Ask people why they choose to join an organisation, and they’ll increasingly say the culture is a factor. Ask them why they leave, and it’s often for the same reason. In reality, a culture that appears as attractive and engaging can often be less so when actually experienced – and it can also impact employee health.
That’s why workplace culture is so important. Get it right and you’ll create conditions where your people can thrive, get it wrong and it can undermine their physical and mental wellbeing. In fact, workplace culture is now so important, recent research by YouGov found that one in three UK workers and managers said they had left a job because of a negative workplace culture.
In this article we’ll look at what both good and bad workplace culture looks like, how it influences workplace health and suggest a five-step plan for building a healthier workplace culture in your organisation.
So, what exactly is workplace culture?
A workplace culture is the shared behaviours, expectations and everyday practices that shape working life. And these shared experiences can be good – or bad. When a culture is experienced as being good, it can support engagement, retention, performance, attendance and psychological safety.
On the downside, there’s no doubt that workload, internal relationships and management behaviour can contribute to poor mental health through stress and anxiety. Many employees will also perceive this experience as ‘the culture’. In practice all organisations have a culture. It’s what is actually happening – here and now.
One thing that culture definitely isn’t is an HR ‘comms project’ or a pool table intended to make a workplace look like it’s a ‘fun’ environment. Culture is what happens in practice. Promoting values or wellbeing policies won’t mask a poor culture. You can’t project what isn’t there.
How workplace culture influences health
Of course, a good workplace culture can be equally good for health. Managers who listen, communicate clearly and respond with empathy can only be good for the people they lead. Genuine psychological safety is beneficial for wellbeing too – that’s where people feel able to speak up, ask for help and admit mistakes. And healthy boundaries around working hours, availability and digital communication mean your people get the space they need to rest, re-charge and build resilience. When your people feel that they are treated with fairness, inclusion and dignity they are less stressed and anxious, and more engaged in their work.
All good so far. But workplaces and their leaders aren’t always like this. Culture can negatively impact employee health when excessive workloads and sustained pressure become normalised. Poor management behaviour, bullying, harassment and demonstrating a lack of trust can lead to stress and anxiety. A positive culture will remove any stigma surrounding mental health, disability or asking for support – and yet this stigma still happens.
The influence of leaders and managers
Leaders can be a great asset in building a healthy workplace culture, but they can also do untold damage. For example, recognition based on presenteeism or overwork can lead to burnout. Poor communication, uncertainty and badly managed organisational change are all a catalyst for stress. If your leaders preach the importance of wellbeing but encourage late night emails or a long hours culture – that’s the culture your people are actually experiencing.
While poor management styles can taint an organisation’s culture, organisations themselves need to take some of the blame. CIPD research found that 60% of UK managers either don’t receive people management training or feel that they have enough time to be good managers. Wellbeing training, apps and promoting values are all well and good – but if your people manage badly, that’s the lived reality – and that’s what is likely to be affecting employee health.
A five-step plan for building a healthier workplace culture
If you’ve recognised some of the characteristics of a negative culture in your organisation, how do you turn that around? These suggestions start with understanding where you are now – and go on to show you how to measure the progress you’ll be making.
Understand the current culture
- Conduct a culture audit – gather evidence through surveys, focus groups, interviews and employee forums.
- Review sickness absence, turnover, grievances, occupational health data and exit feedback.
- Look for differences between teams, roles, locations and demographic groups.
- Protect confidentiality and explain how this information will be used.
Gathering data, insight and employee voice will help you understand what’s really going on and give you the insight to bring better wellbeing into your culture. Our sister company EOPH has a new process for doing this, if you’d like to find out more, visit EOPH Consultancy for their straightforward evidence led approach.
Identify the health risks and priorities
- Assess psychosocial risks alongside physical workplace hazards.
- Identify underlying causes rather than concentrating only on symptoms.
- Prioritise issues according to their severity, reach and potential health impact.
- Involve employees and occupational health professionals in interpreting the evidence.
Set clear expectations and equip managers
- Define the behaviours expected from leaders, managers and colleagues – and guide them towards practicing them.
- Train managers to recognise concerns, hold supportive conversations and make appropriate referrals. Don’t assume they are naturally good at this.
- Ensure managers have the time, authority and resources to manage people well.
- Hold senior leaders accountable for culture as well as operational performance.
Change the conditions of work
- Address workload, staffing, working hours, role clarity, autonomy and communication.
- Build better ways for your people to experience connection and community as part of your culture.
- Strengthen inclusion, flexibility and employee voice. Act on what your people tell you – or at least show them you’ve heard what they say.
- Provide suitable occupational health, mental health and wellbeing support.
- Ensure organisational policies are reflected in everyday practice.
Measure, learn and improve
- Agree practical measures of progress, such as workload, psychological safety, trust, absence and retention.
- Combine workforce data with employees’ lived experiences.
- Review progress regularly and communicate what has changed.
- Treat culture improvement as a continuous process rather than a one-off campaign.
Remember, culture isn’t what you want it to be – it’s what your people actually experience and how they feel about that, good or bad. If you implement as much of the above as you can, you will move your own culture dial towards the positive.
Get our guide
We have produced an exclusive podcast called Workplace Wellbeing, available via our subscription site. If you are not signed up to this service and would like to know more about our newly relaunched wellbeing upgrade, please email enquiries@cordellhealth.co.uk
Final thoughts
Your workplace culture is shaped by everyday decisions, behaviours and working practices. It can be the reason your people join – as well as why they decide to leave. It can lie at the heart of a healthy and engaged workforce, or cause stress, anxiety and poor mental health. A healthy workplace culture will help create the trust, support and working conditions your people need to remain well and perform effectively – and thrive.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
