The Importance of Office Culture
James Holder
Executive Leadership Staffing Specialist ???? + Global Recruitment/Staffing Coach & Mentor
19th March 2020.
For some, that date could mean many things such as birthdays, weddings, funerals...the list is endless.
Personally, that date is set in my head as the day that we were told to clear our desks and start working from home. Did I expect that I would be WFH for the next 5 months with no physical engagement with any of my colleagues?
Not a bit of it.
I would struggle to believe anyone who says that they found WFH under such draconian conditions easy, as all of sudden our normal every day lives were stripped from us and we soon had to adapt to these very strange measures which would cause stress and anxiety for even the most mentally resolute people.
COVID-19 has certainly changed the landscape of how we go about our daily lives and how we work in an office environment , but whilst we are nowhere near where we were pre COVID, I'm pleased to say there is light at the end of the tunnel.
On my phased return back to the office and seeing old and new colleagues join our business, it soon became clear on how important office culture is and how vital it is in keeping your mental health in shape. We have a fantastic group of people in our Manchester business and it's a testament to everyone I work with, that the culture is as strong as it ever has been.
Culture is fundamentally built on the workforce having a shared belief and goal on what they want to achieve and requires everyone to be built into that same vision. I don't believe it's down to anyone to really set a culture, but it certainly down to everyone getting along and making the office a great place to work.
It's also important to not underestimate the importance of culture on work performance - having been in the industry a while, there are clear trends of when the office culture is good, performance will follow because people enjoy who they work with and enjoy coming to work and performing as a result.
I do hope that we have left the bad days behind us and can now focus on adapting to this new way of life, and I think it's important for everyone, regardless of the sector you work in, to take a step back and appreciate the working environment you get to spend time in on a daily basis as you never know what's around the corner..
JH
Experienced and adaptable ACA
4 年I agree that a set of people that get along with each other makes it easier to work with and alongside, teams pull together etc with some laughs along the way. I also think a good culture should be promoted by the leaders at a site/office. If the leaders don't buy into modern practices, or like to have their opinion as the only opinion, then that can be demoralising for employees, no matter how well those employees and teams bond with each other. Then performance can dip and teams remain bonded by collective disgruntlement, and that itself can cause a detrimental impact to the employees' health and wellbeing.?
James Holder it was my birthday!! It has been awesome to see the teams back in the offices which have obviously been modified to meet goverment guidlines! Its clear to see the positivity from the face to face / team interactions are benefiting all involved not just from a business perpective but also more importantly as Matthew Timms rightly says a mental health perpective...... thank you for sharing your thoughts.....
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4 年Love this mate - completely agree.
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4 年Excellent piece James Holder and so relevant in the current climate and especially so with World Mental Health Day coming up on Saturday. A great office culture and camaraderie is so important for morale and mental well being, it's hard to put a price on it. In the words of Joni Mitchell, 'you don't know what you've got, til it's gone' Although we're only back in the office part time at the moment, it's fantastic to be back in helping each other through the lows and celebrating the highs together. It certainly beats working on your own, in your spare room, with the dodgy wall paper, that's for sure......