If you asked your employees how to describe your company culture in one word – what do you think would they say?
Does that question make you a little nervous, or are you confident that your organisation creates a healthy environment for people to thrive?
Workplace culture is changing, because what matters to people is changing.
This article explores the trends and shifts that leaders need to be aware of, to continue building a workplace culture that their employees are proud of.
The simplest definition of workplace culture can be defined as the environment you create for your employees – based upon the values, traditions, attitudes and behaviours you all share as colleagues in the organisation.
This is a complicated question with so much to consider (which we could discuss for hours!), but at the end of the day, we believe it all comes down to one thing – and that’s happy people.
And an organisation who prioritises its employees – with trust, respect, communication and shared goals – will always come out on top as a company with good culture.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to workplace culture, or what your employees think about your organisation, there’s a very simple first step.
Just ask them!
Run a company-wide survey and ask people about their thoughts, feelings, experiences and observations.
What do they think could be improved? What do they love? What areas of the business do they think lack communication?
Surveys are a great tool to get started on any journey to improvement within an organisation where employees are affected.
Call them ‘trends’ or ‘shifts’ or ‘movements’ – whatever suits you best.
But leaders in 2024 must recognise that company culture is changing, because what matters to people is changing.
And what matters to people, should matter to workplaces.
In 2024, mental health support has risen as a cornerstone of workplace culture – and rightly so.
Mind UK revealed that 60% of UK employees consider mental health support a crucial factor when choosing an employer. This shift is driven by growing awareness of mental health issues and the impact on people’s lives – at work and outside of work.
Workplace leaders need to be prioritising mental health as highly as they do physical health. And while conversations around mental wellbeing can still feel taboo, it’s time to recognise that it affects all of us to some degree – and we should all be talking about it.
To get started, consider offering mental health benefits such as access to counselling services and mental health days.
Speak to (or survey) your employees about their experience with mental health, and how work might impact their wellbeing. Simple steps like regular check-ins and encouraging work-life balance can make a significant difference.
Having a conversation and creating a safe space to talk is a great place to start.
Flexible working has become a vital part of workplace culture in 2024, especially for supporting families and carers.
A survey by Working Families showed that 89% of UK employees believe flexible working is crucial for balancing work and family life. And this is because there’s an increasing recognition that rigid work schedules can (and do) hinder employees’ ability to manage personal responsibilities.
The 9am – 5pm workday is widely considered as completely outdated (for most industries), and many organisations are looking towards an even more progressive 4-day work week.
It’s all about placing trust in your teams to get their jobs done – without clock-watching or micromanaging. Because at the end of the day, if the work gets done, why should it matter what hours someone spent at their desk?
It’s simply about being more human – let people attend personal appointments, pick up their children from school, go to the hospital to visit family, or watch their best friend get married.
When workplace leaders recognise that their employees’ lives are so much more than work, they will see people showing up to their jobs differently – because they know they are supported professionally and personally.
Consider implementing policies that allow for flexible hours, remote work, or compressed workweeks. And encourage a results-oriented approach, where employees are judged on their output rather than their hours.
At any given moment, our world is experiencing significant events that affect each one of us – wars, elections, climate disasters, protests and pandemics.
Remember when we were in the thick of Covid-19? For a lot of people, simply turning on their computer and sending a work email felt strange – it was hard to focus on anything else other than the collective heartbreak and fear the world was experiencing.
Sometimes it can be tough for people to show up to work when the world feels heavy – and this is something workplace leaders need to be aware of in 2024.
Tony Bond the Chief Diversity and Innovation Officer at Great Place To Work says:
“Great workplaces will have to make space for the world events that impact their people, and create programming in partnership with their people to address acute needs.”
Well, what does that look like?
To start, create space for people to speak up if world events are affecting them (this could be an anonymous messaging channel), and get your leaders to openly recognise that they understand it could be impacting day-to-day wellbeing of their teams.
Simply acknowledging an issue can do a lot for people.
Encourage managers to check in with their teams regularly and provide resources for those who may be directly affected. Showing empathy and understanding during extreme times can greatly enhance employee trust and loyalty.
Great workplaces will have to make space for the world events that impact their people, and create programming in partnership with their people to address acute needs. 
Have you ever heard the saying people don’t leave jobs, they leave bad leaders?
Well your leaders can only be as good as the support you give them, and unfortunately research shows that managers are increasingly under a lot of pressure.
In fact, they’re more likely to experience burnout and be disengaged than non-managers.
Gallup research found: “…many managers now have more work to do on a tighter budget with new teams. And from a relationship standpoint, they often find themselves caught between aligning with new directives from leaders and meeting the changing expectations of their employees.”
Manager struggles trickle down to their teams. To have a workplace culture that thrives, managers need more support, more training, and more importantly – their voices need to be heard by key business decision-makers.
So, speak to your managers, take time to understand their challenges, and provide resources to support them.
People want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.
So much so, that Deloitte revealed that 75% of UK employees prefer to work for companies that prioritise social responsibility and contribute to the greater good.
This growing desire among employees (particularly millennials and Gen Z) to feel part of something larger and to know their work makes a positive impact – is something business leaders should take note of.
By aligning with social causes that employees care about, it will directly boost workplace culture and attract top talent, while also contributing positively to employer brand and reputation.
Be wary however, because simply doing something for the sake of it isn’t how to go about this kind of thing at all. Employees are clever, and they will know if your actions aren’t genuine.
When supporting social causes, align your company’s values to that of the cause. Also ask your team what’s also important to them, and where they want to see the organisation help the wider community.
People are at the heart of everything, no matter what business you’re in. Improving culture starts with listening – listening starts with surveys.
Learn how you can start truly investing in your people, press play on our interactive demo to see Stribe for yourself.
