How To Skip The Mirage of a Positive Work Culture And Create A Real One

Work culture is a cumulative fabric of an organization that is backed by the policies, vision, and philosophy of a happy workplace that is pro-work, pro-employees. The future of work amplifies the need for employees to look for aspects beyond compensatory gains. They invariably seek a workplace where they can not only be happy but most importantly be psychologically safe. But what we see is a plethora of employee experiences on a scale from toxic to best work experiences, all within a single organization. Why is that so?

Work culture may not be homogenous across an organization and quite often there is a gap, like a mirage. This kind of a mirage is created when there is an experiential gap between on-ground culture versus on-paper culture policies.  

A Mirage

Have you ever experienced that one unpleasant interaction at work that left you bothered?  Lingering and ruminating on a disagreeable chat while you pounded away your laptop keys to finish off your work silently?  You sure did. Nothing grave so you swallow the hard pill and deal with it without ruffling any feathers at work.

And have there been times when you have seen another team that is happier, more respectful, and more communicative when working together but it is quite the opposite in yours? Why is it so? There could be clear answers.  

Prospective candidates create a perception of the work culture in an organization when they apply for a role. It is based on the sense they get as per employer branding. Soon the initial shine fades off when their experience differs from their mental perception. They don't interact with an organization body but with the people in it.

When the above experiences occur, lingering questions make you wonder if the so-called positive work culture really exists or if maybe it's just a mirage. A Mirage is an optical illusion. It appears like it is real but not possibly so.

Well-written workplace policies give an assured perception of a positive work culture from a distance but somehow things don't translate into reality as intended, in varying pockets of interactions at work. It is these interactions that consolidate your 'feel' at work.

Organizations, irrespective of size or authority, are not immune to work culture issues-
Even the best workplace policies have those sneaky little irritants showing up now and then. Why? Because every policy or handbook requires a demonstration by its people.

By demonstration, I mean in conversations and interactions at work, in meetings, and in discussions. Quite often, different flavors of personalities get added to each demonstration.

Reason?

Every person is different based on their background, opinions, attitudes, biases, and the like. The psychological debate of nature versus nurture is at the core of this discussion. And with virtual or hybrid work, the scope for biases to fill the absence of in-person work has increased.

Additionally, there is a clash between policies, biases, and varying personalities while working together, all while working remotely or with occasional in-person interactions.

Toxic versus Healthy Teams-
There could be no psychological safety in some teams to voice out differences of opinion while in some other teams transparency is encouraged. Mind you, this is within the same organization.

Employees often look to move to other roles internally, before calling it quits. While IJPs could be an answer to get away from a toxic work culture of a team, ultimately it is the demonstrated work culture within that team that allows for moving into other teams or not.

Robust policies on paper could remain on paper and never translate into real life when the medium is flavored. The medium here is the team members, often having a leader who demonstrates different work culture rules which may contradict the true organizational philosophy.
The fact that within the same organization, there are different work cultures speaks for itself that positive work culture is a mirage.

What seems great from a distance is something else when nearer because of the differing team cultures at a micro-level.

From interaction to interaction-
The bigger concern is experiencing these differentiators in a hybrid or remote workplace. It narrows down culture to every interaction, online chat, Zoom call, and email literally. Or if there is a rare grace of an in-person interaction, then yes, that would be a bonus. But it is these micro-interactions that define work culture, now.

When conversations are limited to chatboxes or a few minutes of work discussions, it gives less scope for us to build, repair or refine our work cultures but to limit ourselves to the micro-level to address issues.
Usually, remote work interactions focus on getting the work at hand done. Not necessarily on attempts to iron out those irritant behaviors that damage positive work culture within teams (unless there is a strong and empathetic leader in the team).

With less time to bond as a team, have water-cooler conversations, or those much-awaited tea breaks, the virtual working set-up has minimized personal interactions.

Again, wherever there is a struggle for positivity in the workplace leads to a positive work culture mirage. When seen in isolation it may not be much that it would tilt any balanced team but cumulatively the shift happens. As covered in my article, "Six Hidden Risks of Hybrid Work That Need Attention", there are deeper dynamics at work, even if we do not see them in an instant.

Here's how to skip the work culture mirage and create a real one

A study by MIT Sloan Management Review found that if employees are not respected well, they are not happy with their work culture. This could be the single most common reason why employees leave teams, organizations, or bosses. This is why staying committed to repairing, restoring, sustaining, or improving our workplace dynamics is pivotal.

Here are some top ways to skip the mirage and create a real positive work culture, instead. Depending on the needs and maturity of the organization, these interventions may vary but are certainly a good place to audit or start.

