What does the future of workplace culture look like?
Now more than ever, business success depends on having an adaptable, modern workplace culture.
Covid has transformed the experience of work as we knew it. We’ve been forced to work from our own front rooms and, in the main, we’ve found it surprisingly successful. In fact, around three-quarters of workers are keen to continue a hybrid office / remote working arrangement even after the end of the pandemic.
This should hardly come as a surprise, as workers have been screaming for greater flexibility for years. In fact, many of the old ways of working – a focus on profit over the needs of all stakeholders, command-and-control style leadership, and a 9-5 office regime, for instance — stopped serving workers, companies, and their customers years ago.
It’s no good thinking once the pandemic has passed everything will return to how it was - you may as well be sticking your head in the sand.
So, what does the future of workplace culture look like?
Covid has highlighted how focusing on the right stuff has become even more important when trying to build a successful culture. But what is the right stuff? How can you create an environment where everyone can do their best work? We like to look at it through three critical components that are essential for success:
Cause – Why you do what you do and how you do it. What you stand for. It’s your superpower and it’s about doing meaningful, purposeful work that serves others.
Community – People must be partners working with, not for, your business. They collaborate for the common good (your cause). Openness and transparency are essential, as is a sense of psychological safety so that everyone’s voice can be heard.
Career – An environment that supports everyone to perform to their potential, and make the most of their talent. This is about ways of working that respect the complexities of modern life — autonomy & flexibility, health & wellbeing as well as learning & personal development.
For this type of culture to thrive, there must be ‘joint responsibility’. Company leaders have a critical role to play in consciously creating, leading, and sustaining culture. People leaders are also key. They must learn to truly lead people as opposed to focusing on managing or controlling tasks. And in this type of culture, everyone in the business has to be a self-leader. They must take ownership of their own performance, wellbeing, and development.
The future of workplace culture is at a pivotal time. As businesses gear up for 2021 with the hope that Covid restrictions are lifted later in the year, there’s a huge opportunity to radically rethink old work routines. Companies that thrive will have applied the lessons from the past year and will be creating a new culture – one of joint responsibility — that best serves the needs of teams in a modern workplace. They’ll be able to adapt to future challenges, grow faster, and set themselves up for sustained success in today’s ever-changing world.
Is your business ready to build on this unique moment, or will you return to the ways of the past? It might be time to consider a cultural overhaul to future-proof your business for success in 2021, and beyond. Culture Co can help you do this.
