It’s true – positivity is a powerful force.
Having a positive work culture isn’t just important for employee’s mental health – it’s also critical for increasing productivity and retaining employees. It reduces turnover and attracts Gen Z employees, who are less likely to stick around in a toxic work culture.
Harvard Business Review researched the effects of a positive work culture on productivity and found some interesting results.
Toxic Health Effects of Negative Work Cultures
First, HBR looked at the impact of high-pressure, stressful and extremely hierarchical organizations. The research found some shocking statistics:
- Health care expenditures at high-pressure companies are nearly 50% greater than at other organizations. (Source: BMC public Health)
- More than $500 billion is siphoned off from the U.S. economy because of workplace stress, and 550 million workdays are lost each year due to stress on the job. (Source: APA)
- In a large-scale study of over 3,000 employees, results showed a strong link between leadership behavior and heart disease in employees. (Source: NIH)
These studies backed up with anecdotal experiences show as well – that an intense, high-pressure work culture often has the opposite intended effect on productivity. Beyond the negative health impacts, these high-pressure cultures also see a higher rate of employee disengagement and lack of loyalty – which both lead to a huge increase in turnover.
Productive Effects of Positive Work Cultures
First, what exactly is a positive work culture? HBR defines a positive culture as one with these six essential characteristics:
- Caring for, being interested in, and maintaining responsibility for colleagues as friends.
- Providing support for one another, including offering kindness and compassion when others are struggling.
- Avoiding blame and forgiving mistakes.
- Inspiring one another at work.
- Emphasizing the meaningfulness of the work.
- Treating one another with respect, gratitude, trust, and integrity.
When an organization fosters a culture of positivity, the following benefits are observed, that have a direct impact on productivity:
- Employees are more likely to stay with a company.
- Less turnover means less money spent on onboarding and training, as well as fewer gaps between activities.
- When the company culture is positive, employees are more likely to recommend the organization’s services to relevant family members and close friends.
- Less internal friction between employees and between employees and senior leadership helps increase productivity.
(Source: University of Michigan)
How to Foster a Positive Work Culture
These findings from HBR show the importance of fostering a positive company culture. In order to foster a positive culture, change must come from the top-down. Bosses and managers need to lead the charge and set an example in order for a positive culture to take root. HBR recommends that managers encourage positivity in the following ways:
- Foster social connections. Friendly relationships between both coworkers and management should be encouraged.
- Show empathy. Employees who feel seen and heard are much less likely to disengage.
- Go out of your way to help. When you help others, they’re more likely to help you in turn. This increases loyalty within the organization.
- Encourage people to talk to you – especially about their problems. Trust and respect go hand-in-hand toward creative positive interpersonal relationships.
Note that a positive culture doesn’t mean that everyone is happy and smiling all the time and that no negativity is tolerated – instead it’s giving employees a space to be seen and heard and to constructively release any frustration. This creates a genuinely positive atmosphere that your employees want to be a part of.
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Strom Minnesota is an engineering and technical recruitment agency that specializes in high-skilled job candidates for highly technical positions. We facilitate contract employment, project staffing, temp-to-perm and direct hire opportunities. Industries served include IT, engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing. We are affiliated with Strom Engineering, a national staffing and recruitment agency.