Start with the basics-

• Organizations must stay ahead of the competition and offer the best to their employees. This is a no-brainer. Give employees what they need, want, and enjoy. Compensation equity, autonomy, growth opportunities, well-being, and respectful workplace behavior are all features of a good brand.

• Ensuring a positive onboarding experience to a satisfactory exit and everything in between needs to be free of toxicity.

The human first approach-

• We may be in the upheaval of the GPT era but the human element cannot be compromised. ChatGPT or any other A.I. needs human intervention to be run in the first place.
• No matter how automated we make our processes and systems using A.I., the need for empathy and human interaction will never go away. As progressive companies move forward with restructuring and innovation, a positive human experience must be the overarching objective and a driving force.

Create a safe space-

• To bring out the best potential and deliver on it, employees need a psychologically safe space.
• A space where ideas can be fearlessly thrashed, weighed against options and assessed to let the best ideas shine. When there is an absence of fear, threat, or fear of being judged is when true creativity flows.
• Create a safe space for your employees at work giving them enough flexibility to express themselves, in line with the organization's work philosophy and values.

For example, Managers and leaders may have frequent connects with their team members to discuss a project, what ways they can add value, reduce risks, manage timelines, and the like. Or they can just discuss the ground rules they should agree on to have transparency and communication.

Build and trickle down awareness-

• Build awareness and imbibe the policies that contribute to an organization's work culture. There must be a dedicated team to strategize and implement this by taking every opportunity to drive positive work culture.
• Talk, write, read, listen, demonstrate, and reinforce with branded communications. Be it online all-hands-meetings, floor shows, and other virtual events rinse and repeat.
• Share bite-sized newsletters to employees as simple reminders of a positive work culture. And provide them with pin-up cards speaking the same philosophy. They can read every time they glance or look at it, intentionally or unintentionally.

Leading by demonstration-

• " A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John Maxwell, Author of  "The 360 Degree Leader".
• Leaders who are neutral and purposeful can lead by example and influence teams. Leaders can be anyone who is leading a team or leading to achieve objectives. They may or may not have an official title. Quite often many organizational cultures get hung up on the weight of an official title. For example, a few unwritten cultural rules such as employees must listen to anyone with a leadership title, and those who don't have a title but have a responsibility, employees may falter. This needs fixing.
• Leaders from the top must authorize work responsibilities and create a culture of respect for anyone who has the responsibility of getting the job done. By this, employees will naturally imbibe aspects of mutual respect, professionalism, and integrity at work.

Coach managers and team leaders-

• “Servant leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don’t work for you; you work for them.”- Ken Blanchard
• To change culture or to influence a positive culture change, leaders must first be the change and act it out. Teams absorb change well when it is experienced.
• Coach team leads, grassroots-level supervisors, and managers to model the desired behaviors. Having strong team leadership can help account for pro-culture behaviors.
• Managers need to be trained to become culture champions. They need to know how to show compassion, nurture positive, balanced, and healthy behaviors within a team. They need to be self-aware to identify, observe and neutralize biases. And nip anything that could be detrimental to the positive work culture of the team.

Employees are the flagbearers of culture-

• Employees are the flag bearers of work culture. Every single interaction is a contribution to creating the work culture for someone else. A sense of ownership and accountability must be imbibed from day one of onboarding. The culture of owning each interaction must be part of an organizational fraternity.

• While organizations may care for the benefits and other employer branding aspects, it is the flavors of personality that get handed down through their professional personality. And employees need to be responsible for nurturing team culture and ensuring that teaming principles are retained.
• Employees must be given refreshers on the importance of team dynamics and principles to ensure a healthy working environment. Managers must emphasize its importance by mapping individual behavior to team dynamics and then to organizational culture.
• Frequent conversations and collective discussions are key.
  The focus must be on sincerity in feedback, integrity at work, and collaboration toward a common goal. Aspects of growth and appreciation must be the milestones of healthy teaming.
  And leaders on the ground must reinforce and encourage such behaviors so that the culture print is promoted.

     Positive work culture is like the glue that keeps remote teams together and spells out each employee's experience. Research indicates that employees need compassion, empathy, rapport from their managers, and a sense of purpose at their workplace (physical or virtual). The motivation to work is amplified when the goal is a collective one. Each employee recognizing themselves as a culture flag bearer is a great start.

Policies and employee handbooks are good starters on paper. But the drivers in real work interactions depend on leaders anchoring and leading teams. Every employee across a hierarchy, and across departments bears the responsibility of contributing to a work culture. And the positive part of it is sustained when each employee consciously and intentionally weaves into the cultural fabric of every team, compounding it into the organizational culture as a whole.