How to create a positive workplace culture

If you're a small business owner, chances are you have a small number of employees doing the work of many. If you're not careful, this can be a slippery slope toward a burnt-out workforce or, worse, the foundation for a toxic work environment.

Even if you have a larger team, key factors like remote work, constant contact, and the pressure to scale quickly can blur the line between home and work, creating a growing amount of employee exhaustion across the United States. According to Zippia¹, 89% of workers have experienced burnout within the past year.

So how do you improve your organizational culture when your team is likely to get overloaded? In this article, we'll walk you through how you can foster a positive workplace culture.

Takeaways from this blog post:

• Workplace culture encompasses activities, values, and behaviors in an organization that can have a positive or negative impact on employees.
• A strong workplace culture leads to higher employee engagement, productivity, and satisfaction.
• To create a positive workplace culture, focus on hiring elite candidates, setting clear goals, communicating openly, recognizing employee contributions, and offering quality health benefits.

What is workplace culture?

An organization's corporate culture encompasses all of its work environment's activities, core values, social norms, customs, and behaviors. Employers, employees, company policies, interactions, the physical work environment, and more can influence your current culture. As such, workplace cultures are constantly shifting and evolving.

University of Michigan business professors Robert E. Quinn and Kim Cameron identified² four types of company culture based on research. They found that 90% of organizations fit into one or more of these four categories.

There are four types of workplace cultures:

• Clan culture
  • Prioritizes mentorship and teamwork
• Adhocracy culture
  • Prioritizes innovation and taking risks
• Hierarchy culture
  • Prioritizes structure and stability
• Market culture
  • Prioritizes competition and profitability

A positive company culture can exist in any of these environments, though positive cultures are generally found within organizations that focus on a mix of clan and hierarchy cultures.

What does a positive organizational culture look like?

Employees have a positive work experience when their employer focuses on their wants, needs, and well-being.

An inclusive workplace culture is one where employees feel welcomed and appreciated, where employees support each other, where work is inspired, and where everyone can practice trust and respect.

On the other hand, toxic culture occurs when employees feel disrespected, unappreciated, insecure, or unwelcome. Common signs of toxic workplace culture include burnout, lack of recognition, and poor relationships between employees. This type of unfavorable work experience can lead to high employee turnover.

Why is a positive workplace culture important?

There are many benefits to creating a positive work environment.

Positive work cultures help boost employee productivity and employee engagement. When employees feel good about coming to work, they're more likely to work together to achieve the organization's goals. Positive cultures also promote trust, which can result in employees taking on new challenges.

Strong workplace cultures also create a sense of belonging and collaboration in the workplace. When your employees are more comfortable socializing and working together, they'll be more likely to collaborate on projects and help each other when needed. This improves productivity and employee morale.

A strong company culture can also positively impact employee satisfaction. When you have happy employees, you'll have better luck with employee retention.

How do you create a positive workplace culture?

Now that we've covered why a positive work culture is essential for your organization's growth and employee relationships let's dive into how you can make it happen. The sections below include tips for establishing a functional corporate culture.

1. Hire people excited for growth

The first step toward building a positive work culture is filling your organization with the right kind of people from the beginning.

Zippia³ found that 76% of employees are looking for opportunities to expand their careers. You can entice these types of candidates by offering internal growth opportunities at your organization.

When hiring, you should consider whether or not job applicants are motivated by the kind of growth and opportunities you can offer (rather than big salaries and vacation time) and if they're passionate about the same mission and goals your organization is about.

It's important to find a candidate who's an ideal culture fit with a growth mindset rather than someone with the most experience.

Hire candidates for their attitude and willingness to learn and grow. You'll soon find yourself with happy employees who are excited to grow and evolve with your organization rather than someone who's unmotivated and unwilling to put in the hours needed to bring your organization's vision to life.

If you can't find the right kind of employee for your physical office, don't forget about hiring remote workers.

Because a strong work culture also focuses on employee growth, you can support your employees with professional development. This helps your employees become more highly skilled, improving your organization's performance.

2. Set clear goals and expectations

Second, ensuring your employees have clear business goals that align with their long-term career aspirations and help the organization grow as a whole is essential.

According to a Gallup survey⁴, actively disengaged employees declined to 16% in 2023. Yet, only 33% of employees felt engaged at work. By setting clear target goals with your employees, your employees will have something to reach for, making them feel more personally invested in their work and excited to achieve a new milestone.

When an employee and an organization work toward a similar long-term goal, the chances of the employee feeling connected to the organization and its mission increase, leading to a happy, productive workforce.

As an employer, it's your job to review your employee's personal and business goals with them regularly so they don't fall by the wayside. By taking this initiative, you can actively support them on their path to success.

