How to Create a Conscious Workplace Culture
What does it take to get the most out of your team? In a recent study, 69% of employees claimed they would work harder if they felt more valued by their employers.
Any manager or HR advisor knows that an engaged employee is a productive employee. But how can you create a culture which will enable your team to perform? Discover how creating a conscious workplace culture can benefit your business.
What Is Workplace Culture?
The culture of a workplace is the way that assumed shared values affect the behavior of the team. Put simply: the way things are done.
This is reflected in more abstract phenomena like attitudes, routines, and informal communication methods. It’s also found in formal structures like procedures, rules, and official communications.
In a positive workplace culture, employees feel valued and valuable. They feel heard and understood, and understand the why behind their work.
In a toxic workplace culture, team members may feel disengaged. They won’t have a sense of the value of their contributions to their bigger picture and may feel as though they don’t have a voice within the company.
So, how can you change this?
Demonstrate Value
Employees who feel valued cite higher levels of job satisfaction. This in turn leads to higher motivation, which means more productivity and a more efficient business model.
Showing your team that they’re important really can make a difference to the success of your company. It doesn’t need to be a huge gesture either, little changes will infiltrate the company culture and create change.
Regular communication is one of the easiest ways to show value. When managers share their time with their team, this sends a message of importance. Creating a platform for two-way communication and feedback is vital for your team members to feel heard.
Make a point of celebrating your team. Whether an individual success or overall company achievement. Acknowledging a job well done may not always occur to management, but it goes a long way for the morale of the team.
Lead By Example
When facilitating a culture change in the workplace, actions speak louder than words. If you want to change something as subtle as the way your company thinks and behaves, you need to lead by example.
This can be reflected in things like valuing work-life balance. There’s no glory in never leaving the office, it simply shows your team that you’re overworked and you undervalue your own time.
Similarly, if your team perceives you as aloof and unavailable, this gives the message that you don’t value their time. Setting boundaries of when you are available to the company and your team demonstrates a conscious company culture that others can guide.
Look to the Future
As company leaders, you will likely be aware of the company growth strategy that will keep your business moving forward.
This is the goal you keep your eye on when the going gets tough. The context of the ‘why’ behind things are happening within the company is crucial for your motivation.
The same applies to your team members. You may not consider it necessary to concern all employees with the work of the C-suite, but even a summary of the objectives for the year will give them a sense of perspective. This in turn helps them to better understand their part within the bigger machine.
It’s also important that team members understand what the future holds for them in their job. If they’re on track for more responsibility, training, or a promotion, they need to know this.
This builds on the sense of individual value and being part of something dynamic and meaningful.
Conscious Leadership for a Conscious Culture
Workplace Culture can be a difficult concept for managers to get to grips with. Quite simply, it’s about how the individuals in a company are the company culture. You need to put in what you want to get out.
For more inspiring work and business guides, check out our other blog posts.
