Creating a positive work environment greatly influences employees’ attitudes towards their job and coworkers, performance levels and productivity.
Providing a positive work environment goes far beyond the actual space to include corporate culture and leadership too.
Reports have seen that when employee is looking for a company to work for, it is not all about salary and vacation time anymore. People want to know about the culture, the opportunities for upward mobility, and the education and training made available to employees. People want to know which companies are the best places to work and what truly makes them great.
A great workplace is not only about bountiful benefits or nice offices. Making company the place employees want to be, requires taking the time to assess one’s workplace and determine where you can improve the culture to help you retain that talent and succeed as a business.
In order to create a company culture that not only attracts the best and the brightest but also helps them achieve their highest potential, it is important to define what makes a workplace great.
A great workplace is all about: the level of trust that employees experience in their leaders; the level of pride they have in their jobs; and the extent to which they like their colleagues.
Organisations that actively improve their company culture can reduce employee turnover, facilitate better relationships with customers, and, ultimately, position their organisation for growth. When your employees trust their managers, take pride in their work, and have friendship with their colleagues, the whole company prospers.
According to Dangote Cement Plc, at Dangote, our employees form the building block of all our accomplishments. Our efforts are channeled towards creating a workforce environment in which they are enabled to work to the best of their abilities and to unleash their full potential for the benefit of all.
“As such, we have established initiatives that enable them to improve their health and wellbeing both on and off our office premises, build their capacity to empower them to effectively deliver on their duties and maintain a work culture where diversity and inclusion are valued, discrimination strongly discouraged and rights of employees accorded a premium position.”
Also, the organisation and human resources director of Lafarge Africa Plc, Gbemiga Owolabi said, “Our company’s success is dependent on our employees’ ability to support the achievement of our organisational goals, as they are our most valuable resource.
“Lafarge Africa prioritised employee health and well-being due to the mental health challenges posed by the pandemic, as well as adjusting to new work methods. As a result, we remained committed to fostering an environment that promotes both personal development and well-being.”
Creating Conducive Workplace For Employees
Workplace Culture: Every company should look to develop its own identity and corporate culture. This will include corporate values and ethical standards that all employees should abide by, such as fair employee policy, gender equality, and teamwork. By building a positive corporate culture, you are promoting a healthy work environment for everyone and improving on issues that could have made employees feel unhappy, thus causing them to leave the company. By focusing on building your own workplace culture, you are increasing employee satisfaction and also higher employee retention.
Harassment-Free Environment: One of the issues that cause serious stress at work and can lead to good employees’ resignation is harassment in the workplace. To prevent harassment from happening in the workplace, the company should issue clear guidelines on what is and what is not appropriate behavior; and provide adequate training to all new staff when they come on board to ensure that no such incident will occur. A harassment-free workplace is vital as this is among the main causes of workplace conflict and disruptions.
Health & Safety: A good workplace is certainly one that cares and promotes employee health and safety. This can be in the form of simple things such as giving employees comfy chairs that will not hurt their posture while working, making sure the office building is regularly maintained to avoid damage, and checking that the fire prevention system is properly installed.
Work-Life Balance: The importance of a healthy work-life balance is never stressed enough. It is no surprise that companies promoting a healthy balance always have a much higher employee retention rate. No matter how what level of salary you pay someone, if you expect them to work all day and night, there will come a time when they feel enough is enough and the money is not worth all the stress anymore.
Communication Between Managers and Staff: it is important to always review and improve communication between management and staff. Employees will also feel more motivated when they are being valued for their hard work and dedication.
In conclusion, a company’s success depends on its people, but its people’s behavior and performance actually also depend on the work environment they are in. An assuring and conducive workplace that attends to the employees’ well-being and job satisfaction is always more likely to create the best workers and retain them throughout their careers.
