However, in what way can we contextualise culture within the workplace?
Behaviour matters.
Fundamentally, workplace culture is viewed as the way in which individuals within that work environment behave and interact. These behaviours are foremostly situation specific with the idea of work influencing the way we act. There can also be a clear distinction between personal behaviour and workplace behaviour: while you may refer to your friend as a Mate when greeting them, this introduction wouldn’t be acceptable within the workplace.
Workplace culture can also refer to the values and beliefs within either the department or the wider company consensus.
What makes a good workplace culture?
Clear communication
Giving individuals clear task instructions, a safe two-way communication channel that allows them to feel open to share and using communication to reinforce company values are all key aspects.
Adequate Support
Ensuring there is enough resource to support your company is paramount. Whether this be enough employees to pick up the task load, the best operating systems or ability to get in-person advice, support is a necessity you can’t scrimp on.
Recognition
When good work is rewarding, it can amplify the behaviours used. When good work isn’t rewarded, it can leave the individual or team deflated, leading to feelings of feeling not valued. If not rectified, it can sometimes cause lack of care with the employees work.
Trust
Trust is something that can really enforce a good workplace culture. By trusting your employees, you can empower them to feel valued and respected. However, if you invest in negative trust practices such as micro-managing, this can impact overall work and self-belief that as an employee, their work is needed.
Why do you need a positive workplace culture?
When a workplace is healthy, one trend that can be see is the reduction of turnovers which can really aid in creating a successful and stable business. This is because you retain the talent without having to continually train replacements.
Work output is also consistently better due to employees feeling that their hard work is noticed and rewarded.
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