Since the paradigms of work have been rapidly changing during the pandemic, it is important to note that quality isn’t degraded by the change. The lockdowns in a lot of countries have lifted and it’s time to go back to work. Many offices have reopened and they are willing to enforce workers to their desks again. After returning to work in the official setup again, employees might be really concerned about the type of environment they will face again because things have not been the same since the pandemic. Some workers might have faced huge family losses due to the virus, or some might be overcoming depression/cave syndrome to work outside their rooms again.

At such time, it is important to improve the work culture of the offices to make the employees feel welcomed & willing to work again.

Work culture is defined as the environment and belief system on which your company stands. The business is run by several types of authorities across the company, but the culture is what makes the company stand out. It depicts the character and personality of the company without propagating loudly.

Also, the type of work culture a company nurtures in its office imposes an integral impact on the success of the business. It affects the state of mind of every employee working there. If the workers enter with a happy note in an office, they will take with them happiness & satisfaction as well.

The above points are the aspects of the work culture of any company. These aspects woven in an intangible ecosystem provide a definite work culture where employees can work in.

Know with the help of examples:

What do companies like TCS, Infosys, Google, Facebook, Adobe, Twitter, McKinsey, JP Morgan & Chase among others, have in common?

Not the type of workforce, the number of employees, or the duration of work. But they are all famous for their pleasant work culture.

The employees are not only happy & satisfied among themselves, but also they can’t stop emphasizing about the remarkable work culture there.

What makes them different? They take care & consideration from both sides- the company’s policy as well as the workers’ circumstances and find a middle ground between them.

Diving into the intricacies of work culture:

1. What makes the work culture stand out?

An efficient work culture is where employees are continuously motivated to create a work-life balance; work as team and have each other's backs, and create the best outcomes.

The qualities which make a work environment ‘exceptional’ from ‘ordinary’ are listed below:

The company featuring the above qualities is believed to have a great work culture. Thus, it has great outcomes due to its work environment.

• Job satisfaction ratio is higher- it is the basic criteria which the employees use to decide whether or not they want to continue working in the company. If the work culture of a company is pleasant for individual employees according to their work, then automatically they will have higher satisfaction in working.

• Employees will come through- an exceptional work culture provides the environment to open up to the employees. They find themselves safe and motivated. In such a place, they would be easily put out what’s bothering them or what creative idea they have in mind. Hence, effective communication among employees & between the employees & higher authorities is very impactful.

• Morale is boosted & higher rates of productivity are achieved- maintaining a healthy environment gives a boost to the workers’ morale & values. They are able to create more and be productive than ever before. Also, their physical & mental stress is automatically reduced when they are in an encouragingly fun environment.

• Efficient candidates are attracted by positivity- there are many people out there who are talented and are waiting for their potential to be recognized. If a positive and healthy environment is created at a particular company, it will attract more & more worthy candidates.

• Potential workers are retained- employees seek good work environment & optimum treatment- That’s why a great work culture would provide workers the efficiency to be retained at the company. Happy employees make happy work culture, which in turn helps them to thrive.

2. Which features contribute to the degrading of work culture?

Like every undervalued & worse product is discarded in the market, similarly, a company where work culture is inefficient and controlling, employees can never contribute to the success. Let’s see what some characteristics of a bad workplace are.

A lot of negative outcomes could arise because of unhealthy work culture.

• There would always be turmoil among the colleagues because of poor adaptability. If they impact each other in a negative way, they would not achieve their optimum potential. If they don’t have each other’s back, no teamwork would be fruitful & the environment of the office would automatically be polluted.

• If the employers are unwilling to understand the circumstances of the workers, it would discourage them to maintain consistency. A lot of control and micromanagement would result in employee disloyalty.

• Maintaining creativity & innovation at the workplace is the prime objective of every employee. If the work setup is boring or reluctant to change, creativity would become slower and not up to the mark. Also, proper care must be taken to avoid disturbance in concentration-demanding workstyle (like writers, developers, researchers, etc.)

• When there is poor management of employees by the authorities, it reduces the connection between the worker and the employers. If the employers are reluctant to understand & be supportive of the workers’ problems, it would result in disharmony. No one likes to work constantly, therefore, regular breaks & a professional fun environment is what are required.

Why is an efficient work culture so important?

Employees spend almost 80% of their day at their workplace, where they are expected to meet the task requirements daily. It is obvious that a healthy environment would create a happy employee who, in turn, would contribute to the company’s success consistently.

An efficient and encouraging work environment from all directions encourages the workers to wake up every day and look forward to giving 80% of their time to happiness and satisfaction. They feel the same loyalty towards the company as the authorities.