W. Patric Gregory, a business owner, on boosting office culture

Merriam Webster defines culture as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” In an organization, culture matters, especially given that we spend a third of lives at the workplace.

So while some may scoff at the importance or even idea of a corporate culture, the fact is that it’s important to develop and nurture a positive workplace atmosphere, one in which everyone can be their best. Here are five ways to develop a more nurturing office culture.

Encourage open communication.

The best way to ensure a better office culture is by doing your part to encourage honest and open communication. Discomfort stifles dialogue and ideas. Only when people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas will they share them, and be likely to share them more often. And when addressing mistakes, don’t place blame. Discuss the misstep in a positive manner so that everyone in the workplace can learn from them.

Throw out the “Growth at All Cost” philosophy.

While many of your people share your single-minded goal to grow the business at (almost) any cost, some simply don’t. It doesn’t mean they’re disloyal or ineffective. It simply means they may be coming to work for a different reason – to reliably earn living, to derive satisfaction from work well done, or even to interact with people regularly. So don’t insist on “growth at all cost.” In this day and age, it doesn’t work. When you base every decision on how it will affect the bottom line, you risk alienating a lot of good people. That means losing the benefits that come from what’s truly motivating them, or never gaining those benefits in the first place. Such an attitude also risks souring the office culture by turning co-workers against one another. And that’s the quickest way to poison any emerging positive culture.

Instill and encourage a team mentality.

One of the best ways to build and bolster a positive office culture is by uniting individuals. When people feel they belong to a team, rather than just a group of employees performing separate tasks, they become more willing to accept others for who they are, and trust them. This forges stronger bonds, promotes even greater creativity, and increases productivity. Who doesn’t want to be on a winning team? As captain, coach and cheerleader, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Give them a reason to be proud.

Ever increasingly, our society is demanding transparency and authenticity. Businesses can’t ignore this new reality, or pay lip service to it, and still expect to prosper. The best way to ensure your company will be trusted is by starting at your very core, with your employees. If your people can feel a sense of pride in what they’re doing and producing, it will not only improve your office culture but also spread it organically through their participation in social media. Satisfied, positive-minded employees are perhaps your best marketing source, and it comes at no cost.

By nurturing a healthier workplace, you’ll be cultivating happier employees, who will in turn perform their tasks more effectively and efficiently. Working together as a team will help everyone come together in a positive way, which can only improve overall collaboration, and productivity.

Use office culture to gauge company morale.

This last one isn’t so much a how-to as it is a reason to. The right culture in one’s office can be viewed as the immune system in one’s body. When there’s a threat from within that may imperil the whole, a positive culture can provide early detection, then respond to it. That’s why keeping the culture healthy and robust is so important. If the immune system is compromised, or even toxic itself, it can hardly be expected to identify and cleanse impurities within the organization. With anything but a positive workplace culture, there will likely be bigger problems down the road, and addressing them will be all the more challenging.

About the Author

W. Patric Gregory is an experienced business professional from Glastonbury, Connecticut. Patric currently serves as the owner and CEO of Highway Safety Corp, a company that has contributed to the highway construction industry for over 40 years. As leader of the company's senior management team, Patric is a seasoned strategist and innovator in his field.

To learn more about W. Patric Gregory, click here.