Building a Positive Workplace Culture

I want to introduce you to a new web site that I have created (www.makingworkabetterplacetobe.com) that is dedicated to promoting concepts related to building a positive workplace. Positive, of course, in the context of how employees feel about the place. A great workplace has four foundational elements: 1) a great culture, 2) high levels of productivity, 3) quality relationships, 4) opportunity for growth. I'm dedicating the next four posts to further exploring each of the foundational elements. We start, therefore, with looking at what it takes to build a great organizational culture.

When I think of organizational culture, my mind immediately goes to two constructs. The first involves what can be called the informal rules of behavior -- the way we do things around here. Another way to express this point is the concept of a boundary between what is acceptable activity and what is not acceptable. By the word activity I am referencing actions related to work and relationship - how we do our work and how we relate to each other.

The second construct I like to call the organizational affect - the feeling of the place. There are times when you walk into an organization and you have an immediate impression of good spirits and good will. At other times, the sense of the place may be tense and irritable.

When activity is combined with affect, the desirable end state is a positive, productive culture. Or, from an opposite point of view, the organization seeks to avoid a negative, unproductive culture.

It seems to me that much of what I have just written is somewhat obvious and, perhaps, common sense. The challenge, of course, is to focus on what will bring about a positive productive culture. How does an organization set boundaries on work and relationship behavior that brings about a positive, productive culture? I have a few thoughts for you.

First, Marty Seligman wrote a wonderful book titled Authentic Happiness. In that book he argues that true happiness emanates from behavior that is consistent with our core values. In my view, organizations have values. These values are frequently written out. The values that are written out are not necessarily the actual values of the organization. The organizational culture reflects the actual or working values. The employees within the organization also have their individual core values.

It is the connection between outcomes and values that I most want to draw your attention to. I do not believe it is possible to have a positive workplace culture if the stated values of the organization, the actual values of the organization and the individual values of the employees are out of alignment. This is true whether we are talking about the relationship between our values and how we treat our fellow employees or whether we are talking about values and how we are asked to perform our work. In his new book Measure of a Leader, Behavioral Psychologist Aubrey Daniels and his co-author write, "Competence comes when successful outcomes are produced by values-driven purposeful behaviors" [emphasis added]. The feeling of competence is obviously a dimension of a positive workplace affect, and that feeling, in my view, is buttressed when the outcomes are a reflection of our values.

I recently had a client who told me that she had devised a half-day training program around a series of hypothetical incidents. Participants were asked to identify possible courses of action in response to each incident. The second part of this activity was a discussion related to each and how the action reflected the expressed values of the organization. It was, she stated, a most thought provoking activity and one that drew an enthusiastic response from the participants. Most important, I believe that such an exercise will help build a positive culture in that it encourages participants to connect action with values.

Simply put, you cannot have a positive, productive culture if employees are pressured into acting contrary to their personal values. Moreover, when an organization expresses a positive set of values, but asks employees to act inconsistently with those values, it undermines any effort to establish a positive culture. A great culture cannot be built on unethical behavior.

Second, organizational culture is little influenced by memos, lectures and other formal edicts. Rather, culture is created primarily by everyday informal interaction and the example set by leadership. Extolling the virtues of a strong work ethic, for example, in a written memo will typically have little impact on the culture. Modeling a strong work ethic by being the first to arrive, the last to leave and by industrious activity will have a much greater impact. You cannot expect your subordinates to act civilly when you act like a jerk. You cannot expect your employees to act with integrity if you fail to act with integrity. You must walk the talk or, more importantly, simply let the walking speak for itself.

Gandhi's often used statement that "you must be the change that you want to see in the world" has become, perhaps, almost trite. What I believe is often missing, however, is the simple truth that modeling behavior by leadership impacts the organizational culture only if there is a strong bond of trust between subordinate and superior. If the superior is disliked and not trusted, employees are not very likely to follow the example that has been set. When employees believe in your leadership they will follow the behavior that is modeled. Question, what do you do that makes you believable and that permits your subordinates to respect you?

