Fostering emotional culture in the workplace – Part 2
In part one of our two-part series, we discussed the importance of emotional culture. In part two, we explore methods to improve emotional culture in the workplace environment.
Improving emotional culture
What can you do to foster strong emotional culture?
- Engage your team on a regular basis and ask for their opinions on new policies and procedures.
- Discuss organizational matters that may affect employees’ feelings and attitudes about their jobs.
Essentially, leaders should strive to build dialogue with employees. Fostering strong emotional culture involves regularly checking in with employees about how they’re feeling, what’s going on in their lives, and how positive and negative emotions have impacted their performance. It is equally important to give employees a chance to provide feedback on how they feel about their work. By doing so, we let employees know their emotions are respected and valued.
Organizations should promote an employee-centric communication system that values listening, feedback, and employee participation. A vibrant and enduring emotional culture requires an intentional and authentic connection between employee values and company values, and is strengthened through reward systems (explicit and implicit), daily interactions, and informal exchanges.
Commitment, time, and teamwork are required to create a thriving emotional culture in the workplace.
Attracting, engaging, and retaining top performers
Talented people want to be part of a winning team and work alongside brilliant, engaged teammates towards a common goal. Great leaders should strive to create a work environment that engages employees, and a healthy culture is key to keeping people on board.
Positive emotional connections and work relationships have become a necessity for a successful organization. Relationship prioritization is forcing employers to rethink their approach to hiring, candidate retention, and corporate culture.
Strong emotional culture starts with a deeper analysis of how you foster relationships. Current and potential employees are increasingly making professional decisions based on emotional compatibility with an employer. Compensation alone is no longer enough of a selling point for a lot of people.
Employee retention is becoming more and more defined by emotional connection. In a candidate-driven market, employers need to understand their employees’ unique workstyle, habits, and needs in order to build a better emotional workplace. Employers should also remember that emotions are contagious, and that emotional culture starts at the top.
Don’t wait for crisis-mode before building a strong emotional foundation for your employees. Regularly investing time in understanding the emotional vibe of your workplace will help you better support your team and ensure the emotional culture is positive and attractive to both current and prospective employees.
Read Part 1 of our Fostering Emotional Culture in the Workplace series.
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Chaaya R. Jugdeb, Recruitment Associate
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