Work Culture: Positive Culture vs Toxic Culture

Work Culture

Work culture is the beliefs, conventions, and behavior of a team, department, or company. It's generated by the CEO and entry-level staff alike.

The physical environment influences work culture. It's shaped by relationships, attitudes, ideas, traditions, and values. We spend a lot of time at work, thus the atmosphere has a big impact on us.

Work culture evolves based on employees' behaviors. Organizational culture has four types: clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market.

Positive Work Culture

A good work culture cares about the health and happiness of its employees, helps them at all levels, and promotes respect, trust, empathy, and support.

Six aspects comprise a positive work culture:

1. Being friendly, caring, and concerned for coworkers.
2. Offering compassion and generosity to coworkers.
3. Not blaming errors.
4. Co-inspiring.
5. Finding and highlighting the work's meaning.
6. Integrity, trust, gratitude, and respect.

Toxic Work Culture

A toxic work culture is made up of dysfunctional behavior, drama, infighting, bad communication, power struggles, and low morale. Actions and policies don't prioritize employee well-being.

Each toxic workplace has its own concerns, yet there are some common ones:

• Toxic environments have unclear duties, responsibilities, lines of command, and hierarchy.
• Poor communication, power disputes, or dysfunctional management could produce this.
• A workforce that doesn't know what to do, how to do it, or whom to ask for help is the result.
• Drama includes gossip, cliques, passive-aggression, and bullying.
• In toxic organizations, power struggles between higher-level managers and the people who work for them can cause drama between departments.

Create a Positive Work Culture

1. Formulate or formally adopt the organization's long-term goals and objectives.

2. Communicate your company's core beliefs effectively.

3. Recruit members of the community who share your values.

4. Inspire confidence, empathetic behavior, and support.

5. Make specific areas available for social interaction.

6. Show that you are committed to assisting your staff members.

7. Foster open lines of communication.

8. Ensure that regulations for sick days, particularly those for mental health, are well-defined.

9. Offer assistance for both physical and mental health.

10. Ensure that all channels of communication are open and processes are well-defined.

11. Offer opportunities for education and growth for the individual.

12. Lead by setting an exemplary example in all that you do.