Like they say, competition is good! If there is no competition, there is no progress. A healthy competition leaves room for one to strive for better. But what if the competition is not healthy? What if it does not serve the purpose? Companies encourage the employees to battle it out when it comes to performance & quality output. While it is good to push the employees to perform better, it also assumingly co-relates to stress and pressure amongst the employees. This leads to toxic work environment which somewhere leaves a significant impact on the employee behavior. While it is not possible to completely control stress, we cannot persistently allow it to be a part of the work culture. It is important that companies look at ways in which they can reduce stress causing factors in the workplace.

 Before we could discuss workplace positivity, let us dive into the possible effects of toxic workplaces.

 If you are in a Toxic Work Environment, you are most certainly experiencing the following:

 1.  Employee Dissatisfaction -  Whether they show it or not, they will be dissatisfied which could result in problems with the management.

2.  Employee Turnover – A dissatisfied employee will undoubtedly leave the job & look out for better prospects elsewhere.

3.  Toxic Groups – Toxic groups will be formed as a counter effect to the pressure & performance bias.

4.  Lack of Motivation – the employees only work because they are being paid for it. There is clearly lack of motivation to outperform in any way.

5.  Poor Social Ties – Employees lack social connections with both the management and team members.

6.  Lack of Ethics – Possibility of unethical or discriminatory behaviour displayed by the employees is very high.

 We clearly don’t want any of the above traits in the company right! 

 According to a research, people who experience positive emotions are bound to be more successful. A positive workplace environment in a way helps to foster creativity, make better decisions, being more productive & having strong interpersonal skills with the team. We highly recommend companies taking advantage of this by implementing or restructuring positive workplace environment.

 Here’s jot-listing 7 essential characteristics that could help reinforce a positive workplace environment.

 1.  Set Ground Rules

It often comes down to psychological & mental wellbeing of the employees. The more the employees feel safe working in your company, the more positive they are about their outlook towards the company. Establish strong code of ethics with zero tolerance to unethical, illogical or discriminatory practices within the company.

 2.  Reflection of Values

Your company values should reflect in your conduct. For example, if your company value is to promote team work, then create an open workspace that fosters team building. Assign periodic meeting rooms so that teams can gather & work collaboratively, establishing strong team building activities.

 3.  Clear Communication

A positive workplace environment promotes a clear line of communication amongst all the levels of employees. Set up clear guidelines of communications. For example, if the co-workers need to request an access to a facility, they should know that they need to do so on the company portal or send an email instead of requesting it via instant message.

4.  Acknowledge New Ideas & Opinions

While it is important that you get your team to understand your company values, it is also equally important that you understand them. Work cultures that are open to new ideas, suggestions and opinions, make the employees  feel valued by the organization.

5.  Recognition & Rewards

Acknowledgement is essential to fuel the passion . Companies need to be vocal about appreciating employees whenever they go the extra mile. Employee recognition programs can work wonders to create a great workplace culture especially post the covid pandemic, when remote working has replaced the conventional modes of working.

6.  Healthy Competition

Like they say, a flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it, it just blossoms. In the mere sense of achieving maximum performance, companies create a race of competitions between the peers. While competition is important, it is also important to engage in team spirit. Only when the group cohesiveness is strong, will the members be inclined towards supporting decision-making process without hindering negative objections.

7.  Work-Life Balance

There needs to be a certain balance between work & personal life. Everything in life has to be balanced. It is somewhere linked to job-satisfaction of the employees. Because it is when you accomplish the primary set of needs – family, self-growth, friends, spiritual, you start to feel confident about outreaching the goals outside your personal space. That’s when creativity & out-of-the-box thinking fosters.

We hope that this article gives you creative ways of looking into your work culture, to make it productive & healthier in the long run.

 Happy Reading! Do share your suggestions in the comments & we’ll see you soon with yet another article.