Organizational Climate vs Culture: How Misunderstanding the Difference Costs You People and Opportunities

Last week, we explored organizational culture in depth. This week, we’re shifting our focus to organizational climate and why it’s essential to understand the distinction between the two. Don’t stop reading! We won’t make it a snore-fest, and this is important stuff! By understanding how culture and climate interact—and what happens when they’re not aligned—you can create a workplace where employees are satisfied and engaged and organizational goals are met.

Defining Organizational Culture?

As we discussed last week, organizational culture is tricky to define. This is because it’s under the surface. It gets into the deep, underlying system of shared beliefs, values, traditions, and norms that shape an organization’s behaviour. Culture is built over time and is deeply embedded into an organization.

It is often not explicitly seen but influences every decision and action. For a more in-depth exploration of culture, check out last week’s article here.?

Defining Organizational Climate

Our climate and culture poster will likely be a handy resource. You can download it here. Would you like more words? We’ve got you covered. Let’s explore them further.

Climate is More Visible, Culture is Harder to See

Organizational climate is more straightforward to “see” explicitly by people inside and outside the organization. Interestingly, when people describe the culture, they sometimes describe what they notice in the climate. A good rule of thumb is:

• If what you see and describe will likely endure beyond five years or more, that’s probably culture.
• If it could change quickly, it would be impacted by trends or a structural change, such as in leadership or your client base, which is more likely to be an organizational climate.?

These are not hard and fast “rules.” Let’s dig in further.

Climate You Feel, Culture You Know

If culture is an organization’s personality, climate is its mood. Climate is defined by leaders’ and employees’ collective perceptions and attitudes toward their workplace. Employees feel it daily, and it often influences engagement and satisfaction. You can observe climate through an organization’s behaviours, attitudes, and interactions.

Climate You Gauge, Culture You Diagnose

Climate can also be measured through engagement surveys, feedback, and conversations. Therefore, another way to look at them is that climate can be understood by a series of checkups versus culture requiring a full diagnostic workup. You could try a series of interventions to shift the climate, but a more intensive approach is needed for culture. Like any health issue, prevention is way more preferable, less disruptive, and less invasive than surgery to keep a healthy culture.

Climate is Fluid, Culture is Mass

Unlike organizational culture, climate is more fluid; it can change due to new policies, practices or leadership styles. The main components that influence organizational climate include:

1. Organizational Systems: These include the structures, policies, and processes that govern how work is organized and decisions are made.?
2. Leadership and Team Dynamics: Refers to the relationships, communication styles, and collaboration between leaders and teams.
3. Behaviours and Actions: The observable ways individuals and groups operate within the organization. Recognition and reward systems play a key role in shaping behaviours by reinforcing what is valued and expected.

The Culture Iceberg

Oh, that old chestnut, the culture iceberg. All of us who studied Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology learned it, yet we secretly scratched our heads when we went to study for the exam. It made sense when the professor explained it in the lecture, but what does “invisible” mean? That’s like a dentist trying to find a cavity without an X-ray.?

The iceberg should be a tool, and it will be easier to leverage if we help clarify that the climate is what is visible on top. This way, it acknowledges that culture and climate are two distinct concepts and how they are so closely linked. Don’t get caught up in the waterline, though; the most important thing is that the iceberg is solid.

The more aligned the climate and culture are, the more people trust the organization.

A healthy workplace is one where the climate reflects and reinforces the culture. When aligned, culture and climate foster trust, engagement, and performance. When the two are misaligned, tension, confusion, and disengagement can arise.?

Tune in next week as we explore the consequences of a misaligned culture and climate and what we can do to get back on track.?

Do you have questions about how your climate and culture are fairing? Reach out! Maybe we can help. We’re here for you anytime at [email protected].

Here are more delicious tidbits about organizational culture for you to snack on:

• Building a Safety Culture: Expert Advice on Rewards and Recognition
• Creating a Stay Culture: Navigating Commuting and Other Work Conundrums
• Recognition as a Leadership Muscle: 4 Tips on Building a Recognition-Rich Culture

Disclaimer/Humble Brag Moment: 100% of this content was human-generated (by us folks here at Greatness Magnified). We are committed to authorship integrity and will inform you what percent, if any, is AI-generated.