How does one truly define work culture? Is it an imposition of work ethos? Is it representative of cooperation and coordination? Or, is it the prerogative of an employer’s demand?
True work culture stems from four pillars of wisdom that can only be achieved by good leadership. In effect work culture starts from the highest levels of management whose goals can only be envisioned through simple terms “setting a good example”.
4 pillars of wisdom the influence work culture from good leadership
- Practical vision
- Inspiration
- Motivation
- Implementation
In an effort to reach one’s goals, a clear practical path leading to effective implementation is imperative in helping employees understand what is expected of them. Defining business vision helps employees focus without resorting to unnecessary practices or wasted performances.
Inspiration is the mark of true leadership where a positive attitude and an authoritarian directorship tempered with humility is a perfect dose to cultivate work culture. Being emotive and relating to employees needs with a caring attitude instigates an equal measure of respect admiration and cooperation. Todd McKinnon CEO of Okta once echoed such values where he explained how work leaders set the tone for true work culture. Executive leaders need to work as a team themselves where transparency sets a perfect example to the workforce.
6 main influences of work culture
While the ethos of work culture has been widely studied by academics worldwide, one particular breakthrough by professors Edward Deci and Richard Ryan from the University of Rochester rightly pinpointed what drives work culture and what hurts it. The professors defined six points that influence work Culture.
- Play
- Purpose,
- Potential
- Emotional pressure
- Economic pressure
- Inertia
While the first three motives impacted a healthy work culture, the latter three points had a negative impact. Play, purpose and potential defines an employee within whom the ideals of work culture has been rightly embedded because it proves passion and love for work. It proves that the employee is driven by a sense of purpose and does so because of the desire to be recognized for potential. This is the perfect mantra for a healthy work culture driven business.
The latter three motives do not just prove the failure of an employee but an organization’s inaptitude to produce a healthy atmosphere that drives an employee to be productive.
Motivating an employee through emotive psychology
How do you motivate an employee? Is it always incentives that do the trick as most believe? Unfortunately NO!! While incentives are a common feature of any good business, it is cultivating a sense of responsibility to the productivity and welfare of the business that is all important. An employee walking that extra mile just because he wants to is the ideal mentality to achieve that reflects true work culture.
Tapping into the psyche of an employee and understanding human temperament on an individual basis is extremely important in achieving perfect coordination between a team. It helps in cultivating camaraderie, mutual respect and responsibility. It creates a clear sense of focus and understanding of the levels of authority without animosity or enmity. That is perfect work culture.
Work Culture should be harvested not demanded
When implanting the tools of work culture amongst employees, one must never adopt a demanding attitude. Work culture as mentioned earlier can never be demanded. It has to be sown, cultivated and harvested through cooperation and passion. You may get your employees to work extra time but that isn’t work culture. Productivity isn’t measured by quantity but quality. Targets can be achieved in a shorter time span through quality work. Helping an employee understand personal growth and a sense of achievement is a path shared by the company envisioning its own success. This greatly contributes to a high level of work culture in any organization.
Work culture thrives from diversity, not unilateral thought
It is a huge misconception on the part of many that work culture is the result of a unilateral thought process. A team thinking on the same wavelength producing the same ideas breeds monotony and limits creativity. A team consisting of people with diverse thinking produces a myriad of ideas healthy for implentation of new projects and initiating innovative methods of work that benefits client and company alike. Moreover diversity of thought produces healthy criticism and elimination of weak points in any brand building or marketing project.
A perfect example of work culture, its ideals and its cultivation within a workforce is the organizational principles followed by the award winning healthy snack delivery service Snack Nation. It is widely representative of how an organization needs to be run in respect to employee motivation and work culture.
It can rightly be concluded that work culture depends on the perfect coordination of leadership and workforce. It is not coerced nor is it demanded but rather it is impacted by a positive psychology of all concerned thereby instigating an atmosphere that rightly describes “WORK CULTURE”!!
