How to Develop a Positive Work Culture
Introduction to a Positive Work Culture
Workplace stress costs the United States economy more than $500 billion and an increase of nearly 50% in voluntary employee turnover. Positive work culture is well worth the investment, with both short and long term employee engagement and workplace culture benefits.
Why a Positive Work Culture Makes Your Business More Productive
A positive work culture helps to create a workplace environment where employees feel valued and great work is produced. Independent research show employers that creating a positive work culture results in many benefits.
Productivity- Long term productivity is benefited by high employee engagement rates. A positive work environment is a huge influencer of employee engagement levels. Low employee engagement results in 18% lower productivity with a long term consequence of 65% lower share prices.
Engagement- Employee engagement is boosted with every happy employee in your business. Employee engagement suffers when employees feel stressed, disrespected, unsupported, or insecure in their roles. When each team member can feel valued for their contributions an overall positive workplace culture will likely follow.
Any human resource professional can tell you that a positive company culture goes a long way for increasing top talent employee applications and retention. In fact, companies with high employee engagement have 100% more applications than their low employee engagement counterparts. Do your human resource department and overall workplace culture a favor, keep employee engagement high.
Health- Healthier employees not only produce more great work but also save a lot of money in healthcare costs. Health care costs for high-pressure companies are 50% more than in a positive work environment.
An estimated 80% of doctor visits are attributed to stress, with workplace stress accounting for cardiovascular issues to metabolic syndrome.
Research show employers the correlation between leadership characteristics and heart disease, stressful bosses creating employees with cardiovascular consequences. Research show lower-level employees that the lower the rank an employee holds, the higher the probability of mortality and cardiovascular disease.
Attendance- 550 million workdays are lost annually due to job stress. Absenteeism is 37% higher in many companies with low employee engagement. When voluntary turnover increases by nearly 50%, the long term costs are astounding.
Safety- A shocking 60-80% of workplace accidents are accredited to stress. Businesses with low employee engagement have 49% more accidents and produce 60% more mistakes.
Building Out a Positive Work Culture
Some employers wrongly assume that allowing employees to work from home and providing perks is enough. Research show employers that creating positive workplace culture with high levels of employee engagement is more motivating than solely material incentives. Thankfully there are universal tips that employers can use to create positive work culture at their business-
1. Show gratitude- Help your employee feel seen and feel valued by acknowledging great work performed. Incentives and even small gestures of gratitude can go a long way in making a happy employee and encourage long term productivity.
2. Work-life balance- Promote a healthy work-life balance that includes opportunities for employee wellness. Make sure employees have access to healthcare and wellness resources both on-site and off-site.
3. Ask for feedback- Previous employee ratings on company job sites can help you see where you can improve as a leader. Ask both previous and current employees what you can provide to help them do great work and feel valued in your business.
If you have a small business you can ask an engaged employee how to keep them engaged and what they are looking for as their career develops. Give your human resource department these suggestions and use them to create the most positive workplace possible from every team member on staff.
4. Embrace positivity- Creating positive conversations and letting each employee know that you care will help create a positive work culture and long term employee engagement. Celebrate wins with every team member whether an exceptional customer service experience or great work review.
Creating a happy employee is dependent on creating a positive work culture and finding a work-life balance that fits your small business needs. For larger companies, work with your human resource department to make each employee feel valued as a team member in your corporation.
5. Communication- A positive company culture and workplace environment are dependent on proper communication. Encourage every team member to give employee feedback and keep employee team building activities focal. Consider establishing social events like lunches, outside the office meet-ups, or even a quarterly book club.
Increase employee engagement by providing opportunities for senior-level executives to interact with the rest of your team. Each team member should feel valued for their contributions and as critical a part of your work culture as any other employee.
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