The last few years, I have become increasingly fascinated by the concept of culture. What is it, how does it develop, how does it evolve? What is the relationship between the culture of the organization and its values that it writes on websites, job postings, placards, signs and in the employee handbook? Why do some organizations and teams develop incredibly strong bonds and an intense sense of loyalty within corporations that don't foster the culture that the team has, and other teams within larger organizations with great culture fail to bond? What makes a culture sustainable, what makes it vulnerable, and what happens when the REAL culture of the organization doesn't match what the company claims its culture is?
It's no wonder this is a topic of thought these days.
Click on almost any corporate website and you will see how happy everyone is: pictures of smiling employees doing wonderful things fill the websites and the company's social media feeds. But if everyone is happy, excited and completely engaged, why is it that any time you open a business-focused publication and flip through it is highly likely you will end up encountering at least one article sharing new wisdom on how to improve your organizational culture? And why is it that reports of low employee engagement, harassment, discrimination and outright toxicity are flooding my LinkedIn feed?
Corporations are so concerned with the perception of their culture that they go to great lengths to measure and exert influence on 'culture indicators' such as employee opinions, loyalty, and engagement. Investment in perks including freshly remodeled or brand new corporate offices complete with yoga classes, fitness centers, (name-your-favorite-) ball fields/courts, bright colored networking areas with fashionable comfy seating, free coffee, never-ending catered lunches, and promises of the ever desirable 'work life balance' through flexible work at home policies is now a baseline expectation for many employees.
It might be hard to believe, but these perks have become so commonplace that they no longer distinguish one company from another.
But even as the envelope is being pushed towards evermore mega-cool trendy employee perks... I have started to wonder: does any of this have significant and sustainable impactin increasing employee engagement, improving employee loyalty, enabling better communication, work relationships, problem solving and innovation? Or, have we become so concerned with projecting the image of great culture that we might be missing the point entirely?
What's the relationship between perks and culture?
I have seen, experienced or been a part of organizations with amazing perks and gorgeous offices, and likewise I have seen, experienced or been a part of organizations with next to no perks and decorating that was last updated sometime around World War II.
Anecdotally, there seems to be absolutely no relationship between great perks and stylish decor, and great organizational culture.
Many years ago I worked on a team that was hand-picked to develop a new-to-the-world technology. We were housed in a building that had no furniture, no air conditioning, and absolutely no creature comforts for the first several months we worked together. We built everything ourselves, from the furniture to the offices to the production and test equipment, to the vision, the team norms and the culture.
We created and shared a vision of what our team could do and what we could become, and that shared vision drove actions that were aligned to our objectives. By all measures, our team was successful, and spent years working together to develop and commercialize new processes.
Many years later I worked in an organization where resources were lavished on corporate employees, but not so much on everyone else. There was a huge disconnect between the realities of the two disparate environments: one was Katie's world: where everyone was a pony that eats rainbows and poops butterflies, and the rest, well, was not.
What I came to understand over the years I spent in this organization, is that in Katie's world, there exists a state of destructive abundance, where we have more than we need. Instead of making us all happy, having too much drives us to protect what we have at all costs.
In a state of destructive abundance we no longer are working together as a team to move forward on a shared vision and common goals, we are working (often alone) to protect ourselves from the boogieman who may take it all away from us.
When the View from Here is a lot Different than Katie's View from There
From Katie's insular perfect world, it can be hard to imagine that in some parts of the organization things get messy... and not from rainbows and butterflies, but from real-world issues.
Someone who experiences their work environment as Katie's world will struggle to come to terms with how anyone could be less than 110% happy in the company. When an issue is raised that conflicts with their perception of their organizational culture, a Katie will be filled with anxiety of anticipated loss: how can they not see how perfect everything is? What's wrong with them? What if they mess it up... for me?
As a result of this fear, they may see the person who raises the issue as the problem, not the environment, the process, or the actual root cause of the problem... as the problem. This can drive the organization to eliminate any and all non-rainbow-eating, non-butterfly-pooping non-ponies that rain on Katie's parade by being honest about issues.
And THAT is a huge problem for any organization that is trying to create an inclusive, trusting, fearless, supportive, healthy, engaged, innovative, problem-solving culture.
Sometimes, What We Really Need is the Grinch
In organizations where there is a distinct difference between the perks, pay and working environment provided to corporate employees and the remainder of the organization, a uniform company-wide culture cannot and will not exist. Not only is the physical environment different where the non-rainbow-eating, non-butterfly-pooping non-ponies work, but the way they experience the corporate culture will differ significantly as well.
Why?
Destructive abundance has incredibly negative impact on those who are not a part of Katie's world. Their ability to raise and resolve issues is limited by the receptiveness of those living in Katie's world to risk their own position, political capital and rewards. It can be challenging to find someone with power and influence who isn't afraid of the impact decisions will have on their own career trajectory, job stability, and bonuses.
Those who aren't a part of Katie's world often find themselves trapped in a paradox where decisions on processes, projects and initiatives stagnate as those in Katie's world resist moving forward due to fear, yet they are still being held accountable for the results from the processes, projects and initiatives that they can't move forward.
Talk about being stuck right between a rock and a hard place...
How can organizations equalize and normalize the employee experience, without wiping out 100% of the differences in niceties, perks, and pay?
It isn't necessary to make your corporate office physically resemble Whoville the morning after the Grinch's ransack on Christmas Eve, but it is necessary to develop some of the same feelings that the Whos felt that morning as they joined hands and started singing throughout the entire company. To do that we need to recognize maybe, just maybe, culture means a little bit more than perks and pretty spaces.
So what motivates the Whos to sing?
Great culture (and great business results) will never come out of an organization crippled by fear of loss due to destructive abundance. Likewise, it will never come from a company that does not treat all employees with respect, but justifies the creation of separate 'classes' of employee experience.
Creating the perfect work environment is not about creating a perfect physical environmentwith perks and creature comforts: it's about creating a trusting emotional environment, where employees can be honest and forthright and problems are tackled head on. It's about eliminating fear and anxiety, and working to create common understanding and shared purpose of vision.
Developing an inclusive, trusting, fearless, supportive, healthy, engaged, innovative, problem-solving culture takes hard work. It requires the organizational leadership to be BIG - Be Brave, Act with Integrity, and Show Gratitude.
These things, in fact, do not come from a store.
These things, in fact, might be worth a little bit more.
