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
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs