New data shines a light on what employees feel about their companies, their work, and their lives and how leaders can use this information to create great cultures.
According to a new study, workers feel isolated and pressured; but they also welcome positive change and are looking to their employers to lead the way. As a result, say the study’s authors, “Leaders are turning their attention to creating workplace cultures that can withstand the uncertainty of changing business models, an increasingly diverse workforce, a flood of new technology, and the resulting disconnectedness.”
Some key findings from the survey of 15,000 workers:
- Employees who feel that their company fosters an inclusive culture are 3.2 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work.
- 64% of millennials want to make the world a better place; 79% desire a coach or mentor (rather than a traditional boss); 88% seek a collaborative work culture (rather than a competitive one); 88% hope to incorporate work-life “integration;” and 74% ask for flexible work schedules.
- Multigenerational teams are two times more likely to meet or exceed expectations, compared to teams comprised of only “younger” or “older” workers.
- 46% of respondents report feeling lonely, and only 53% say they have meaningful in-person social interactions on a daily basis. Nearly half (42%) say they don’t have a close friend at work.
- “Talent magnets,” six elements of a great workplace culture, attract and connect people to the places they work. These magnets are purpose, opportunity, success, appreciation, wellbeing, and leadership.
- 73% of employees say their organization’s purpose is clear and easy to understand; 64% say their organization positively affects others; and 56% report that their company has a different purpose from its competitors. It’s not enough to have a purpose, the study authors say. Instead, it is essential to incorporate purpose into every interaction and experience employees have at your organization. Start, they suggest, by tying “your purpose to your employee value proposition, customer value proposition, and social good.”
- Just over half (56%) of respondents say that employees at their company all work toward a collective goal; and only 58% say that the organization’s purpose motivates everyone to perform at their very best.
The survey authors conclude, “An organizational culture is alive, continually influencing and being influenced by the shared values and behaviors of its people. No culture is static. It morphs, improves, or suffers from inside and outside forces.”
