Advisory Works Continue Their Series on Organisational Culture

This month Advisory Works are continuing their series on Organisational Culture, with some warning signs of negative organisational culture. As they say, “It’s all very well talking about creating a great organisational culture, but how do you know if the opposite is plaguing your business? What does negative culture in the workplace look like?”

Here they explain the five warning signs that not everything is great in your business, beginning with your employees who never meet set goals or targets.

If you’ve eliminated the other possible causes—workload, unrealistic goals and lack of skill or knowledge, or a lack of accountability—then culture could be the underlying cause. Negative organisational culture will wear down employee motivation, and less motivation means that employees are less invested in what they do, and less productive as a result.

We all know that gossip is virtually unavoidable, and the right kind can be a good thing. Scientists argue that it can help improve social bonds, which make for a better workplace. However, negative gossip is powerful. One study has found that it can even influence how we visually perceive a person. So when harmless gossip turns nasty, it can spoil the relationships and trust between staff members.

Thirdly, a little competition is always healthy, but when it turns into a rat race, it can really wear a person down, and it’s especially true when all your measures of success are based on individual performance, rather than that of the team. Too much emphasis on individual performance causes staff to compete against each other—rather than working together towards a common goal. In the worst-case scenario, they may even sabotage one another to “win”.

The fourth example of a negative organisational culture is rebellious staff members, exhibiting the silent rebellion of ‘active disengagement’, becoming deliberately unproductive. They are unhappy, unproductive and are likely to spread negativity around the workplace. If you’re seeing this in your business, it’s a good sign that your company culture is suffering.

Finally, high absenteeism and staff turnover can be another sign of negative organisational culture, and when many are constantly unwell it may be time to think about the reasons why.

Advisory Works advise that if these five signs of negative culture are present in your own workplace, it could be time to take a deeper look your organisational culture. But don’t fret, it’s not the end of your business. In fact it could be the start of something new! There are many things you can do as a CEO, CFO, manager, team leader, or ordinary staff member to make your company’s culture better.”

For more information on Advisory Works and their strategy development,  business mentors and leadership courses, please go to http://advisory.works .