Creating A Great Work Culture Is More Than Ping Pong Tables

It takes courage to do this well

Early in my professional services career, I visited hundreds of company headquarters across New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, and Los Angeles. I roamed the hallways of investment banks, high-growth tech companies, and global manufacturing companies. Amid these vastly different environments, in the mid-2000s, the promise of a great workplace culture usually meant beer on tap, ping pong tables, lunchtime yoga, and chair massages.

Times have changed. Today’s workforce wants more. And I’m not talking about perks. Yes, employees still demand competitive pay and benefits; after all, with jobless claims hitting another 50-year low, many workers have more choice in where they work than ever before. I’m talking about the work environments, experiences, and social norms that contribute to a thriving organizational culture. I’m talking about wellbeing.

Indeed’s World Happiness Report revealed a disconnect between what managers think matters to employees versus what actually influences the employee experience. Belonging, flexibility, and inclusion are the three top factors that drive employee wellbeing. What’s notable is the degree of difficulty it is for leaders to get these right. It takes courage.

Many have known about this statistic for a while, but it’s held true, both pre-and post-pandemic. Belonging takes effort to achieve. BetterUp Labs conducted research on belonging at work and observed meaningful changes when colleagues simply “passed the ball” to each other.

Additionally, having an ally at work (either through a buddy system for new employees or a work friend outside one’s reporting line) makes a meaningful difference, acting as a buffer from the risk of exclusion.

Finally, belonging at work is cultivated when leaders actively seek out employees’ feedback and hold themselves accountable for positive change. This takes conscious listening, ideally through multiple channels like employee engagement surveys, listening circles, effective one-on-one coaching conversations, and anonymous feedback lines.

It takes courage to do this well. All too often, executive leaders fear hearing what’s on people’s minds, to the point that they’d rather not ask at all.

It may have taken a global pandemic to reframe most of our knowledge workforce’s perception of working from home, but the desire to work flexibly has existed for decades. Try dropping two kids off at different schools in the morning, staying up late to reach colleagues in India, and racing to a client event at the peak of rush hour, and you’ll understand the business case for greater flexibility at work.

This isn’t about a desire to relax one’s work ethic; the need for flexibility has more to do with integrating work into the busy flow of life. When I managed teams, I’d much rather have had a team member who feels creatively fulfilled, recharged, and able to incorporate other important parts of life than one who’s burned out, frazzled, and resentful about work. Flexibility is simply good for business.

Expectations for culture have changed because many of us have a better awareness of our desired work environment. Part of that involves greater inclusion. Once lauded leadership qualities like decisiveness and executing an unwavering vision are now potentially perceived as too rigid. Instead, the ability to seek out and consider diverse points of view and rethink business strategies to meet the needs of the current environment are sought-after leadership skills.

There’s a good reason for this change in style and approach. The exponential change in technology, buyer behavior, and access to information have reshaped the desired skills of today’s workforce, including the way people lead and motivate others.

Encouraging inclusion at work is everyone’s responsibility. Practicing inclusive leadership can sometimes frustrate those who are used to executing quickly. It takes time to solicit and consider others’ counterpoints of view. But taking the extra time upfront to be inclusive, both in relationship building and decision-making, can save hours of frustration down the line. It fosters greater psychological safety.

Listen to employees. Get to know what a positive workplace culture means to them. Learn about their values and desire for flexibility. Create forums for listening to what’s not working for them, and when possible, commit to a plan to improve.

Map cultural moments that matter across the employee lifecycle. How are new employees welcomed into the organization that helps cultivate belonging? How do teams celebrate and appreciate each other? When business decisions are made, is there any effort to be inclusive and consider diverse points of view?

Approach culture like a business strategy. Rarely does a positive workplace culture organically happen and sustain itself. In fact, without intention, dysfunction is more likely to occur. Have the courage to ask the tough questions about culture. Consider multiple cultural influencers: your core business, your people, and their behaviors, processes, and work environment.

Today’s workforce likely isn’t missing ping pong tournaments. They’re seeking belonging, flexibility, and inclusion. They want to connect with colleagues they respect and admire and feel appreciated for a job well done. Today’s workforce may not look like the one of the past– and that’s a good thing. HR leaders can help make a great workplace culture not only a nice-to-have but a business imperative. And that takes courage.