Is a providing company, a profiting company?

So, you get the ideal job; great pay, flexible working hours, perhaps freedom to work from home, extensive benefits, and a fantastic package, you feel so lucky and think this is the most perfect job for you…

The company is secure in its offer and in knowing the package it provides is great for employee retention, reputation, and recruitment. However, is this enough to create a happy and productive workplace, and will a company that offers a substantial package, always attract more productive staff and is therefore, more profitable by nature?

I would argue that it is not.

From my work as a Workplace Culture Consultant, I deem it necessary to have a well-balanced outlook towards the four pillars of a happy workplace: culture, conditions, communication, and career development. Providing only strong conditions is not enough to maintain strong work ethic, employee wellness and motivation, the other three strands are also required.

If a company is looking for optimum profit, it needs to address the need for a balance of the four pillars:

Conditions

This includes pay, rewards, benefits, allowances, leave (sick leave, maternity leave, emergency leave etc.). It also covers the physicality of working such as the office space, the physical environment, the flexibility to work certain hours or to work from home and practical issues such as sponsorship, visas, medical insurance and flights/ accommodation if you are working in some expat communities.

Culture

The culture in the workplace is everything to do with the ‘vibe’ and the ethos. It is a trusting culture over micro-management. It is empowering leadership over autocratic leadership. It is the effort put into creating team spirit over individual work and having a culture of positive relationships of toxic ones. Is there a ‘them and us’ culture among leadership or is there an open-door policy and approachable leaders? Is the leadership top-down or are employees empowered to take risks and try new things? Do work events take place regularly or does no one see each other outside of the office? Is there a focus on wellness and is it possible to give honest feedback to the leaders? Is there a culture of celebration and rewards or no thanks?

Communication

This element is all about how, why, when, how often and where communication takes place. Is the tone professional or passive aggressive? Is it direct or lacking in focus? Is communication delivered in a timely fashion to allow others to excel in their roles or last-minute, making people flustered and unprepared? Is face-to-face communication encouraged over email or text message? Is meeting time set aside to have contact with teams and discuss setbacks or successes? Are the leadership team present around the establishment or hidden away in offices never to be seen?

Career development

It is the responsibility of the leadership to ensure that all employees have the opportunity to grow and to continue learning. Not expecting them to learn is setting the tone that the comfort zone is where we should stay, we should not take risks and we should remain in the small pigeonholes of our current role. Is money and time invested in growing the workforce? Is study outside of work encouraged and perhaps even paid for? Are there opportunities to be mentored or coached? Is there a buddy system or teamwork across different teams? Are new opportunities shared internally and people encouraged to apply? Is there learning culture where reading, mentoring, learning, progressing, and promotion is encouraged?

From my experience, if the conditions are strong, it can have a positive impact on employee happiness in that the team feel valued and want to show up for work because they are rewarded well for their contributions. However, if there is a toxic work environment, poor communication, weak leadership, lack of vision or a negative culture, eventually, it will become a place of stress, anxiety, and conflict.

It is essential to work on bringing together all four pillars of workplace wellness for a more balanced and communicative team, increased productivity, and therefore more profit. The fewer sick days that are taken for mental or physical health issues, the more money the company will ultimately make, so it is imperative to focus on the contentment of personnel and how to improve their mindset, fulfillment levels and desire to give their all to their career.

Focusing on one without the others will inevitably lead to a path of unmotivated staff, increased time off, burnout and increased resignations when they need support, leadership, and drive to meet deadlines.

If the ultimate goal of any organization is to make money, it is important to go back to the source of input, in order to drive the output (profit). A happy team, great leadership, and a focus on valuing employees, offering them a sense of purpose through their career, and highlighting their skills, will propel the company to be more profitable. Simply providing good conditions will not get the same results.