A County Councils Network and Newton Research Programme
WORKPLACE CULTURE IN THE UK: A SNAPSHOT
A Workplace Culture Report
NOVEMBER 2023
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Newton recently commissioned a nation-wide survey of more than 2,000 UK workers, carried out by Opinium Research. The survey sought to discover the current sentiment of UK workers towards workplace culture, and divides their perceptions of culture into four different organisational types: hierarchical, collaborative, dynamic and competitive. This report looks to provide a view of the current working landscape across the UK via case studies and real life perspectives. We hope you find it a useful source of information for prompting conversations around workplace culture in your own organisations.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................4
EXPLORINGEACHCULTURALTYPE..............................................6
THEIMPACTOFCULTURE.....................................................8
When The Culture Doesn’t Fit
11
DIVERSITYTODAY..........................................................12
DOWEFEELWELCOMEATWORK?...............................................14
An Older Worker’s Perspective
17
EDI&RECRUITMENT........................................................18
Hiring For Diversity
20
FUTUREWORKPLACECULTURE................................................22
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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INTRODUCTION Rapidly evolving requirements have been a feature of the workplace practically since the industrial revolution, as technology has created new opportunities and challenges for managers and staff.
We believe the findings summarised in this report will be of value to UK public and private sector leaders and could act as a springboard for conversations around workplace culture. Read on to discover more on the impact of culture, diversity today, feeling welcome at work, EDI and recruitment and the future of workplace culture.
At Newton, we rely on our (exceptional) people to guide our clients through transformative change and are keenly aware of the role organisational culture has to play in this. In fact, workplace culture – the traditions, interactions, attitudes, values and behaviours that create a workplace environment – is emerging as a key factor in retaining and attracting the right employees. This is something we explore in our Podcast series, Newton Talks, with the latest season addressing some of the findings from this report. To investigate which factors might favour the growth of an effective and engaged workforce, we commissioned Opium Research to carry out a survey of more than 2,000 UK workers in October 2022. Our research looked at four types of company culture – collaborative, dynamic, competitive and hierarchical – across a range of industries. Around 58% of respondents came from the private sector, 36% from public bodies and 6% from third-sector organisations. We found the first two cultures were better able to accommodate workforce diversity, something that can help organisations to adapt more quickly to new conditions, since groups incorporating a broad range of views and life histories may be better at developing novel solutions to complex challenges. Within these diversity groups, we found differences in experience such as UK women and ethnic minority workers feeling more satisfied with their workplace experience compared to those who identify as disabled or neurodivergent who experience more discontentment. Furthermore, integration with company cultures does not improve with age, with older workers feeling less, rather than more able to be themselves at work.
4
5
EXPLORING EACH CULTURAL TYPE
Although each workplace culture is unique, they can be broadly categorised into four types, an understanding of which helps leaders diagnose, describe and manage the patterns within their own culture.
DYNAMIC
COMPETITIVE
The aim of this report is not to rank one type of workplace culture over another Rather, its purpose is to highlight unique characteristics to help leaders and employees understand their organisation better, along with its distinct strengths
What do we mean when we talk about a “Dynamic” organisational culture? Dynamic organisations are often characterised by regular change and evolution, shaped by the needs of employees, the state of the market and the business priorities. Flexibility and productivity are often top priorities in the dynamic workplace, and it’s no coincidence that we saw more organisations become dynamic in the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic – where many companies had to quickly adapt to hybrid working and straitened economic circumstances. As well as empowering employees to innovate quickly and suggest meaningful change, dynamic workplaces often use the latest technology to enable hybrid working. The benefits of this type of organisation include adaptability, higher employee engagement, and innovation. But it requires a commitment from leadership in the form of active management of the culture. A dynamic team requires trust and the communication issues involved in the flexibility and fluidity of work in such a culture can mean its hard to stay aligned internally. A hierarchical organisation is most typically associated with the view of a traditional workplace. It’s a popular foundation for many organisations. Hierarchical culture predominantly focuses on creating a relatively fixed organisational structure, with firm processes and rules and multiple levels of power and responsibility within the organisation. Every organisation will structure their hierarchy slightly differently. These structures typically allow for the progression of individuals to higher levels of responsibility within an organisation, which can help ensure the continued forward motion of an organisation’s success. While some worry that a rigid organisational culture can stifle creative thinking, and result in a business unable to adapt to change, there are clear benefits to a hierarchical organisation. One of which is the strong sense of direction it provides for employees and employers alike. This is of particular importance to large multinational companies, or organisations working in strictly regulated markets. Perhaps the most prevalent example of hierarchical organisations is the military, where a clearly defined chain of command is a notable benefit. While a hierarchical organisation could face barriers to effective internal communication, and a lack of collaboration across teams and levels, benefits include clear and defined development opportunities and process for professional advancement.
