Many of the companies who champion the healthy work environment are *young*. Google, which recently turned 22, is considered by many to be a trailblazer, setting a gold standard that its contemporaries, as well as many up-and-coming start-ups, now strive to emulate. Aspects of this once-unique culture are now commonplace as companies compete to attract and retain talent: free food, comfortable surroundings, Friday drinks, subsidised massages, regular and open communication, stringent recruitment processes which sees only the best, brightest and nicest clear the bar, and so on.
Since everyone is doing it, it's clearly a winning formula or at least not without merits. So should more established entities be taking steps in the direction of their younger and faster-moving peers, and if so, how?
The prospect of transforming a company's culture is undoubtedly a daunting one. Can habit changes, like introducing a regular team lunch, really make a difference? Which comes first, a productive and happy staff or a positive working environment? Do 'things', like a colourful office space, or a top-end laptop, matter in a real way?
Based on my experience working in several different workplaces in both the public and private sector, from young, forward-thinking organisations to establishments steeped in tradition and lots in between, I have some insight into what works and what doesn't, and what elements need to be taken into consideration when attempting to change how things are done.
Physical infrastructure undoubtedly plays a role and there are benefits to a move to open-plan beyond optimising use of available space. Dividing people up in offices can mean too much time with a particular colleague or colleagues, creating awkwardness and discomfort, and can be a breeding ground for toxic power imbalances and harassment. On the flip side, creation of such groupings can lead to closed alliances at the expense of the general team spirit. Open plan offices, or offices with transparent boundaries, create the sense of being connected to the wider office community.
Social infrastructure is equally important. An events committee, feedback mechanisms, regular lunches, development days or a mentoring programme can all help to bring people together and build strong working relationships.
Hiring the right people is also a no brainer - an organisation is, after all, the sum of its parts. However bringing a slew of fresh heads with excellent attitudes and talent on board in an attempt to seed an organic transformation may not be enough. Time and again, I've seen a propensity for idealism and collegiality slowly adapt to survive and progress in a combative environment; often the newbies simply leave. Focusing on recruitment alone is not enough.
As a rule, dysfunction evolves to serves a purpose. Until you address the issues it is designed to solve, there will continue to be recourse to the dysfunction - maybe not all the time, maybe just when stress levels are up, but it will always be there in the background, a part of the organisation's DNA. Hostility to open communication will allow management to bury problems it may not have the resources or time to resolve; characterising any kind of dissent as indicative of a personal failing allows legitimate concerns to be ignored; an iron-clad status quo where staff's popularity depends on their willingness to toe the line achieves the same end. The most important element in ensuring that a culture change sticks is the willingness to acknowledge failings and take real steps to remedy them.
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