The amount of activities and group interactions that occur in the organization creates a cultural system. This culture distinguishes each organization and impacts how well it performs. Of course, management desires a progressive, positive culture that encourages people to perform at a high level. Therefore, in this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of what work culture is and signs of a positive and healthy culture in the workplace.
What is Work Culture?
Work culture is a kind of habit or pattern of attitudes and behavior that evolves into a culture or regular atmosphere in the workplace. It even becomes the working guide for the employees. This term is also defined by some experts as:
Robbins (2003)
Work culture is a system of knowledge held by members of a company that differentiates the company from others.
Mangkunegara (2005)
Culture in the workplace is an idea or belief as well as values and standards that emerge within a company and serve as a behavioral guide for its employees in managing internal and external issues.
Triguno (2003)
It is a concept based on a way of life that becomes the nature and habit of a community or company. This is expressed in employees’ attitudes, beliefs, ideas/opinions, goals, and activities at work.
Importance of Work Culture
Having specific culture in the workplace is important since it has certain functions as follows:
- Distinguish an organization with other organizations;
- As a member identification of the organization
- Describe the organization’s commitment
- Promote social system stability to unify the organization
- Guide and control employees’ attitudes and behavior; and
- As a social tolerance and media for communicating among members in the organization.
Types of Work Culture
There are at least four types of work culture, according to the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), namely Hierarchy, Market, Clan, and Adhocracy.
Hierarchy
A formal and organized environment is required for hierarchical culture. The company is monitored and controlled by people in structural positions. This is because they seem like they have sufficient experience and skills to be role models.
All employees must follow the hierarchy rules and guidelines applied in order to make the company run well. In Indonesia, hierarchy culture is usually used to improve the company’s productivity.
Market
The market culture emphasizes a competitive environment inside the company. Employees will be pushed to be more competitive and focused on their jobs. Leaders must be able to keep the competition among employees healthy and conducive.
Clan
Clan culture stresses a friendly environment. Employees are considered as a huge family that participate in a variety of activities together. As a result, a company that implements this culture will show effective communication and solid teamwork. Clan culture is commonly found in small and traditional companies.
Adhocracy
The basic principle of adhocracy culture is to prioritize creativity. Employees are typically encouraged to be more confident in developing new ideas by having an inspirational leader. This way the company will have a bigger chance to outrank the competitors.
Impacts of Work Culture on Employees’ Productivity
Employees’ performance is influenced by the culture in the workplace. It also resulted in how they communicate, behave, and make decisions. A culture that is in line with the objectives of the organization, employee behavior, and external conditions can enhance the employees’ performance. Employees will be able to execute their jobs swiftly and precisely.
Examples of a Positive Work Culture
Every company surely wants to have a positive culture in the workplace because it will create a progressive work environment. Here are some examples of a positive culture in a workplace.
Transparent Communication
A company culture that prioritizes healthy relationships is exemplified by transparent communication. Employees must be transparent about their job so that the work collaboration can be done cooperatively.
Joyful Atmosphere
It doesn’t have to be solemn all time; studies show that a joyful environment boosts creativity and passion for work. In this situation, using the open workspace can help employees to improve collaboration as well as reduce conflict.
Facilities such as a gaming room, movie theater, and a variety of food may also help workers feel at ease while at work. After a long day at work, positive and pleasant energy will reduce monotony and tiredness.
Strong Teams
A strong team is an indication of a positive culture in a workplace. The team consists of a diverse group of individuals with diverse backgrounds. Companies must guarantee that they can unite and deliver the best performance to attain the same goals and objectives.
Surely, this is not a simple task since a strong team must be built on trust, mutual understanding, and support. The job should be evenly distributed, with no one person feeling overburdened.
Appreciation on Employees’ Performance
Companies may also implement a culture of recognition for outstanding employees. Appreciation does not have to be in the form of goods, but it may also be expressed in the form of compliments. As a result, the company will be able to boost staff productivity by focusing on work happiness.
Culture arises naturally as a result of habit, even if it is not purposefully developed. Unplanned culture, however, is typically less profitable or even harmful since it is out of control. But hopefully this article can help you improve the culture in your workplace in order to have a better productivity of the employees.