Great workplace culture gives employees a purpose. It helps them enjoy their work, and it makes it easier for you to hire top talent. It’s especially important at high-growth companies, and yet even well-intentioned employers often get it totally wrong.
To find out how companies can build a healthy workplace culture from the start, we spoke with with HR expert, author, speaker and GlitchPath CEO Laurie Ruettimann. Here’s what she says you’re probably doing wrong — and her advice on how to fix it.
What does workplace culture mean to you?
I’m not a big fan of the word “culture” being used for work. I think it’s a larger and more important concept. Many people think I’m caught up in semantics. Quite simply I think words matter. We use the word “awesome” for everything, but not everything is awesome. If we call your toxic work environment “culture,” what do we call the Renaissance? Seems like a bigger deal than your stupid foosball table at the office.
Civilizations have culture. Companies have behaviors and norms that are influenced by money, influential people with egos and groupthink. If you’re lucky, your company treats people with respect and makes a positive impact on the lives of its employees. That’s no easy task. It’s hard to create a shared space where people feel like they have a purpose. But that’s not culture. That’s just good manners and healthy living. And we should all be so lucky to be the benefactor of a founder or CEO who believes in treating workers well.
Why do so many companies focus on the office perks then? Does that have a faster, more visible impact or is it just cheaper and easier?
Companies invest in superficial solutions like free beer and “unlimited PTO” to boost morale because it’s cheaper than making a commitment to fair pay, equal opportunity and worthwhile work that makes a difference in this world.
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