If a potential employer asked you too many personal questions during the job interview or arrived late to your meeting, what would you do? Run a mile? Or not even blink?

Like in the dating world, glaring red flags like a lack of diversity or toxic working culture are usually quite easy to spot – and therefore avoid. But it’s the subtler, murkier ‘beige’ flags that can send us into a spin. Defined as habits or behaviours that come across as a little weird or quirky, but don’t seem to harm the working relationship, beige flags have us wondering things like: Is it really so bad if you’re expected to work through lunch occasionally? Aren’t long hours and a heavy workload normal?

According to future of work expert and co-founder of Flexa Molly Johnson-Jones, it doesn’t have to be difficult to distinguish between the two. Below, she shares her top tips for dealing with some of the most common workplace beige flags, and how to tell if they’re escalating into red ones.

When do workplace ‘beige flags’ turn red and what should you do about them?