3. Communicate openly and often

The next step to achieving a supportive culture might sound like a bit of a cliché, but effective communication is key to making sure your employees feel safe and cared for at work.

As the CEO and former Head of HR at Alpas Wellness⁵, creating a positive workplace culture is a top priority for Sean Smith. For Smith, this starts with open and transparent communication at all levels.

"Regular town hall meetings and anonymous feedback channels ensure that employees feel heard and valued," Smith said. "This openness helps build trust and fosters a sense of belonging."

By crafting meaningful relationships with your employees, they'll feel comfortable approaching you with any topics they wish to address. You can provide transparent communication through weekly one-on-one meetings, a monthly town hall meeting, or regular internal newsletters. You can also send out employee surveys to gather constructive feedback.

If you're not sure where to start, here are a few ideas of questions you can ask your employees:

• What is going well within the organization?
• What are some areas we could improve on for organizational culture?
• Is your workload too much for you to handle right now?
• Are there any obstacles in your way that keep you from doing your best work?
• How can I better support you in your role?

By encouraging feedback and initiating clear lines of communication with your direct reports, you'll create a pattern that company leadership can follow to improve employee morale and satisfaction.

4. Recognize your employees' contributions

If your employees are working hard and doing a great job, tell them! Frequent and genuine employee recognition goes a long way in keeping your workforce upbeat and productive.

According to a Nectar survey⁶, approximately 78% of employees believe that increased recognition would enhance their productivity and job performance.

Smith notices the positive impact recognition has on his team. At Alpas Wellness, they implemented an employee recognition program where peers and managers can nominate colleagues for their outstanding contributions.

"This recognition boosts morale and encourages a culture of appreciation," Smith said. "After implementing our recognition program, we noticed a marked improvement in employee engagement and a significant reduction in turnover rates."

Whether it's a quick thank-you email, managers bragging about their team, or even an organization-wide employee appreciation lunch, dedicating time to showing your employees that you appreciate them is what will keep them working hard for your organization.

While it's important to give recognition, it's even more important to give it in a way the receiver feels recognized best. For example, some employees would prefer a private note thanking them for their hard work over a big public announcement. Managers should understand and accommodate their team's preferences for recognition.

5. Offer a quality health benefit

While you may be unable to offer your employees a salary bump or extra paid time off (PTO) for all of their hard work, one of the best things you can do is offer a competitive health benefit to show your employees you care about their health and well-being.

According to our 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, 81% of employees say the benefits package an employer offers is an important factor in whether or not applicants accept a job with an organization. Additionally, 92% of employees rated health benefits as important.

With the rising cost of traditional group health insurance, many small-to-medium-size businesses find it challenging to offer affordable health benefits. But offering a health benefit that your employees love doesn't have to be expensive. A health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) is an excellent option for small employers on a budget.

With an HRA, you can give your employees tax-free money for them to purchase individual insurance and qualifying medical expenses that meet their personal needs. You set the allowance amount, and any unused funds at the end of the year go back to you.

Three of the most popular types of HRAs are:

• The qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA)
• The individual coverage HRA (ICHRA)
• The group coverage HRA (GCHRA), which is also known as an integrated HRA

6. Implement a customized employee stipend

If you're looking for a more flexible benefits option, an employee stipend may be just what you need. A stipend is a fixed sum of money offered to your employees to use as a fringe benefit. This is generally offered as a monthly allowance.

You can create a stipend for anything you want, such as employee wellness, health, or professional development. Offering these types of stipends can help create a positive employee experience that improves your current company culture.

Stipends are typically added to your employees' wages as taxable income to create an attractive benefits package. It's important to note that while most stipends do count as taxable income, some fringe benefits or expenses may be tax-free.

Conclusion

Whether you own a small startup or a large organization, continually fostering a healthy culture is an essential part of retaining your best employees, attracting new talent, and proving company values. The more time and resources leadership invests in their employees' engagement, the more energy and enthusiasm they'll be able to invest in your organization's mission.

If you're ready to offer personalized health benefits that contribute to a better workplace environment, PeopleKeep can help! Our personalized benefits administration platform makes it easy to set up and manage HRAs in minutes each month. Schedule a call with one of our HRA specialists to learn more.

This blog article was originally published on May 14, 2021. It was last updated on August 6, 2024.

1. https://www.zippia.com/advice/burnout-statistics/
2. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/types-of-corporate-culture
3. https://www.zippia.com/employer/employee-training-development-statistics/
4. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/608675/new-workplace-employee-engagement-stagnates.aspx
5. https://alpaswellnesscenters.org/
6. https://nectarhr.com/blog/employee-recognition-statistics#3-779-of-employees-would-be-more-productive-if-they-were-recognized-more-frequently