A competitive organisational culture shares some similarities with hierarchical cultures, but it uses competitive tactics to increase employee motivation and engagement. High expectations and high productivity characterise a competitive work environment. This can have many positive effects, including enhanced employee engagement and motivation. Typically, in a competitive work environment, employees increase their productivity to compete with other employees and meet the expectations of their managers. Another sign of a competitive work environment is performance incentives that prompt employees to out-perform one another. These incentives can include raises, promotions and awards. Despite concerns that a competitive culture adds to employee’s work stress levels, there are lots of benefits. In a highly competitive environment, employees often feel motivated to achieve high productivity in order to compete with one another. Employee motivation can have many benefits, including increasing quality of work and productivity.
COLLABORATIVE While collaboration on some level happens in just about every organisation, a collaborative culture is one where collaboration is regular and deliberate. In contrast to a non-collaborative culture, where departments and teams will work in silos and employees may not feel encouraged to meaningfully impact their workplace, a collaborative culture has collaboration baked into the processes of how people do their work every day and into the attitudes they take about that work.
HIERARCHICAL
Collaborative workplaces embody being ‘better together’, in other words collective intelligence drives the most creative solutions. Companies keen to innovate and provide creative solutions might benefit from a collaborative culture. Employees are motivated by feeling part of a team effort. There are some arguments to be made for collaborative culture resulting in less stress for employees compared to, say, a competitive organisation. Beyond employee motivation there are also some practical business benefits to collaboration; when knowledge is shared, and teams across an organisation learn from each other’s successes and mistakes, the whole company can progress more quickly. Transparency, knowledge sharing, and crucially, trust, are key in a collaborative culture.
6
7
THE IMPACT OF CULTURE
100%
No two organisations are the same, and each has its own unique cultural profile.
90%
80%
70%
The extent to which workers can make a meaningful contribution to an organisation depends not only on the employee’s knowledge and skills, but also on working within a culture that seeks to maximise the value of the worker’s unique contributions
Further emphasising the point, 73% of workers in dynamic and 76% in collaborative workplaces feel free to be themselves at work, compared to 59% overall, 46% in hierarchical organisations and 49% in competitive ones. Finally, it is important to note that differences in organisational culture are reflected in hiring policies, with collaborative and dynamic organisations generally more disposed towards embracing EDI. For example, 79% of dynamic companies and 78% of collaborative ones are at least sometimes actively seeking to employ people from a range of ethnicities, compared to 70% of competitive employers and 69% of hierarchical ones.
Our research found that organisational culture has a major impact on worker attitudes. For example, only 35% of workers in hierarchical organisations feel everyone is recognised fairly for their contributions, compared to 54% overall and 72% of those in collaborative or dynamic environments. Such perceptions appear to colour team interactions, with only 35% of people in hierarchical cultures viewing disagreements as contributing to group perspectives and better outcomes. This compares to 48% overall, 50% in competitive settings, 59% in collaborative ones and 67% in dynamic ones. Organisational culture also has a visible impact on how employees feel they are perceived. For example, workers with invisible physical or mental health impairments are significantly less likely to feel valued as a person, not just an employee, within hierarchical or competitive cultures. Similarly, only 42% of employees in hierarchical institutions and 45% in competitive ones believe their workplaces reflect employee values, whereas these scores rise to 74% in collaborative environments, 75% in dynamic ones and 56% overall.
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
Exhibit 2: Percentage of workers agreeing that everyone in their workplace is recognised fairly for their contribution, split by company culture Source: Newton research.
Exhibit 3: Percentage of workers agreeing that their workplace reflects employee values, split by company culture Source: Newton research.
Exhibit 4: Percentage of workers agreeing that they have the freedom to authentically express themselves at work, split by company culture Source: Newton research.
