Organizational culture icon Organizational culture

The shared values and expectations within a work environment, which are used as behavioural and problem-solving cues.

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty” – Zig Ziglar

Overview

What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture is a mix of norms, values, beliefs, meanings and expectations that group members hold in common and that they use as behavioural and problem-solving cues. Organizational culture could enhance the psychological safety and health of the workplace and the workforce when it is characterized by trust, honesty, respect, civility and fairness, or when it values, for example, psychological and social support, recognition and reward.

An organization with good organizational culture would be able to state that:

  • All people in the workplace are held accountable for their actions.
  • People at work show sincere respect for others’ ideas, values and beliefs.
  • Difficult situations at work are addressed effectively.
  • Workers feel that they are part of a community at work.
  • Workers and management trust one another.

A trusting organizational culture is critical to creating positive and effective work relationships. When trust exists, cooperation is enhanced job commitment and loyalty is increased and this helps retain and attract talent. When an organization has a health-focused, positive, supportive and nurturing organizational culture, well-being, job satisfaction and job commitment are all increased. For those who may be experiencing emotional stress, including anxiety or depression, this helps reduce the likelihood of symptoms.

Organizational culture sets the tone for an organization. If the culture is negative, it reduces the success of the programs, policies and services created to support workers. An unhealthy culture creates more stress in the workplace, negatively affecting well-being. If an organization has a culture of “profit at all costs” and constant chaotic urgency, burnout will increase.

FAQs

  • Create a respectful work environment where values of honesty, tolerance and fairness are modeled, encouraged and reinforced.
  • Promote an open environment for positive communication, which helps create a culture of connection and cohesion.
  • Involve staff in the development of workplace mission statements, values and codes of ethics.

  • Provide opportunities for teams to learn and develop together in order to strengthen relationships (e.g. team-building exercises).
  • Identify role models for mentorship and support programs. This will help new or developing team members to recognize and strengthen the organizational culture.
  • Commit to providing reasonable time and budget allowances for workers and leaders to obtain training on topics such as effective communication and conflict management.
  • Communicate with staff about management decisions and ask for their input, whenever possible.

  • Provide training to all staff in the art of effective communication.
  • Encourage social opportunities for all staff to gather and interact (e.g. staff lunches). This can be done virtually, if necessary.
  • When facing a difficult conversation, encourage face-to-face interaction.
  • Provide clear reasons for decisions in a respectful, timely and considerate manner, especially when the results of decisions may be seen as negative by some.

  • When conflict arises, ensure timely and effective responses.
  • Ensure values of trust, honesty and fairness are included in your mission statement, and share it widely with staff and customers/clients.
  • Create values-based policies and procedures that guide the decision-making throughout your organization.
  • Hold all members of the organization accountable for their actions, and ensure that leaders are held accountable to the same or higher standard.

  • Gather input from staff on their perceptions of trust, honesty and fairness in the workplace. This will help you uncover any concerns. Create an action plan to resolve any issues.
  • Ensure all employees are equally held accountable for their actions.
  • Foster an environment where employees show sincere respect for others’ ideas, values and beliefs.
  • Continually work on team-building so that workers feel like part of a community at work.
  • Leaders should gain worker trust by being honest, respectful and open in communication at all levels.

Action

Next steps: Committing to a positive organizational culture

A work environment characterized by trust, honesty and fairness.

  • higher job satisfaction and morale
  • improved teamwork and productivity
  • enhanced retention and recruitment
  • positive public/community image

  • Do issues related to organizational culture present a greater risk to particular groups of workers (e.g. new workers, certain jobs, shift workers, etc.)?
  • What are the strengths in your workplace in terms of organizational culture (e.g. what do you do well and what should you continue doing)?
  • What could your workplace do to improve in this area (e.g. what could you do more of and what could you do less of)?
Organizational Culture Infographic

View sample action plan

Complete the action plan worksheet

Download the organizational culture infographic

Download social media card

Organizational Culture is psychosocial factor 1 from CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 – Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Retrieved from: https://www.csagroup.org/article/cancsa-z1003-13-bnq-9700-803-2013-r2018/. See also Guarding Minds at Work (Samra et al.): Retrieved from https://www.guardingmindsatwork.ca/resources.