Third, I am a strong believer in the importance of affection in the workplace. Do we like each other? Do we enjoy working with each other? The difficulty so often is finding a way to make affection for your fellow employees part of the organizational culture. Recently I ran across the top level executive for a premier country club. In our discussions he shared with me that it was his practice constantly emphasize with his 140 employees that "the most important thing we do here is take care of each other. Our patrons are the benefactors."

What is intriguing to me is that many organizations have a strong emphasis on providing quality customer service. Obviously this is important for the survival of those organizations. However, I wonder if my executive friend is not correct. Is it not difficult to give good customer service if we don't like and take care of our fellow employees? Moreover, if we take good care of each other, are we not creating a positive environment (culture) that can be easily seen and appreciated by our customers?

Desmond Tutu is quoted as saying that "love is more demanding than the law." I view the word "law" as including everything from federal/state statutes to an employee handbook - the formal rules. To the extent that leadership can work with employees to create a culture that truly values taking care of each other, I believe that you will have surpassed the requirements of law and built a workplace that employees will truly appreciate.

Clearly, there is much more that can be presented with regard to the above three points. My intention is to continue to do so, but primarily through material placed on the making work a better place to be website. For now, I want to simply emphasize the point that with some focused effort it is clearly possible to build a strong, productive, positive workplace culture.

Next Month: Obviously, this month focused on the first of the four foundational elements to building a great workplace, next month I will look at the second - the productive workplace. The workplace does not feel, to most employees, like a great place to be when they see that their work efforts are either wasted or short-changed. We all want to feel that our life counts for something.

Reader Question

I was recently conducting a job interview along with my boss who is the owner of our small company. To my surprise, the owner asked the candidate whether or not he was a smoker.
I did not think it was appropriate to ask this question and wondered if it violated some statue. Can you clarify this for me?

I can understand the owner's interest in this question. Over the years I have run across a number of different statistics on the negative impact of the smokers in our work force. This includes higher medical premiums, more sick days, lower productivity, etc.

But, you are right to be concerned at least in a number of different states. Our research indicates that 29 of the 50 states have specific provisions protecting the right of employment for smokers. The state of Oregon statute, for example, puts the matter as follows:

ORS Chapter 14, Title 51, 659A.315 Restricting use of tobacco in nonworking hours prohibited; exceptions.

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to require, as a condition of employment, that any employee or prospective employee refrain from using lawful tobacco products during nonworking hours, except when the restriction relates to a bona fide occupational requirement.

I have two general thoughts about your question and the state of employment law. First, as a general rule, it is not advisable to predicate employment practices on off duty conduct that is legal. If the off-duty conduct has a negative impact on the workplace, then focus on controlling the negative impact. For example, the employer can focus on the attendance problem, not the smoking behavior.

Second, even in those states that do not have a specific provision against discrimination for lawful outside of work behavior, I would be careful about using it as the basis of an employment action. I would definitely want to check with a knowledgeable attorney as to the specific state of the law and as to whether there were court decisions in your state that give guidance on the matter.

Note: Do you have a perplexing HR question? Send us the question by clicking on thehawthornegroup@msn.com and let us take a shot at answering it. We will select one question each month and research it. Please indicate whether we have permission to publish your name and organization when identifying the question.

Books of the Month

Professional Growth I was recently talking to an association executive about a speaking engagement. He made a telling comment, "my constituents are tired of hearing the same old stuff about leadership." If you are tired of the "same old stuff," then I strongly recommend you read:

Measure of a Leader - Aubrey Daniels and James Daniels.

Personal Growth I have always been fascinated by authors who can make profound statements with very simple words. Don Miguel Ruiz has that ability and one of his newest books addresses a key issue, one that is mentioned above.

The Mastery of Love - Don Miguel Ruiz

Quote of the Month

The real act that leadership should fear is indifference - indifference to the vision and values that make the organization unique.

Daniels and Daniels, Measure of a Leader