Attitudes toward the workplace are changing more and more every day as a younger generation begins to dominate the workforce. Barely a decade ago, employees exclusively valued job security and benefits, ignoring the long hours and cold, stressful atmosphere. As the economy grows and new members enter with little memory of financial hardship, the emphasis has shifted to new places.
Where has it gone? Company culture. Younger employees could care less about health care, benefits and other factors such as commute and workload. Obviously, it’s still important to be fair and provide as best as you can (culture or not, nobody will work for a Scrooge). However, what mainly draws them to a job opening, then keeps them as faithful employees, are things which used to be overlooked. Is there room for growth? Is the work fulfilling? Are the schedules flexible? Are they sharing the office with friends or just coworkers?
The answers can make or break a company, and often have a dramatic impact on productivity as well. If you’re looking to make some changes to your company culture, these are some simple steps to get started.
Make it about them
Has your employee been putting in long hours and just blew a project out of the park? Did their tactics lead to a record sale? Congratulate them. Ensure their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. It’s important to remember not to overstep here, as that can evoke feelings of favoritism and generally make it awkward.
Birthdays? Holidays? Give them something that shows you really know who they are.
Bridge the departments
No business works in perfect departments. Every employee will end up wearing a different hat at one point or another. Why put a physical barrier to make that process harder? Ditch the cubicles and stuffy offices for more open atmospheres. Encourage collaboration and educate employees on what roles entail and who does what to simplify the process. Great results require more than one brain to make it a reality.
Be flexible
Office life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Even if you have the greatest company culture on the planet, who would put work over sweatpants and Netflix at home? Employees will actually work harder and smarter if it means control over their schedule. Don’t force them to stretch out their day, putting off important work and dragging it on fill the time.
Build friendships
Like we talked about earlier, employees want friends, not boring coworkers. Get everyone together and cut loose when the opportunity arises. Go out for happy hour, team building during lunch. Have you ever held a Peep jousting competition? It’s an amazing and simple way to bring people together without even leaving the break room.
A better culture means healthier, productive employees. When you’re ready to introduce your employees to some new friends, visit www.Monikl.com.
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