by The work culture represents the ideologies, principles, policies and beliefs of the organization. The individual’s style of working, his behaviour and ways of interaction also contribute to the culture of the organization.
There are several reasons which lead to a change in the organization culture. Change in management, poor financial conditions, revisions in goals and targets bring a change in the culture of the organization.
Accepting changes in the work culture is the toughest thing to do for an employee. Not all employees can happily adapt to organizational changes.
Employees need time to cope up with a new culture. Miracles can’t happen overnight and habits do not change all of a sudden. The employees must spend some time to understand and adjust to the new culture. One should work with an open mind and willingly accept things. Don’t always crib as it leads to no solution. The employees must try their level best to accept the changes with a smile and work accordingly. One should never be in a rush. The management must also give time to the employees for them to gel with the new culture. Don’t pressurize anyone to accept changes all of a sudden.
The employees must design new strategies, new plan of actions and policies to meet the new challenges. Try to find out the exact reasons for the change. The ideas which were successful earlier might now fall out of place. One should not be adamant. Sit with your team leader, discuss all possible options and try to implement something which would work best in the new culture and benefit you as well as your organization.
An employee must change his behaviour and thought process as per the culture. It is essential to be flexible. Being adaptable at the workplace always pays in the long run. Remember everything happens for the best. One should always try to look at the positive aspects of life rather than cribbing on things which are beyond anyone’s control.
A common set up where individuals from different back grounds, educational qualifications, interests and perception come together and use their skills to earn revenue is called an organization. The successful functioning of an organization depends on the effort put by each employee. Each individual has to contribute his level best to accomplish the tasks within the desired time frame.
Every organization has a unique style of working which is often called its culture. The beliefs, policies, principles, ideologies of an organization form its culture.
The culture of the organization is nothing but the outcome of the interaction among the employees working for quite some time. The behaviour of the individual with his fellow workers as well as external parties forms the culture. The management style of dealing with the employees in its own way also contributes to the culture of the organization.
Employees working for a considerable amount of time in any particular organization tend to make certain rules and follow some policies as per their convenience and mutual understanding. Such policies and procedures practised by the employees for a long time to make the workplace a happier place form the culture. The culture often gives the employees a sense of direction at the workplace. Organization culture however can never be constant. It changes with time.
A change in the management changed the entire style of working.
Reasons for changes in work culture
- A new management, a new team leader, a new boss brings a change in the organization culture. A new employee but obvious would have new ideas, concepts and try his level best to implement them. He would want the employees to work according to him. His style of working, behaviour and ideologies would definitely bring a change in the work culture.
- Financial loss, bankruptcy, market fluctuations also lead to change in the work culture of the organization. When an organization runs into losses, it fails to give rewards and appraisals to the employees as it used to give earlier.
- Acquiring new clients might cause a change in the work culture. The employees might have to bring about a change in their style of working to meet the expectations of the new clients.
- The employees on their own might realize that they need to bring a change in their attitude, perception and style of working to achieve the targets at a much faster rate. Such self-realization also changes the work culture.
There are several factors which affect the organization culture:
- The first and the foremost factor affecting culture is the individual working with the organization. The employees in their own way contribute to the culture of the workplace. The attitudes, mentalities, interests, perception and even the thought process of the employees affect the organization culture.
- Example: Organizations which hire individuals from army or defence background tend to follow a strict culture where all the employees abide by the set guidelines and policies. The employees are hardly late to work. It is the mindset of the employees which forms the culture of the place. Organizations with majority of youngsters encourage healthy competition at the workplace and employees are always on the toes to perform better than the fellow workers.
- The sex of the employee also affects the organization culture. Organizations where male employees dominate the female counterparts follow a culture where late sitting is a normal feature. The male employees are more aggressive than the females who instead would be caring and softhearted.
- The nature of the business also affects the culture of the organization. Stock broking industries, financial services, banking industry are all dependent on external factors like demand and supply, market cap, earning per share and so on. When the market crashes, these industries have no other option than to terminate the employees and eventually affect the culture of the place. Market fluctuations lead to unrest, tensions and severely demotivate the individuals. The management also feels helpless when circumstances can be controlled by none. Individuals are unsure about their career as well as growth in such organizations.
- The culture of the organization is also affected by its goals and objectives. The strategies and procedures designed to achieve the targets of the organization also contribute to its culture.
- Individuals working with government organizations adhere to the set guidelines but do not follow a procedure of feedback thus forming its culture. Fast paced industries like advertising, event management companies expect the employees to be attentive, aggressive and hyper active.
- The clients and the external parties to some extent also affect the work culture of the place. Organizations catering to UK and US Clients have no other option but to work in shifts to match their timings, thus forming the culture.
- The management and its style of handling the employees also affect the culture of the workplace. There are certain organizations where the management allows the employees to take their own decisions and let them participate in strategy making. In such a culture, employees get attached to their management and look forward to a long-term association with the organization. The management must respect the employees to avoid a culture where the employees just work for money and nothing else. They treat the organization as a mere source of earning money and look for a change in a short span of time.
