Shivaratri is an auspicious time to introspect and look internally whether any change is needed to make my workplace more positive and make my life better experience. Let’s see if I have ever entered an organization and quickly recognized that I need to change? It's certainly a strange feeling but infact, it is true.
Organisational culture
When we get this feeling, we are essentially experiencing the personality or culture of an organization. Organization culture is the sum of all of the attitudes, beliefs and norms held by people in the organization. It manifests itself in how work is done, how people meet and greet each other, whether they work as a team and/or whether they are smiling. As a result, organization culture tends to play an important role in whether employees experience a sense of work satisfaction. Culture is also seen as very important to boost morale and productivity.
But what does a positive organization culture look like?
A strong, positive organization culture consists of employees and management who exhibit a can-do attitude. You'd see trusting relationships as well as strong leaders throughout the organization who model the desired organization culture. You would find that communication is more open, ideas and innovation are encouraged and welcomed and employees will be treated with great respect. If you stood at the doorway or walked through the offices, you could actually feel a strong sense of positive energy throughout the whole organization. People feel valued and nurtured.
But the question is; how do we get there? How do we go about creating and maintaining a strong positive organizational culture? Keeping in mind that organizational change takes time, following some of the strategies identified below will help us to start building a more vibrant organization culture.
Strategies to bring in positivism
Assess your organization. Set priorities for improvement, develop a strategy and be sure to communicate your goals and objectives.
Engage the employees. Involvement creates a sense of ownership that will help to ensure that positive change becomes lasting. Involvement means building employee commitment toward the vision.
Adapt an empowerment leadership style. Look for opportunities to design or redesign the jobs so that an employee does a whole job from beginning to end. Employees want to see the results of their work and to feel accomplishment and achievement. Give people responsibility and hold them accountable.
Apply positive reinforcement -- Establishing reward and recognition programs works well in driving a positive work environment, but you also need to do the little things such as a simple thank you or a pat on the back. Then, when an opportunity arises, celebrate success and reinforce the positive behaviours.
Apply training and development -- Creating a continuous learning environment is important so that employees are encouraged to learn and grow, and try out different tasks or jobs. Employees also must learn how to manage change from a personal perspective so that continuous improvement becomes the name of the game.
Communicate, communicate -- Employees want to know what is going on in their organization. Help them understand the big picture. Hold regular staff meetings, hold special meetings, send out informational emails -- do everything you can to stay connected with your employees.
Send random acts of kindness. Each morning, send an email to one person in your social support network thanking and praising them. Twenty-one days later, your brain appreciates that you have 21 people that you’re connected to. This is extremely beneficial because social support is the greatest predictor of job satisfaction.
Be relaxed and smiley, making a point of keeping a positive attitude at the work place, and you will soon see how that reflects around you. Be diligent and proactive. On the one hand, if you don't like your tasks you will "suffer" them for longer if you delay doing them.
Be positive. Whether you have problems at home or in any other area, or feel negative for any reason, don't be the complainer that goes around telling how difficult your life is.
A positive culture is one of the most significant reasons why potential employees are attracted to your organization and a key reason why employees will stay. Yet creating and maintaining a positive corporate culture is not easy to achieve. It requires planning, employee involvement, and most of all, persistence.
A positive attitude in the workplace can help you whether you own your own business, work as an employee, or manage others within a business environment. You’ll enjoy your work more and achieve your workplace or business related goals more easily and faster. Good leadership will promote positive attitudes from employees.
There are many ways to build a productive culture at work. We can do this by looking at the current situation and finding ways to improve the workplace culture by changing people’s attitudes to their job, their environment, each other and themselves.
Overcoming negativity at work place
Always remember you are in control of your own reality. I treat people with respect and dignity because in my reality, those qualities matter most.
Furthermore, you DO NOT have the luxury of wearing your negative emotions on your sleeve. Therefore, we must be consistent and predictable in how we interact with our employees and how we deal with life’s challenges.
Our attitude is the foundation for your employees’ sense of reality. If you come in to work smiling, optimistic and approachable, then it's easier to expect a positive work day.
Communicate! When dealing with negative individuals, teams or departments, give negative employee(s) ample opportunity to vent their feelings and thoughts.
Take the first step by offering a closed mouth and an open ear. Keep in mind that if you’re talking more than listening, something is wrong. Then, become the verbalizer and share your own feelings with an individual or group of people whom you trust.
Another strategy for overcoming negativity is to visualize! Imagine a barrier all around you that is impervious to negativity. A sign on a wall just outside my office spells out my personal rules,
"Stop! No Negative Thoughts , Comments, Feelings, Beliefs, Actions, or Energies Allowed beyond this point! You are entering a positively passionate work environment. Have a powerful, upbeat, productive day!"
Good Day
