A culture of inclusivity is the key to one of the biggest problems facing organizations today. As the Great Resignation puts pressure on companies, they have the opportunity to elevate their culture in a way that attracts and retains talent. Why? Because the Great Resignation is really more accurately called the Great Reshuffle, in which prospective employees reconsider their priorities, placing a higher level on company culture and employee experience.
To better understand the importance of workplace culture, SHRM conducted a study in 12 countries to identify workplace trends across the globe. SHRM found, by and large, that workplace culture remains positive across the 12 countries. Even a pandemic couldn’t wreak havoc on workplace culture, which speaks to the strides that organizations have made in recent years.
For the organizations that dedicated themselves to cultural change before the pandemic, their commitment to positive work environments bore fruit at a time of crisis. Workers generally feel safe and heard at work, increasing their productivity and benefiting the bottom line.
A sample of 9,464 workers was surveyed using a third-party online panel. For the purpose of their study, SHRM refers to “workers” as those who are working as paid employees. Respondents were from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. The survey was administered in September and October 2021.
By and large, workplace cultures were found to be “unwaveringly positive.” When asked to rate their organization’s culture, 72% of workers responded that theirs was good or very good, while 20% rated it as average. Only 7% considered their workplace culture poor or very poor. Globally, 89% of workers said that, since the beginning of the pandemic, their workplace culture has improved or stayed the same.
The survey tapped into how employees feel about managers and found that nearly 9 in 10 workers indicated that their manager contributes to setting their work team environment. But some troubling signs did crop up. The report also says that more than 4 in 10 workers have witnessed inconsiderate treatment of a co-worker by a manager in the past year.
Inconsiderate behaviors like bullying or gossiping are destructive when left unaddressed. When supervisors are untrustworthy or insensitive to the needs of their workers, it isn’t long before work environments become toxic. Workers need to feel safe in their workplace, and an integral component is ensuring all workers are treated with respect.
The survey also found that when workers feel safe at work, they also rate their workplace culture more favorably. Those who say they feel physically safe at work are more likely to describe their workplace culture as good or very good, as compared with those who don’t feel physically safe at work (77% versus 42%).
At Kantola, we know that in order to achieve transformative change, organizations must go far beyond addressing blatant harassment and provide employees with the structure, support and guidance they need to navigate workplace interactions in order to ensure this sense of safety. That means providing education and training that can help change perspectives, build trust and empower employees to better understand and support one another.
Accomplishing this is key to creating an inclusive culture that can attract and retain employees, helping future-proof your organization by creating an environment that allows employees to collaborate, innovate and unify around a common purpose and shared ideals.
