Is your culture out of kilter?

I bet you, or someone close to you, has had a soul-destroying experience of workplace culture. The kind of environment where you morph into someone else to survive. Count the minutes until you can leave, and desperately seek a route out. Sadly, it’s a reasonably safe bet to make, as 1 in 4 employees reported experiences of toxic cultures in 2022. If you’ve experienced this or seen someone close endure this, you’ll know just how damaging it can be.

Small behaviours mount-up

Collectively, as humans, we can nurture unkind, cruel, divisive cultures. Environments where people feel scared, anxious, burnt out. They feel unable to be themselves or share what they really think. In 2023, we saw many well-known organisations exposed for harbouring horrible, cut-throat and at times, cruel workplaces. Cultures of abuse and misogyny were revealed at the CBI and McDonalds . Similar horrific stories of abuse were unearthed at Abercrombie & Fitch . Even those in the most trusted and powerful Government positions in the world faced charges for flouting their own rules and corruption . Pictures of employees sleeping on the job at Twitter / X offices spread across social media sites, and heart-breaking stories of individuals taking their own lives under the pressure of work across a range of organisations filled our news feeds.

"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept" - Lt. General David Morrison, Australian Chief of Army

These might feel like extreme examples, and hopefully they’re a long way from your daily reality, but these workplaces don’t simply appear over-night. Toxic cultures start with a tiny crack. The small, seemingly unimportant behaviours mount-up and suddenly, we find ourselves in an environment where corners are cut, standards slip, poor behaviour excused when results are delivered. This is a long way from the safe, secure, supportive conditions that we, as humans, need to feel valued, able to contribute, to collaborate and share knowledge and ideas. And in our world today, sharing and developing knowledge is how we make most impact.

84% of CEOs say their culture isn't where it needs to be

In February’s Economist, culture researchers Sull & Sull shared that 80% of CEOs and CFOs in North America listed corporate culture as one of the five most important factors driving their company’s financial performance . Yet, in the same research, 84% said their culture isn’t where it needs to be.?

Inherently we understand the link between a strong, healthy culture and sustainable business performance. Yet, so often, good intentions fall by the wayside. We revert to old models and methods. Put our foot down on the accelerator to deliver impact, now, and try and pick up the wreckage left behind.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There is a formula for happy, healthy, more human workplaces and this is an environment where both people and business can thrive.

Getting there starts with understanding the strength of your culture today. This might be a team, a function, maybe a whole organisation. As a work psychologist who has partnered with hundreds of organisations across 20 years, I have identified the 10 most common signs of culture cracks . From double standards to parent-child attitudes, focusing on busyness over impact, and suffering from a frozen core of middle management, it’s likely some of these are lingering in your culture today. Our research at Make it Human shows 88% of organisations are currently experiencing one or more culture cracks . Without deliberate effort and commitment, almost all companies are at risk of culture failure.

Left alone, these will disengage, fragment, stifle, constrict, even de-humanise your workforce. Over time, this can extend into serious toxicity, prevent business transformation and growth, destroying people and business.

10 signs of culture cracks - complete our free diagnostic

Get on the front foot and start Making it Human in your corner of the world. Identify the culture cracks lurking in your culture with our free diagnostic, and receive personalised insights - link below ??. And get in touch if you would like to explore this further – we have a great introductory offer for a Culture Scan to help you quickly & objectively identify where your culture could be holding you back.

Turn culture into your most valuable asset and move from out of kilter to in-synch.

Learn more about the Make it Human models and consulting solutions at www.make-it-human.com .

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