Unheard Place
Reading. Consequence is weakest. Problems are raised and nothing changes.
This test scores conditions you experience at work. It does not diagnose a workplace, a person or you, and it is not HR, legal or medical advice. Unlawful harassment is a legal standard that depends on a protected characteristic and conduct severe or pervasive enough to be abusive; if you think that applies, contact the EEOC in the US, ACAS in the UK, or an employment lawyer. If you are exhausted to the point of physical symptoms, see a doctor. In the US, call or text 988 in a crisis.
Your weakest condition is Consequence. Problems are raised, sometimes over and over, and nothing changes. You were not told what happened to the last concern you raised. The survey comes round again with the same answers. This test calls that reading Unheard Place. It names what is missing: the loop from what people say to what the place does.
Read your score first. Over 60, the place is broadly healthy and the loop is its weak spot. Between 40 and 60, people are learning that raising things is wasted effort. Under 40, conditions are thin everywhere and consequence is the thinnest.
Is it the place, the boss or the week? If your manager listens but cannot get anything changed above them, it is the place, and your manager is stuck in the same silence you are. If your manager is the point where concerns stop, it is the boss. If a freeze or a reorganisation has paused every decision, it may be the week, and it should come with a date.
An unheard place is often not an uncaring one. Listening is easy. Closing the loop, telling people what was decided about what they raised, even when the answer is no, takes a habit many managers were never taught. In a 2023 survey for the Chartered Management Institute, 82 percent of people who entered management said they had no proper management training (CMI and YouGov).
What to do this week. Raise one thing in writing, with a specific ask and a date: can we decide by the end of the month whether we change this, and let the team know either way? A written ask with a date is harder to lose than a comment in a meeting. If the date passes in silence, you have learned how the place treats what people raise.
What to do with this result
If you do not manage people
Your written ask. Put one concern in writing to your manager with a decision date: can we decide by the end of the month whether we change this, and tell the team either way? Keep a copy.
The three columns. Leave, if your score is under 40 and two written asks with dates went unanswered. Stay and act, if the ask got a decision, even a no with a reason. Stay and wait, if a freeze or a reorganisation has a known end.
If you are looking. In every interview, ask for one thing the team raised last year that changed as a result, and ask someone who left whether that matches what they saw.
If you manage people
If you manage people, the loop is yours to close. Every concern your team raises needs an answer inside a set time, even when the answer is no, and especially when the decision sits above you. Tell them what you took upward, what came back, and when. A team that hears no with a reason keeps talking. A team that hears nothing stops.
The psychological safety scale scores whether they still speak up, and the one on one meeting builder gives open items a place to be closed. The 5 Minute Leader is the daily version, five minutes a day.
Next step
If you need support now
This page is not a crisis service and nobody reads your answers. If you are thinking about harming yourself or you are in danger, reach a person today. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 to reach Crisis Text Line.
In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258. Anywhere else, call your local emergency number. If work is affecting your sleep or your health, see a doctor. A coach is not the right first call for that, and neither is a quiz.
If this is a legal matter
Harassment and discrimination at work are legal questions, and a quiz cannot answer them. In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains what the law covers and how to file a charge at eeoc.gov. In the UK, ACAS gives free, impartial advice at acas.org.uk. An employment lawyer can tell you what applies to you. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
The other results
- Quiet PlaceSafety is weakest. People say it afterwards, in private.
- Uneven PlaceFairness is weakest. Rules bend for some people, not others.
- Overrun PlaceLoad is weakest. The hours take more than recovery gives back.
About this result
This is one of 4 results from the Toxic Workplace Test: the place, the boss or the week, a free tool that shows the score without an email. Aggregate figures are at the statistics page once 30 completions have been reached. More free tools are at the tools shelf.