, remember: feedback works best when it’s ongoing and two-way – no one likes being ghosted.
2. Beware Frankenstein values
Values only matter when they are lived out in behaviour. Too often, companies stitch together initiatives that look impressive on paper but don’t match how people are treated day to day. Like a creature built from mismatched parts, the result feels clumsy, unnatural, even a little chilling.
Take wellbeing. Too often it’s reduced to a tick-box exercise or a standalone programme. Meditation breaks and resilience webinars mean little if manager feedback is cold or if redundancies are handled without compassion. Authentic wellbeing is about consistent care and actions that strengthen individuals, teams, and culture. The companies I’ve seen do it well obsess over it; it permeates the organisation and is measured as closely as any line on the P&L.
Sustainability often follows the same misaligned pattern: glossy ESG reports with little behind them or net-zero pledges with no real plan for decarbonisation. But values are values. They have to run up, down, and across the organisation, not sit in side projects or be left to the Responsible Business team.
Patagonia shows what “doing it right” looks like: refusing deals with polluters, funnelling 1% of sales to environmental causes, transferring ownership to a climate trust, and giving employees space to surf or volunteer.
Alignment in action means living values and passing them on to employees and future generations. As Dr. David Nelson Gimbel, an ESG specialist, energy transition expert, and former hedge fund sustainability lead, says, “The organisations that succeed will be those that treat ESG not as a label but as a lens, one that helps them navigate risk, unlock value, and build long-term trust.”
In other words, values need to be lived every day. Less costume, more culture.
3. Avoid jump-scare surprises
Poorly handled redundancies, last-minute changes, strategy U-turns, and a lack of transparent, consistent policies and behaviours all shred trust. One professional services client of mine set the tone for success ahead of a restructure: they explained the ‘why’, answered questions, and set out a communications roadmap with clear accountability for updates. It didn’t make the change painless, but it did keep fear at bay.
Meta, by contrast, enacted what has become a textbook cautionary tale. In 2025, amidst shifting political headwinds in the USA, the company abruptly rolled back its DEI programmes with little warning. Many employees responded with shock and anger, saying the move shattered trust and turned valued principles into empty promises.
These kinds of sudden reversals may feel expedient in the moment, but leave deep, lasting scars on cultures.
4. Don’t be a vampire boss
Terrible bosses take many forms: they drain the energy out of their employees, keep people in the dark, and withhold recognition. The opposite of the vampire boss is one who gives back more energy than what is removed.
I worked with a CEO of a large, dispersed workforce who embodied the latter. More Casper the friendly ghost than Dracula the gloomy boss, he would appear on the factory floor during the graveyard shift with coffee and pastries for the workers. No speeches, no cameras, no need for recognition; just a quiet gesture of respect for the people whose work was least visible yet kept the company running. That’s servant leadership in action.
I’ve experienced it first-hand as well. At one company Christmas party, the managing director read out what felt like an essay — ‘why I like working with Courtney’ — based on peer feedback (and to be fair, every employee had their turn). It was specific, genuine, and memorable, and I still have the two-page sheet tucked in my desk drawer years later.
Moments of recognition matter more than grand gestures, and they cost nothing. They’re the difference between sucking the energy out of people like a vampire and giving something back; the true mark of leadership.
5. Be kind to departing souls
How you treat people on the ‘way out’, or through big life moments like maternity, illness, or grief, reveals the truth of your culture. We’ve all heard the horror stories: the new parent forced to make decisions while caring for a newborn, the colleague on sick leave left in limbo, the employee given redundancy news at the worst possible time. These moments leave a mark on culture that no polished recruitment site can erase.
If I were interviewing for an in-house role today, I’d use the chance to ask, “When someone leaves this organisation, how are they treated? Walk me through the process or share a recent example.” The answer (and expression on the interviewer’s face) will reveal more than any values statement ever could.
As Brené Brown reminds us, clear is kind. And as Bob Chapman urges in his leadership book Everybody Matters: imagine it was your sister leaving the company; would you be proud of how she was treated?
6. Bring the (pumpkin) spice
Work doesn’t need to be joyless. A bit of play can bond teams and spark creativity. My sister Jo Chauvin, who teaches improv and weaves it into her learning and development work, swears by the “yes, and…” exercise. Think of it as storytelling where no idea gets shut down. One person might start with, “Let’s design a haunted office,” and the next adds, “Yes, and the chairs fly around so nobody gets stuck in boring meetings.” The point isn’t the story; it’s the openness.
Jo says, “When people feel safe to build on each other’s ideas, they’re more open, connected, and willing to take risks. Even a ‘bad’ idea can spark a good one, like flying chairs leading to ordering new chairs for the office. Play and improv also tap different learning styles and build the human skills that matter most as AI takes over routine work.”
That same spirit runs through one of my go-to leadership books, Fish!, based on Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market. In this hopeful book, workers transformed a messy, demanding job into something energising by tossing fish, joking with customers, and cheering each other on. It’s a classic now, but the message still holds: when work is fun, it gets done.
7. Infuse rituals with purpose
Bonding rituals, such as team retreats or special themed days, take play at work a step further. A ritual with purpose is a repeated, shared activity that reinforces belonging and meaning. Atlassian, for example, runs “ShipIt Days”: 24 hours where anyone can work on any idea — develop that dream feature, smash your nemesis bug — and then demo it to colleagues. Many of their big product features started on “ShipIt Days.”
According to a 2025 Team Tactics survey 65% of UK office workers feel team-building activities help them work better together. That’s the good news. But rituals are like Halloween sweets: enjoyable in the right dose, sickly if overdone. Think of the dreaded ‘forced fun’ away day with awkward trust falls or fancy-dress relays. Not every activity builds connection, and the wrong approach can easily backfire. What matters is balance, context, and thoughtful design with input from the team.
Done well, purposeful rituals respect personal time, are tailored to the team, and show genuine appreciation for participation, all of which build a sense of belonging. That’s no witch’s bargain.
Shining a light on culture
Haunted houses are good fun in October. Haunted workplaces, by contrast, are anything but. The way to banish ghosts is not with costumes or cobwebs, but with light – the kind that comes with clarity, trust, transparency, and consistency of intention and behaviour.
—Courtney Ellul is an award-winning internal communications strategist with over 20 years of experience across the UK, US, and Canada. She has advised global brands, scale-ups and start-ups, with deep expertise in professional services, Industrial B2B and agriculture. She brings calm, clarity, and momentum to complex situations—from crisis response and large-scale transformation to engagement strategies and leadership alignment. With a background in PR and brand reputation, she bridges internal and external comms to build trust and drive change.
