Workable: 9 Dimensions of Workplace Culture That Evolve Your Company Mindset

We find ourselves in a world where employers struggle to attract talent, younger generations demand a focus on wellbeing, and everyone from employees to executives are resigning due to stress.

We can no longer afford to ignore this opportunity to put big data into action.

We agree on the What and Why. Now — and for the foreseeable future — it’s about the How.

Armed with ample data and science on human behavior, we can thoughtfully design work experiences that fit today’s employees through clear, dedicated systems that preserve culture and wellbeing.

By integrating these nine dimensions into talent acquisition, onboarding, retention, performance rewards and values — to name a few — we can shift our mindset on what is truly possible in the modern era of work.

What is ‘culture’?

From a behavior analyst’s point of view, we know that we cannot change or measure what we cannot define. A first priority is to understand what exactly we mean when we use this term.

Culture is defined in terms of the environment in which an individual or group of individuals behaves, and the experiences that shape these behaviors over time. The environment includes policies, practices, daily experiences and leaders to ground-level employees.

How it’s created

For example, if a company states that it values wellbeing but does not allow employees to use their vacation time, this creates tension, confusion, stress and resentment. It also shifts the culture from what was originally told to employees and new hires (i.e., company values wellbeing) to what is experienced (i.e., the company does not, in fact, value wellbeing).

This leads to resignations, lost productivity and even an increase in lawsuits from employees. Research shows that employees who feel valued and cared for choose mediation over arbitration.

Culture is fluid

Group behavior shifts from one month, one hire, one merger to the next, which is known as behavior drift. Because these shifts are normal, it is imperative that companies are designed to hold culture and wellbeing strategies in place, with purpose, just as they approach business strategies, performance metrics and the like.

With these guiding categories in place, HR teams and leaders are exponentially better equipped to create and maintain cultures of care.