8
9
When the culture doesn’t fit
Collaborative
Competitive
Dynamic
Overall average Hierarchical
0
20%
30%
40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
10%
70%
69%
Those from a range of ethnicities
79%
70%
Sally* is 46 years old and has worked in a Civil Service operations department for the last 20 years. Over the course of her career, she has seen significant cultural changes across the organisation, which she now identifies as having a collaborative culture.
78%
68%
Those from different economic backgrounds
64%
Before 2017, Sally’s department was run by a Director who did not seem to value the importance of diversity and shied away from introducing measures that could make workers from diverse backgrounds feel more included. Describing her culture as hierarchical at the time, this leader made it difficult for mental health first aiders to achieve relevant qualifications and didn’t see the value of them within the workplace.
82%
71%
76%
62%
Those with different viewpoints
58%
A few years before this, Sally was diagnosed with autism and had to find new ways to manage this in her workplace setting.
77%
61%
72%
“Our last Director was a bit old school, and he didn’t really value diversity and inclusion measures,” Sally says. “Now we have a new Director and I’ve seen a lot more attention paid to the issue.” When the old Director left, the business brought in measures such as diversity networking groups and an EDI policy. Sally has used these tools to help navigate her autism diagnosis and has also used one of the organisation’s new workplace support initiatives to help her work to the best of her ability. “I was diagnosed with autism in my adult life, and I’ve really made use of the policies and networking groups available to me at work,” she says. “It’s made my work life easier and more suited to my needs.” This culture of positivity and inclusion has been invaluable to Sally’s development and happiness at work. Sally now describes her workplace culture as collaborative, where ideas are valued, and workers are encouraged to solve problems as a team.
59%
Those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community
55%
72%
60%
66%
53%
Those who are considered physically disabled
48%
64%
53%
60%
When thinking about the future, Sally is confident that maintaining a collaborative and supportive culture is important to the senior leadership team.
45%
Those who are considered neurodivergent
37%
62%
54%
*This case study is based on an interview of a real worker, but their name and some details have been changed following a request for anonymity.
52%
42%
Those who are considered mentally disabled
32%
57%
50%
48%
0
10%
20%
30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
100%
Exhibit 5: Percentage of workers answering: ‘At least sometimes’ to the question: ‘Does management in your workplace actively seek to employ people with different life experiences or backgrounds with the aim of creating a diverse workforce?’ Source: Newton research.
10
11
MENTAL IMPAIRMENT
PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT
ETHNIC MINORITY
LGBTQ+
AVERAGE ACROSS DIVERSE GROUPS SURVEYED
19%
17%
17%
16%
10%
DIVERSITY TODAY
Exhibit 6: Percentage of workers from diverse groups claiming to have been frequently treated less favourably by colleagues at work Source: Newton research.
only 9% of respondents from ethnic minorities feeL uncomfortable discussing ethnicity in the workplace
The UK is currently more diverse than ever.
Not only is this true in terms of ethnicity, with those identifying as White British dropping 1 2 percentage points between the 2011 and 2019 England and Wales censuses 1 , but also in relation to other forms of diversity
understanding how social and political identities create discrimination and privilege are a feature of organisational initiatives in 34% of cases, and a big focus in 16%. Two thirds of workers feel prepared to address intersectionality in the workplace. Our research indicates advances have been made on what might be termed more traditional measures of diversity, focused on gender and ethnicity. There are still issues around other notions of diversity, however. Around a fifth (21%) of workers with disabilities or physical health conditions feel uncomfortable talking about these at work. This rises to 37% among workers with mental health conditions. This group was also the least confident about changing matters in their organisations, with only 43% feeling they could discuss their ideas with senior staff and 27% saying they did not feel empowered to create meaningful change for all in the workplace. Gender diversity seems to occupy a middle ground, with 16% of LGBTQ+ respondents saying they felt uncomfortable discussing gender-related issues at work. All these groups say they are more likely to be treated less favourably, on a regular basis, than average workers. This situation is particularly marked in the case of LGBTQ+ workers, where almost a fifth of respondents claim to have endured less favourable treatment – a damning situation in 2023.
