How to build a great workplace culture

The ideal 21st-century workplace culture sets on refreshment, flexibility, and diversity. It’s been a while since big corporate groups realised that productivity doesn’t mean a high-pressure timesheet.

Based on truthful scientific research, companies like Google and Facebook have shifted their office policies towards a dynamic, flexible, and inclusive workplace culture.

So, why shouldn’t other companies try changing their workplace culture to increase profit and improve employees’ well-being?

Why should we be concerned about workplace culture?

Much research on positive organisational psychology shows that a high-pressure environment damages productivity over time and that a positive environment will lead to incredible benefits for employers, employees, and business success.

Even though there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better and faster, what cutthroat organisations fail to recognise is the hidden costs incurred.

There is considerable academic evidence on how job stress negatively affects physical and mental health. Surprisingly, the relationship between job stress and health care utilisation has received little attention.

According to the United Nations and the World Health Organization, stress has been known as the century’s epidemic, and after the Covid-19 Pandemic, this problem took outraged proportions.

Burnout syndrome has become one of the famous names for exhaustion, and the excess of stress in the workplace can be the cause behind it.

Their physical and emotional symptoms include energy depletion, increased mental distance from and feelings of negativity or cynicism towards one’s job, and a reduced ability to do one’s work.

In 2021, the American Psychological Association (APA) did a Work and Well-Being Survey of 1,501 U.S. adult workers and verified that 79% of employees had experienced work-related stress in the month before the survey.

Nearly 3 in 5 employees reported negative impacts of work-related stress, including lack of interest, motivation, energy, and lack of effort at work.

Also, 36% reported cognitive weariness, 32% indicated emotional exhaustion, and 44% described physical fatigue, a staggering 38% increase since 2019.

While APA’s data suggest persistent workplace stress has contributed to reduced efficacy and exhaustion, companies of varying sizes and industries are finding new ways to ensure employee wellbeing, from working from home to office gyms.

Although many companies still fail to consider the surveys, employees prefer a well-being workplace over any material benefit, even when workplaces offer benefits like flextime and perks.

This means that well-being and a positive working culture always come first!

What is that about workplace culture?

Understanding what workplace culture is can assist you in achieving happiness, improving your team performance and reaching a sense of purpose.

A workplace culture combines the principles and ideologies of an organisation. It’s the environment essence you create for your employees and the set of your organisation’s attitude, traditions, interactions, ​​and values.

A healthy workplace culture matches company policies and employee behaviours with key company goals, focusing on the well-being of individuals.

Plus, company culture is the social operating system that influences how your employees work with each other, customers, and the community.

So, watch out! It has the potential to help a business thrive or cause it to fail.

The impact of a workplace culture

The Executive leaders are certainly aware of the benefits of positive workplace culture, but let’s share a little more and encourage investment in this sector.

Research by the London Business School says that employees who feel welcome to express their authenticity at work show higher levels of organisational commitment, individual performance, and willingness to help others.

So, a pleasant workplace makes everyone win, which should be your primary goal.

How to create a positive workplace culture

Each culture is unique, and starting one depends on your values and targets.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to build a better company’s work culture:

 

Let People Be Themselves

When companies try to accommodate differences and create a diverse work environment, they too often confine themselves to traditional diversity categories such as gender, race, age, and ethnicity.

These efforts are laudable and precious for our times, but why not something more subtle, like differences in perspectives, habits of mind, and core assumptions?

Changes are usually complex; no one needs more inconvenient boundaries to talk to each other. When people are comfortable, the subtleties speak for themselves, and any border vestige disappears.

 

Connect people to a purpose

It has become commonplace to say that organisations need shared meaning, which is undoubtedly true.

However, shared meaning is more about carrying out your mission statement. It’s about creating and maintaining powerful connections between personal and organisational principles.

When you do that, you encourage individuality, identities, and strong culture simultaneously.

 

Promote equity

Create a positive, inclusive work environment by welcoming individuals from all backgrounds and celebrating their differences.

Encourage employees to share their pronouns with the rest of the team to promote inclusive language and consider establishing a committee to contribute to diversity initiatives. That way, employees feel nurtured and supported.

Work with your HR department to make diversity a part of your recruitment strategy and promote diversity training, ensuring that inclusion remains a crucial element in your organisation’s growth.

 

Open up transparency and communication

Everyone in the organisation must know what’s expected of them.

Engaged employees invest their whole selves into the company’s success and deserve your leadership team’s trust.

Promote transparency and open communication between department heads, management, and team members.

Create promotions and remuneration policies, so everyone knows what’s needed to get them.

Also, it establishes fairness and builds trust since everyone gets a position or reward based on the same criteria.

Doing so will create a positive work culture where employees feel heard and valued.

 

Create a comfortable and flexible workplace

Most employees spend a lot of time at work. It’s imperative that they feel comfortable and valuable after such dedication.

They shouldn’t fear repercussions for taking time to manage other emergencies or responsibilities outside of work.

If an employee struggles to balance work with their family life, try to figure out a way that allows them to be productive at work without sacrificing their private life.

You’ll earn the respect of your employees rather than the reputation of being incomprehensible and unapproachable.

Additionally, implementing flexible schedules can help you attract high-level candidates.

Key Takeaways

Encourage People’s Authenticity

Companies should try to accommodate differences and create a diverse work environment.

Connect people to a purpose

Shared meaning is about creating and maintaining powerful connections between personal and organisational principles.

Promote equity

Work with your HR department to make diversity a part of your recruitment strategy and promote diversity training

Open up transparency

Engaged employees invest their whole selves into the company’s success and deserve your leadership team’s trust.

Create a flexible workplace

Most employees spend a lot of time at work. It’s imperative that they feel comfortable and valuable after such dedication.