We all want to work in a place where we feel a strong sense of belonging since this makes us feel safer, happier, and more excited to head in to work everyday. That’s why many companies are creating a positive workplace culture to boost morale and attract and retain employees. However, too many companies confuse perks with culture by offering the bare minimum, such as pizza parties, instead of fair pay or true work-life balance. This resulted in the office pizza party becoming such a widespread meme in online spaces that it became the focus of a recent Western Michigan University study. The research, led by Vanessa Hills, a global learning specialist in the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, revealed that employees found pizza parties to be infantilizing, and many said that it was an inappropriate reward for health, inclusion, or preference reasons.
Common culture mistakes like this often lead to disengagement, resentment, and lack of productivity. Fortunately, there are more effective ways to reward employees and show them that they are heard and valued. To ensure employee retention and loyalty, here are better ways to build a strong and positive workplace culture.
Plan Non-Work Related Workshops
Many companies rely on team building activities as part of their company culture building strategy. Business leaders think that these can improve teamwork and collaboration, but in reality, playing games for an entire day doesn’t provide a long-term fix for broken communication between employees or departments. Climbing walls or going through an obstacle course does not teach people how to give constructive feedback at work. What’s more, forcing employees to participate in games and trust falls can make introverted staff feel alienated or anxious. In fact, a new survey has found that 50 percent of employees say forced-fun team building activities make them feel uncomfortable as they feel pressured to perform inauthentically.
For a better way to break down team barriers and let employees connect as real people, plan non-work related workshops to reinforce company culture. These activities build trust since people tend to talk to each other freely when they’re learning a new skill together. It also enables people from different departments to talk and chat with each other. Best of all, providing free, fun classes show employees that management cares about their happiness, and this makes them feel valued outside their normal daily tasks. Some fun workshops to consider include baking or cooking classes, coffee brewing and latte art making, basic woodworking, pottery, or cocktail mixing masterclasses. You can also consult an expert on entertainment for corporate events for workshop suggestions and for recommendations on talent or specialists who can lead these activities.
Walk the Talk
After a few days’ absence due to sickness or injury, some employees will get a pointed reminder from management to live a healthy lifestyle or improve their work-life balance. However, many workers may feel angry or resentful about this, especially if there’s a disconnect between what the bosses say and what’s actually going on in the office. Imagine how you would feel if your manager constantly preaches about health and wellness while demanding long hours or overloading you with extra tasks, or if you’re constantly asked to do things that exceed your physical capabilities.
Before talking about diet or yoga, focus on the job first by decreasing heavy workloads. If you’re thinking about providing exercise classes, make it optional so that staff will join programs by choice and not because they’re pressured to do so. Support real rest by giving true time off, and respect personal boundaries after work hours. Also, observe managers and team leaders to see if they’re encouraging workers to adopt overtime culture. This workplace norm often equates long hours with high dedication, but in truth, it only creates stress and severe burnout in employees.
Rather than praising staff for their late-night presence, evaluate them on results and output during office hours. Make it a point to regularly evaluate everyone’s personal capacity, and distribute workloads fairly across the entire team. Also, avoid sending late night emails or setting Zoom meetings at odd hours to prevent employees from feeling like they always have to be in work mode even when they’re not in the office.
Have Meaningful Appreciation Sessions
A “good job” or “well done” from the boss may be better than nothing, but to show employees that they’re truly appreciated, switch from generic praise to value-driven recognition. This involves mentioning how a team member achieved good results using values and behaviors like persistence, teamwork, or integrity. Highlight wins during team meetings, and encourage team members to recognize their colleagues using company chat apps.
Ditch the pizza parties, generic praise, and empty gestures. Consider these strategies to build a strong and positive company culture, and see how these can help to increase employee satisfaction and drive business success.