For example, in the 2021 England and Wales census around 3.2% of the population identified as being gay or lesbian, bisexual, or having another sexual orientation. 2 This compares to 2.7% of the UK population in 2019. 3 Related to neurodiversity, the frequency of autism spectrum diagnosis, to take just one measure, has increased 787% in the last two decades. 4 How is this diversity being accommodated in the workforce? Only 9% of respondents who identify as being part of an ethnic minority feel uncomfortable discussing ethnicity in the workplace. Furthermore, 59% of ethnic minority workers feel confident about communicating ideas relating to meaningful change to their bosses, which is significantly higher than the average of 45%. This is an encouraging statistic and suggests that as diversity increases so does the empowerment of minorities in the workplace, although of course there is more work to be done to embed this empowerment into working culture. And 50% of respondents say their workplace acknowledges intersectionality (the premise that the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage). In other words a person’s various social and political identities combine to create multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage. Such frameworks for
50% of respondents say their workplace acknowledges intersectionality
almost A FIFTH of LGBTQ+ respondents claim to have been frequently treated less favourably than their peers.
12
13
64%
62%
DO WE FEEL WELCOME AT WORK? Perhaps the most obvious measure of an organisation that values EDI is the extent to which workers from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed and appreciated.
63%
60%
58%
59%
56%
55%
54%
52%
Within our survey, 59% of respondents said they felt free to be themselves at work
Leaders should be aware, for example, that more than one in five workers surveyed in this study do not feel supported in their career development – or inspired and motivated at work.
Elsewhere, there was broad support for the idea that UK workplace cultures are welcoming, with most of our survey agreeing with being able to express ideas, feeling respected at work and being allowed to perform at their best. While this is a positive finding, the proportion of workers disagreeing with these statements was also worrying.
50%
18-34
35-54
55+
Exhibit 8: Percentage of workers per age group who feel free to be themselves at work, by age group Source: Newton research.
Those from ethnic minority backgrounds appeared to be slightly less free than average to be themselves. But the figure of 55% for ethnic minorities may vary due to the margin of error, given the sample size of this group. Similarly, the proportion of people who feel treated the same as everyone else in the organisation is lower than average for LGBTQ+ and ethnic minority workers, but only slightly so, at 57% and 58%, compared to 62% across all groups surveyed. Finally, one group that emerged as feeling particularly overlooked at work was those who have mental disabilities and other impairments that are not visible. Among these, 48% said they were recognised fairly for their contributions, compared to an average of 54%, and only 39% agreed that everyone was paid fairly for the work they do, versus a mean across the total sample of 48%.
Perhaps surprisingly, a consistent finding in the research is that younger people generally feel more welcome in the workplace than their older peers, despite older workers presumably having more experience in work environments. With 63% of workers aged 18-34 feeling free to be themselves at work, as opposed to 59% of workers aged 35-54 and 55% of those aged 55 and over. At least two explanations could account for this. One is generational and assumes that older workers are more likely to separate work from life, and thus less able to manifest their true selves in a working environment. Another explanation is that the growing workplace complexity alluded to previously – not just in terms of external factors but also cultural ones – is harder for older workers to adjust to, making them feel less at home. Whatever the explanation, this finding is significant at a time when the UK government is working to bring early retirees back into the workforce.
Our research found:
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
More than three fifths (62%) of 18-to-34-year-olds felt their cultural interests were accepted and encouraged in the workplace, compared to 54% among 35-to-54-year-olds and just 47% for those aged 55 and over. Younger workers were more likely (61%) to agree that their workplace reflects the values of employees, significantly higher than the scores for 35-to-54- year-olds (53%) and 55-year- old-plus employees (54%). Respondents in the 18-to-34- year-old age bracket were most likely to agree that feedback is communicated constructively (63% versus an average of 58%) and those over 55 were least likely to agree (54%).
I feel confident expressing my ideas
63%
14%
23%
I feel respected in my workplace
62%
14%
24%
I feel that I can perform at my best
60%
14%
26%
59%
18%
23%
I feel valued in my workplace
58%
15%
27%
I feel committed to my organisation
I feel my ideas are welcomed
58%
16%
26%
I feel my ideas are fairly acknowledged
57%
15%
28%
I feel confident in challenging opinions different to mine without fear of negative consequences
57%
18%
25%
I feel inspired and motivated at work
53%
21%
26%
I feel supported in my career development
51%
21%
28%
Agree Disagree Undecided
Exhibit 7: Answers to the question: ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?’ Source: Newton research.
