Do you enjoy your work environment? Are you cultivating a positive work environment
Think of the reasons staff members are productive and satisfied with work.
The compensation benefits are usually great.
The work is challenging yet fulfilling.
Perhaps, even more importantly, the work culture is positive.
Having a positive work culture is an essential part of a company’s human resources development strategy.
People spend a significant portion of their days and lives at work. It is sensible that cultivating an environment where employees feel comfortable, valued and treated fairly would encourage them to perform their best.
What is a positive work culture?
While different people have different ideas on what motivates them, evaluating what makes a work environment productive covers a few basic criteria. Positive work cultures tend to occur when:
- Staff members can work in an amicable space
- People throughout the organisation trust each other
- There is open and unbiased communication between colleagues and management
- Team members collaborate and everyone pulls their weight by contributing
- The company’s values and mission statement are practiced by everyone
What does a positive work culture look like?
What does a positive work culture look like and how can management determine if it is being fostered in their workplace? Key metrics that demonstrate whether your work culture is positive include:
- Low employee absenteeism or poor punctuality. Employees who are happy to report to work will do so punctually and regularly.
- Low staff turnover. If you’re faced with high employee turnover, clearly there is an issue that must be addressed. If a company retains its workforce with minimal turnover, it essentially means staff members are largely satisfied at work.
- High productivity and employee morale. If staff members feel valued and good about their work environment, they tend to give their best and be loyal to the company.
- High customer satisfaction. When employees are satisfied with their work, this trickles down to the final customer. When staff members feel that their employer has their best interest and takes care of their needs, this will be translated from staff to customers. Satisfied employees inevitably create satisfied customers.
How do I create a positive work culture for my organisation?
Creating a positive work culture must start at the top. Management must prioritise creating a space where fulfilled employees can work and thrive, so they can reap the benefits that accompanies a positive work culture.
Some of these priorities include:
Defining and practicing your mission and core values
Values and the mission statement must be carefully defined and implemented. Common corporate values include integrity, productivity, commitment to being socially responsible and maximising revenue through consistent client satisfaction.
Unfortunately, companies tend to place greater importance on revenue and neglect other values. Over time, this neglect results in employees feeling overworked, frustrated or exploited. This frustration eventually tuns into low productivity, high turnover and poor relationships between staff and management.
To prevent this negative spiral, companies must commit to being ethically responsible as far as their staff is concerned by ensuring their values and mission go beyond making profits.
Effective leadership
Echoing the sentiment that a positive work culture starts at the top; effective leadership is therefore essential. Employees will respect and appreciate effective leaders who can inspire, develop and nurture their talents to be productive at work.
Effective leadership also embodies being an example for staff members to follow. This is critical where practicing the company’s core values are concerned. Staff members are more likely to observe and respect a company’s values when its leaders initially do the same.
Good leadership recognises that building trust throughout the company means no discrepancies between the mission statement and managerial practices.
There must be consistency in the company’s leadership to foster an unbiased environment and build an ethical foundation on how the organisation operates.
Open communication
Another responsibility of effective leadership is open communication. Very often, employees feel disengaged at work due to poor communication between them and management. They don’t understand what is expected of them, their issues are never addressed and often feel untrained or isolated.
Proper communication between all staff members can alleviate this. Management should effectively communicate what is expected of each staff member. There should also be an open-door communication policy to listen to employee feedback and concerns. This recognition and appreciation for each other’s concerns will cultivate a climate of trust and understanding.
Through open communication and trust, employees will work productively knowing what is required of them, for the company’s benefit.
Invest in employees
No staff should remain stagnant at work. It is human nature to desire consistent improvement and advancement. Investing in employees means upskilling their competency to achieve greater things. Doing so, employees tend not to feel wasted but will appreciate the opportunity to grow and advance further in their careers.
Investing in your team also involves implementing programs geared towards physical and mental health, pension plans, investment opportunities, job rotation, retreats, team building workshops and career path development.
Encourage collaboration, empathy, and recognition
Many people, when asked what makes a workplace positive would list salary as a driving factor. While proper compensation is important and should be a part of an organisation’s work culture, other factors are crucial.
Modern motivational theorists still maintain that empathy and recognition of one’s work achievements are just as, if not more essential to an employee’s morale. When employers can provide praise and recognition of an employee’s efforts, this appeals to their worth and sense of achievement.
It also inspires confidence in their usefulness and capabilities which motivates them to be proactive, efficient, and loyal.
Equity and inclusion
An effective strategy under good leadership involves including employees in decision-making.
Demonstrate to seasoned staff that their voice matters by soliciting their feedback and suggestions within the decision-making process. This holds particularly true for those staff members who have a specialised skill or considerable experience within the company and can practically best advise managers about a particular operation they interface with daily.
Equity in decision-making, inclusion, communication and effective leadership cultivates a positive work culture where employees are seen, heard, inspired, included and appreciated.
