It is 2022 and everyone wants to work at a place that has a good "office culture", with the ever-changing dynamics of the workforce it's no surprise that employers are having to look for ways to make their employees feel more and more comfortable in order to motivate them on a daily basis.
I would like to first define what culture is in this blog post: It's that fuzzy, non-tangible feel that every organization has, it's almost as if you can feel it in the air even if you are sitting in the reception area. Healthy workplace culture is formulated by aligning employee behaviors and company policies with the overall goals of the company, while also considering the well-being of individuals.
So what then can smaller organizations who do not have large budgets for offsites or provide employees with expensive benefits do in order to cultivate a culture that is positive and desirable.
Engage current employees who have artistic talents- every business will have a few employees that can play an instrument, paint or do some DIY activities and can be a good starting point to plan an activity where an employee takes everyone else through a session that will ensure employee bonding. The employee given charge of curating this activity will also in turn feel valued through this. win-win for all.
Having a standard Lunch break for all-Making sure that everyone is having lunch together can really change how your team interacts, this is a good downtime for them and a way for them to bond as a team
Appreciation/employee rewards and recognition- doing small things like maybe "employee of the moment" will create a good environment and motivate people to do better at their jobs
Team games- Allocating time for short team games like card games or an end of week Quiz can also be a fun way to get the team to interact and create a fun environment for all
Creating an environment that is respectful- creating a culture that promotes respect for co-workers is the easiest way to ensure a healthy and positive work culture for your employees, you can do so by leading by example and ensuring that basic things like appropriate language, respect for another time, etc is a priority at the workplace.
The culture of any organization is a result of a sum of small actions taken by top management and will surely spread through the organization organically if done well.
An authoritative management team will never be able to nurture a fun, flat culture.
In order to achieve a certain work culture the employer first needs to believe and understand the importance of it, no point in copying someone just because it's the trend.