Bad company culture costs UK economy £23.6 billion. (BreatheHR survey)
HRGrapevine shared some great examples this week of bad company culture – office ‘rules’ being implemented and then backfiring spectacularly. The examples included men rebelling in hot weather by wearing skirts to work, as wearing shorts had been banned, but not skirts (!), and when the owner of a company, fed up with negative reviews of management being posted on a jobs website, demanded that the negative reviews stop, only for it to lead to many more being posted in response!
The impact of bad culture we have shared before – a world of work where global disengagement is at an incredible figure of 85% (Gallup) and surveys revealing that 85% of people are unhappy at work. Something clearly needs to change.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), and one of HR Magazines most influential thinkers of 2018, was the lead author in the report ‘A Review of Modern Working Practices’ commissioned by the UK Govt. in which the concept of making work ‘good’ is highlighted as increasingly important.
“There are too many people at work who are treated like cogs in a machine rather than human beings’’.
The key message is; prioritising people and their experience at work to maximise human potential is vital to creating business success, irrespective of what technological changes are on the horizon. “What drives people’s experience at work, drives the social agenda and the economic agenda, improving productivity and succeeding as a country.’’
“It’s up to us to decide what the future of work is.’’
#BeYourselfAtWork, being real, human and treating others the same way is one way to make work good and maximise human potential.
Often, we conform at work, to being those cogs in the machine, whatever the culture we work within, too preoccupied and focused on our to do lists, tasks and ourselves that we forget about connecting at a real and human level with those around us. Making rules without thinking of the impact on real people.
The HBR Quality of Life @ Work study found that “employees who felt that their leaders treated them with respect were 63% more satisfied with their jobs, 55% more engaged, 58% more focused, and 110% more likely to stay with their organization.” Gallup research, when measuring engagement, shows that managers can make up to 70% of the difference.
We all have the ability to make work human and a good experience. It’s about being ourselves #beyourselfatwork, looking beyond tasks, the rules and to do lists, to the people around us.
Being positive and encouraging others is behaviour that, in turn, creates positive outcomes, and is why managers and leaders on Courageous Success iAM Development Programmes report an impact on their leadership of over 85%. They create the habit of bringing their whole selves to work, always seeing the best in others and having a positive approach and impact.
When was the last time that you thought about making your work culture good for others?
When was the last time that you looked at someone and saw the best in them?
How about starting today?
#BeYourselfAtWork