Human Resource (HR) Professionals talk a lot about workplace culture and how organisations can create and maintain a positive and productive workplace culture. But what does “workplace culture” mean in simple terms and how does it go from being good to toxic?
In the media in the latter part of 2018, there were numerous reports of failing workplace culture in some very reputable organisations. One example is the Google protests in November 2018.
Google employees across the globe walked off the job in protest in response to the internal handling of sexual harassment complaints and lack of pay equality. This protest was the consequence of an article published by the New York Times which exposed Google’s practices in relation to dealing with sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints, which resulted in many Google executives leaving the company over the prior ten years with multi-million dollar payouts, despite the complaints against them being founded.
The employees protesting demanded changes to Google’s policies about the way sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints were handled as well as a commitment from Google for pay equality. The protest gathered international attention and Google were forced to respond.
Google admitted that they hadn’t got things right in the past and were committed to making changes to their policies and practices, so something like this didn’t happen again.
So, put in simple terms, workplace culture is the environment that an organisation creates for its employees – it is the character and personality of the organisation. It is what makes the business unique and is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviours and attitudes.
The same as people can have character flaws, so to, can an organisation. Character flaws in an organisation can attract criticism, damage the organisations reputation and lead to a toxic work environment. As demonstrated in the Google example, the cost of failing to address issues with workplace culture, led to some serious side effects i.e. damage to their workplace culture and the reputation of their brand. Damaged workplace culture can also result in loss of productivity, people walking off the job, as seen in the Google example and/or employee resignations. Further, it can lead to loss of revenue, as customers don’t want to buy from an organisation, whose values do not align with their own, in addition to loss of industry accreditation or recognition.
When workplace culture has gone wrong, those leading the organisation need to act quickly to improve the negative work environment. The following is a brief guide on how to turn that toxic work culture around.
Identify the Problem Behaviours – these may include: poor communication; gossiping; bullying behaviour; unrealistic workloads/deadlines; excessive absenteeism, fatigue; strained relationships between employees and/or management and/or no work/life balance. You may not find all of these and/or may even find other problems not included above. Whatever problems are identified, will inform the plan to save the workplace culture.
Evaluate the Underlying Support Network – a toxic environment cannot survive without a supportive infrastructure. Examine the company’s leadership and their values, then work from the top of the organisation to the bottom of the ladder seeking out what the issues are, which may include: poor communication; lack of accountability; discriminatory beliefs; aggressive or hostile leadership styles;
resentment of authority; not treating employees as people, but instead like assets and lack of appreciation of good work. Each of these are issues and may well set the foundation for a toxic workplace culture.
Plan the Repair Strategy – with an understanding of the problems, you can now plan your strategy to repair the damage. Tackle the problem behaviours that have the biggest impact first and the smaller issues will most likely fix themselves. Here are some strategies that should be considered when preparing a repair strategy: listen to employees; assign realistic workloads and deadlines; communicate transparently; acknowledge good work; treat all employees equally and foster emotional intelligence. The key is to be aware of the organisational challenges and then choose your actions accordingly.
Implement the Plan – leaders are the catalysts for any changes in a workplace. If you are in charge or a member of the senior management team, you are in a powerful and influential position to motivate change across the organisation. However, if you want employees to take the changes seriously, as a leader/manager, you must be prepared to lead by example and live the changes you want to see.
The key to success is make the changes easy, socially acceptable and rewarding. Remove any barriers that may hinder success and listen to employees to understand what those barriers are. Show the employees how the changes you are proposing will turn the damaged workplace culture around to a more positive and rewarding environment again.
Reflect and Adapt – allow the new policies and practices that have been implemented to embed themselves, and then after a few months look around and see what has changed and what has not. Meet with key stakeholders who assisted with the implementation and reflect on how things have gone. Assess the progress and adapt as deemed necessary. Ensure communication channels are kept open. Workplace cultural change is a not a small undertaking, but one well worth the effort that is put into it.