14
15
An older worker’s perspective
Dean* is 53 years old and has worked at the same car dealership for the past 10 years. He describes his organisation as hierarchical and feels that his age affects the way he is treated at his workplace.
He describes being considered “past it” and unable to keep up with others. For instance, when the company was organising a post-pandemic return to the office, he was the only one singled out for a back-to-work interview. “I applied for another role recently and the recruiter told me the feedback had been that I was seen as too old and therefore unsuitable for the role,” he says. “At my workplace, we definitely hire a certain type of person.” As a self-described creature of habit, Dean spent 9 years working in an office of his own, only to be moved reluctantly and without consultation to a new space. This triggered his anxiety. The dress code also become stricter, requiring white shirts where company fleeces were acceptable before.
“My workplace has a stereotypically masculine culture, making it hard to challenge leadership decisions for fear of conflict,” Dean says. “We also have no initiatives in place to safeguard employees’ mental health.” Dean says he would like to see more investment into creating a culture of care, where workers’ needs are supported. *This case study is based on an interview with one of the survey participants, but their name and some details have been changed following a request for anonymity.
16
17
EDI AND RECRUITMENT Despite growing awareness of the importance of EDI, only 47% of UK companies have an EDI-related strategy or action plan in place, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 5
Based on this, 46% of our respondents said they had seen no meaningful change towards a more inclusive environment in their workplace
Organisations wishing to embrace EDI should be aware that there is still plenty of scope to adopt culture add approaches, with only 23% of respondents claiming that an inclusive environment for employees is a big focus for their employers. Meanwhile, 22% of respondents say their organisation claims to recruit people who can broaden the corporate culture. But the overriding policy in recruitment, expressed by 57% of managers and supervisors, is to acquire specific skill sets, as shown to the right in exhibit 9. This response suggests a high level of culture fit in hiring – likely because companies are seeking to plug skills gaps rather than adding to the diversity of talent. The research also shows that embracing an inclusive environment is a stronger focus for dynamic and collaborative organisations, cited by 34% and 30%, respectively, than for competitive and hierarchical ones, where the levels fall to 24% and 18%. And only 13% of managers are seeking recruits with different life experiences to those they already have on staff.
This is particularly the case for hierarchical organisations, where 60% of respondents say there has been no meaningful change to EDI. Hierarchical structures are considered less supportive of their employees performing at their best. In such organisations, only 48% of employees say they can perform at their best. This compares to 51% in competitive organisations, 74% in collaborative ones and 76% in dynamic ones. Competitive and particularly hierarchal organisations may find it harder than collaborative and dynamic peers to maximise the value of EDI. Alongside this, the research shows that perceptions of culture type can differ amongst workers at different levels within the same organisation. Thus, only 18% of senior managers are likely to describe their workplace as hierarchical, compared to 27% of managers and 26% of executives. Conversely, 19% of senior managers will say their workplace has a dynamic culture when that assertion is only supported by 12% of managers and 9% of executives.
Those with a specific skill set we need
57%
27%
Those who can bring a new perspective and challenge the way we do things
Those who match our company/team communication style
26%
22%
Those who will broaden/evolve our company/team culture
17%
Those with industry connections
19%
Those who get involved with the wider industry we work in
14%
Those who share similar interests to colleagues in the company/team
11%
Those who enjoy the same activities we do as a team
13%
Those with a different experience in life than current employees
0
10% 20% 30% 40%
50%
60%
Exhibit 9: Percentage of managers answering: ‘What have been the main focuses when recruiting new talent into the company?’ Source: Newton research.
18
19
Hiring for diversity
Nora* is 25 years old and works in the finance team for a retail company. She joined straight out of university through a graduate programme and has been with the business for the past four years.
She identifies her company culture as being a mixture of hierarchical and dynamic, something she attributes to the ongoing changes taking place. However, the company’s transition into a more dynamic workplace is not without its growing pains. Nora describes some of the EDI processes and initiatives as still appearing rather “surface level or performative.” She notes that a culture fit approach is prioritised during recruitment. “I often feel alienated,” she says. “I’m a rather reserved person, and within my peer groups the culture of drinking and going out is quite dominant. I’ve often felt left out and found it hard to make friends at work because I don’t enjoy that as much as others. It can be difficult when who you know and who you are friends with can potentially influence who is promoted.”
