Human-Centered Workplace: Culture in a Post-Covid World

This article originally appeared in the January/February issue of the Seattle Magazine’s Seattle Business Magazine.

How Did Covid Change Culture in the Work Place in the US?

In business, perhaps branding is the only term that can compete with culture as the most nebulous to define and elusive to measure. But in today's post-Covid world, culture has become more critical than ever. The companies that crack the culture code attract and retain the best people and attract a growing segment of conscious consumers to their products or services.

So what makes a great culture and a place people want to work? Pre Covid, we were starting to lean into concepts such as unlimited vacation and empathetic leadership, and we felt great if we could get a standing desk. Now the focus is on the employee's humanity at an ever more profound level.

As an Australian who came to the United States fourteen years ago, I instantly recognized the cultural difference between the two countries as it pertained to work. Americans embraced a culture of 'live to work,' even celebrating those who worked long hours as someone 'going places.' In Australia, we 'work to live.' We embrace the adage, 'work hard, play hard.'

The pandemic has broken the American 'live to work' philosophy by highlighting the uncertainty of life. The illusion that we sacrifice our current desires to live them later is a false narrative. Americans have realized that they want to live their best version of life now and have started designing their lives to realize that reality. Enter the 'great resignation' and the concept of 'quiet quitting.' Employees have learned that 'anything that costs you your mental health is too expensive!'

Those choosing to keep their 9-5 instead of pursuing their 5-9 have demanded a healthier relationship for themselves with work. The main focus remains the flexibility companies adopt to work location. With a recession looming, companies are questioning their hybrid and remote working policies. Their instincts tell them they want to see their employees at work so that they know they are getting maximum productivity. They also believe that having employees work physically together drives culture.

The data suggest otherwise. In a study by Microsoft of Office 365 productivity signals, productivity was up in 2021 when employees were largely remote. Yet, as companies have started to call their teams back to the office, the result is a slight decline in productivity in 2022. Pulling teams back into the office could be a great way to undo the trust established through the pandemic. And that leads us to one of the most significant elements of a healthy culture, how to build trust.

How Does Trust Impact Culture?

Trust is critical when it comes to culture. Brene Brown says, "trust is not built in big sweeping moments. It's built in tiny moments every day." In my experience, trust (which leads to a great culture) is most evident in businesses that embrace the following daily:

Consistency

Transparency

Empathy

Equity

Clarity

Invest in people

Consistency is vital on many levels, from consistent communication to consistent policies applying to all employees. Favoritism is a potent killer of trust. Perry Belcher stated it best when he said, "Nothing will kill a good employee faster than watching you tolerate a bad one."

Transparency is a real issue in some businesses because of a fear of oversharing. Proactive and truthful communication is critical to getting employees to buy into the mission. And leaders, please don't delegate communication. Show up for the challenging, difficult communications, no one will deliver them better than you will, and your team will respect you for it.

Empathy. There's no silver bullet to building a great culture and developing trust, but if there were one in today's workplace, empathy would be it. Create a place where your people can show up authentically as themselves - where they don't have to wear a mask to work every day. Listening to and hearing their needs, goals, challenges, and ideas is critical to building a human-centered workplace where people want to work. Being flexible as to where they work fits right in here.

Equity, it's hard to believe, is still a significant issue in business today. Equity of opportunity and pay across all sexual orientations, sexual preferences, race, and even age are all closely monitored and discussed by employees. Leaders would be wise to realize this and ensure equity is a significant focus for their companies.

Clarity is clutch! Ambiguity is like cancer in your business. It eats away your productivity while creating challenging employee experiences, leading to confusion and even in-fighting. James Clear wrote one of the best quotes about this in his book Atomic Habits. "You do not rise to the lever of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." Good luck reaching your goals and keeping your most talented employees if your systems, processes, job descriptions, etc., aren't clearly defined.

Invest in people. On this subject, and related to culture, Richard Branson said, "Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to." But perhaps the best way to I can illustrate this is through this brief conversation. CFO asks CEO: "What happens if we invest in developing our people, and then they leave us?" CEO: "What happens if we don't, and they stay?

Your job as a leader is to create a culture where all your employees can flourish in a positive environment. By tolerating less than that, you risk losing your best employees and your company not reaching its potential.

The article originally appeared in the January/February edition of the Seattle Business Magazine, which is a part of Seattle Magazine. It was an introduction to the “Best Places To Work in 2022” feature.

If you are curious about engaging Ryan as a leadership coach or business strategist, please reach out to discuss it with him here.