Employees have to feel comfortable in order to achieve top performance. Every employer and employee will immediately sign this statement. What defines a good feel-good climate in the company? Is it just there at some point? A mixture of enjoying your job, your own satisfaction, and appreciative cooperation – an elusive emotion something? Who is actually responsible for the working atmosphere? And in the end, aren’t the hard numbers, data, and facts the decisive factor for the well-being of a company and thus also its employee.
For me, the working atmosphere is the absolutely necessary breeding ground for all kinds of emotions. How is the climate in German companies and why do most employees hand over a large part of their valuable repertoire of emotions to the reception every morning?
Freezing temperatures in German companies?
Maybe it’s because of my target group and I only hear the worst stories, but also the view of the employees in my circle of friends draws a similar picture: lack of appreciation, increasing pressure to perform, lack of recognition, no leadership, big punch and stabbing, everyone against everyone “I have to get out of there!” – with this goal of running away, almost all clients come to me.
Is it really that bad or do I have a distorted perception? Another indication for me is the enormous public interest in topics related to the so-called New Work, the working world of tomorrow.
There is no question. The working atmosphere has a high impact on the emotional state and on the productivity of employees. This can be measured in the form of absenteeism because a good working atmosphere ensures good health.
What do companies do? Large corporations regularly survey their satisfaction as part of employee surveys. The common consequences: poorly performing managers are prescribed coaching. Entire departments are put into team developments. Individual troublemakers are relocated or one separates in the best of mutual agreement. If things get really bad, the company or department strategy is tweaked.
Yes, we have been well aware of the strategy and efficiency programs from the past few years. But have you ever heard that a company (maybe yours?) Has launched a comprehensive company climate program that goes beyond a little health management here and employee fatigue there? Not me and my research has failed. The factors of culture and the working atmosphere on economic success have long been recognized by top management, but it seems to me that the big players, in particular, continue to look at new cultures with little help.
Is the working atmosphere a top priority?
Which department does the working atmosphere fall into? My impression from various current discussions is that there are very different opinions here. Especially those who I call frustrated Group victims have given up hope that top management can provide impulses for a changed working environment and thus for an improvement in the working atmosphere. The ways of thinking are perceived as too crusted, the corporate structures as barely maneuverable ocean liners.
Perhaps we-are-the-people initiatives work in some companies and this approach of rebellion is needed to make a difference, especially in large corporations. I am very skeptical, but why not try it out ?!
I take the view that the fish not only stinks from the head, but also that the positive changes can only be initiated from there and carried into the organization.
The CEO is the weather god of the working atmosphere.
Employees feel whether the big boss is in a bad or good mood and you don’t believe how quickly this spreads to an entire organization. A good working atmosphere must be practiced from above. Authentically, emotionally, by your own motivation and without the handbrake on. Past life alone is not enough. The culture must be accepted, supported and lived openly by managers and all employees.
The three decisive climate factors
If I stick to my perspective of the boss as a climate maker, then leadership is at the top for me as a success factor for a good working atmosphere. It forms the technical and at the same time emotional connection between management and base. This is about mutual cooperation, about trust, less and less about control, as well as communication and the mutual achievement of goals. As a task of modern leadership I see it as offering employees scope for self-fulfillment and personal responsibility, but at the same time creating a framework for action based on security and clarity. Healthy leadership also focuses on mindfulness, appreciation, and a healthy awareness of both the manager himself and the employees. The working atmosphere is largely determined by the understanding of leadership and leadership skills in an organization.
A specific system of values and goals has a positive effect on the working atmosphere.
All behavior of people within an organization is based on values and goals. Every company has a specific system of values and goals – sometimes written down in glossy brochures, sometimes anchored and lived more or less in the minds. In addition to the company’s value system, there are personal, individual values , and goals. If a company and personal values fit together to a certain extent and conflicts of values in communication and leadership are taken into account, this has a positive effect on the working atmosphere. (I know this is now fairly general and general, but a separate article could be written about conflicting values and goals.)
Another factor influencing the working atmosphere is the equipment of the workplace and the working environment . We spend most of the day there and it is important that we feel comfortable in this environment. Anyone who drives to the office every day disgusted by the moldy carpeting and rancid furniture will not perform well.
The workplace and the environment are the most popular tools for management to change the working atmosphere. “Let’s put a plant in the office for every employee and a water dispenser and coffee machine in every hall.” Oh, if you really want to be up to date, then run hammock zones, kickers, the fitness center on the roof, and fresh things every day Fruit a. Seriously: Is it easy to buy a good working atmosphere with money? If I take a look at the annual reports and career pages, then yes. But let’s be honest: these are all fine gifts that sweeten the work and also drive up the value of the employer brand, but the reality often looks very different despite luxury offices and daycare centers!
A good working atmosphere is the breeding ground for emotions
Emotions are always a side effect of something. Anger or frustration as a result of unjust leadership, joy after a successful presentation, feelings of happiness after the completion of a project, fear of a difficult conversation with the boss, fun working in a team, or sadness when farewell colleagues leave on the last working day. Each of us is constantly feeling emotions and it doesn’t matter whether we are private or at work.
In my view, a good working atmosphere is characterized in particular by the fact that it allows emotions. And I go one step further: A good working atmosphere promotes emotions. There is freedom for any expression of emotion and it normalizes it.
Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to say that it should be normal, that your boss bangs your fist on the table every day and yells at you with rage, nor that emotions are lost as normal in everyday life. I make it clear with an example: Some people cry when they are coaching me. They feel ashamed when the tears flow down their cheeks and often they say “I’m embarrassed now” or “I was determined not to cry here.” I have handkerchiefs in the drawer and hand them over to them. Of course, dealing with the situation as a matter, of course, is enough to signal “It’s okay.” Sometimes I say it exactly the same way. I perceive
This space does not exist in many companies today. “Now pull yourself together!” That or something similar is the frequent reaction of bosses when employees e.g. B. After a bad assessment, tear your eyes. Many bosses and employees cannot deal with certain emotions when they appear in the job today. It is uncomfortable for them, they are insecure and do not know how to react. It’s a shame, because that’s how we learned to quickly sweep a lot of our emotions under the carpet at work – in the belief that we can’t show them. But it is only the variety of emotions in the company that creates more values.
So why should we suppress eight or more hours a day in the job what we actually feel and thus permanently cut ourselves off emotionally? Why should we only make decisions rationally in the job, when most of the decision theorists now agree that good decisions are a mix of head and headGut decision are? Why shouldn’t we jump across the hall for joy when we have done something well and are proud of it? Why don’t we sometimes hug the boss when we feel like it? Why shouldn’t we cry when we are sad or emotionally moved? Apparently there are a number of emotions in the job that are taboo. They often have to do with weakness, joy or closeness. We were taught to control ourselves in certain situations because …
You do not do that!
These emotions have lost nothing in the job!
Professionals don’t show feelings – especially not as a man!
As long as these wisdom prevail in your company and also in your head, you should continue to sit on the new desk and the orchids at the reception to celebrate a good working atmosphere.
Allow all emotions in the company! It may be unusual at the beginning, but if the right working atmosphere prevails in the company, this will not only enrich you personally but also your colleagues, employees, and the entire company.
And here the circle closes on the facts, figures and figures: motivating employees to achieve top performance and enthusing customers for their own products and services requires emotions. Create a new working atmosphere and use the full strength of the variety of emotions in the company to let them work outside.
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