Nora has been involved in the hiring process for several roles. During this process, applicants are marked against a set of company values, which tends to lead to very similar personality types being hired. This creates a pressure to fit a specific mould, which can then be reflected in who is favoured once employed. “Being reserved has made things harder, but I recently connected with a more senior individual that is quite similar, and they have been a really great role model for me,” Nora says. When asked what changes she would most like to see in the coming years, Nora lists the hiring process as one of the main areas for improvement. She notes her company doesn’t feel like a diverse place to work and would benefit from more diversity. Nora also hopes to see EDI measures becoming
“I’d love to see the hiring process change,” she says. “There is something easy about having people who are similar, but we need more diversity. People from different backgrounds, with different personalities, and with different ways of thinking.” *This case study is based on an interview with one of the survey participants, but their name and some details have been changed following a request for anonymity.
less performative as the shift in company culture progresses.
20
21
More flexibility to allow for different styles and preferred hours
More support around wellbeing and mental health
FUTURE WORKPLACE CULTURE The idea of ‘company culture’ is changing, with the emphasis shifting from ‘company’ to ‘culture’.
22%
Prefer not to say
11%
More face-to-face contact
THE CHANGES PEOPLE WANT at work
29%
9%
8%
Historically, company culture was often seen as something employees were supposed to conform to, like the wearing of a uniform It was ‘the way we do things around here ’ Increasingly, however, prescient bosses are seeing culture as a unique mix of human talent and capabilities that cannot be imposed but must instead be nurtured
Such attitudes are gaining traction in the UK, with 40% of the respondents to our survey claiming there were active efforts to change workplace culture in their organisations. Our research indicates such initiatives are likely to be highly visible from an EDI perspective, with ethnic, gender-diverse and most health-impaired respondents offering higher scores than overall when asked about culture change initiatives. Hierarchical companies are the least active in terms of culture change, with just 33% of respondents in these organisations reporting active ongoing efforts. Thinking ahead to the future, we asked workers three questions about culture change in their own workplace:
When workers responded with the three changes they’d most like to actually see, as shown in exhibit 11, topping the list was a greater emphasis on work-life balance, then more flexibility on the hours worked and changing to a 4-day work week. While these desires are consistent across all types of organisations, there are differences between the top change requested depending on cultural type. The highest proportion of people, at 39% from hierarchical cultures want a greater emphasis on work-life balance, compared to 33% of those from collaborative cultures, as shown below in Exhibit 12. However, when respondents were asked for the number one culture change that would make them feel happier at work, topping the list was wanting more flexibility to allow for different workstyles and preferred hours, with 29% of people. This was a standout response, the next most common change, with 22% of people responding, was more support around wellbeing and mental health. Options such as having more face-to-face contact or a wider variety of social activities all polled less than 10%. Given that work-life balance has been on the corporate agenda since at least the 1980s, these findings suggest the imposition of homeworking during the coronavirus pandemic has led to an intrusion of work into home life, and workers appear to want their workplaces to address this in-balance.
9%
A wider variety of work social options i.e. less alcohol, more diverse cultural experiences
8%
5%
More democratic approach to organising socialS
Other
Less emphasis on face-to-face working
Exhibit 11: The number one change people want in their workplace to make them feel happier at work Source: Newton research.
1. What changes are currently being planned in your workplace?
2. What are the top three changes you want to happen in your workplace?
CULTURE
TOP CHANGE REQUESTED
%
Exhibit 6: Percentage of workers answering: ‘At least sometimes’ to the question: ‘Does management in your workplace actively seek to employ people with different life experiences or backgrounds with the aim of creating a diverse workforce?’ Source: Newton research COLLABORATIVE A GREATER EMPHASIS ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE
33
3. What number one change would make you feel happier at work?
COMPETITIVE
CHANGING TO A FOUR-DAY WEEK
31
When we looked at the results for what changes are currently being planned in people’s workplaces, the most common initiatives (with each being listed by roughly 25% of those surveyed) were a greater emphasis on work-life balance, more flexibility on where we work, enhanced emotional and mental wellbeing support and more focus on skills training.
DYNAMIC
MORE FLEXIBILITY IN WORKING HOURS
33
HIERARCHICAL
A GREATER EMPHASIS ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE
39
Exhibit 12: Top change workers want to see in their workplace during 2023, by organisation culture type Source: Newton research.
22
23
CONCLUSION
Our research highlights some crucial themes for UK employers.
Here are some key takeways from the report:
One is that younger workers appear to be highly adaptable, often feeling more welcome in the working environment than their older peers Younger workers show to be more demanding in terms of EDI Here, the research highlights that there’s still challenges around diversity, with a higher proportion of workers identifying as having disabilities, or being neurodivergent, feeling uncomfortable discussing issues relating to their condition in their workplace
While the aim of this report is not to rank workplace culture types, it does highlight some key differences and how perceptions can differ across the same organisation depending on different characteristics. Nor does this research link employee attitudes, EDI and culture add directly to measures of success. Culture is something that can evolve and be nurtured, it is also often a reflection of an organisation’s mission.
We encourage leaders to consider this research in the light of their current organisational circumstances and strategy. For those seeking to delve deeper into these findings through expert insights, we highly recommend listening to the Newton Talks podcast. The latest season is dedicated to expanding on the topic of workplace culture. The show asks, how can you shape workplace culture to effectively serve the needs of your organisation? How do you lead a truly multi-generational workforce? And how do you prioritise care without sacrificing performance?
Awareness of the importance of culture is strongly related to corporate ethos. We asked respondents to classify their workplace cultures (explained further on pages 6 and 7), and only 35% of workers from hierarchical organisations stated they feel everyone is recognised fairly for their contributions, compared to 54% overall and 72% from collaborative or dynamic environments. Most respondents feel there is acceptance of gender and ethnic diversity in UK workplaces. Only 9% of respondents from ethnic minorities feel uncomfortable discussing ethnicity in the workplace and 50% of respondents say their workplace acknowledges intersectionality (or that some experiences of discrimination and oppression 6 overlap and intersect).
Despite this, almost a fifth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual and non-heterosexual/non-binary (LGBTQ+) respondents claim to have been frequently treated less favourably than their peers.
Most older workers appear to feel disconnected from modern company cultures, with 62% of 18-to-34-year-olds saying their cultural interests were accepted and encouraged in the workplace, compared to 54% among 35-to-54-year-olds and just 47% for those aged 55 and over.
SCAN THE CODE TO LISTEN TO ALL EPISODES
The top three things that employees are looking for at work are linked to flexibility and work-life balance. One of the top changes that employees want to see in the workplace, cited by 28% of respondents, is a four-day week.
Although there is a growing move to introduce culture change initiatives in organisations, a culture-add mindset has yet to transition to recruitment, with only 12% of employers looking for employees who can bring a different life experience to the workplace.
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REFERENCES
1 Office for National Statistics, October 7, 2022: Productivity overview, UK: April to June 2022. Available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/ employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/ articles/ukproductivityintroduction/2022-10-07. 2 Michael Roskams, Office for National Statistics, January 6, 2023: Sexual orientation, England and Wales: Census 2021. Available at https://www. ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/ bulletins/sexualorientationenglandandwales/census2021. 3 Amanda Sharfman and Pamela Cobb, Office for National Statistics, May 27, 2021: Sexual orientation, UK: 2019. Available at https://www.ons. gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/ bulletins/sexualidentityuk/2019. 4 Ginny Russell, Sal Stapley, Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, Andrew Salmon, Rhianna White, Fiona Warren, Anita Pearson and Tamsin Ford, Journal of Child Psychology and PsychiatryVolume 63, Issue 6 p. 674-68, August 19, 2021: Time trends in autism diagnosis over 20 years: a UK population- based cohort study. Available at https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13505. 5 Yoana Cholteeva, People Management, December 7, 2022: Half of employers don’t have an EDI strategy in place, CIPD research shows. Available at https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1807469/ half-employers-dont-edi-strategy-place-cipd-research-shows. 6 Bridie Taylor, Womankind Worldwide, November 24, 2019: Intersectionality 101: what is it and why is it important? Available at https://www.womankind.org.uk/intersectionality-101-what-is-it-and- why-is-it-important/.
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