For a healthy organizational work culture, I have selected a company that we will call Movie Rental
Question:
For a healthy organizational work culture, I have selected a company that we will call Movie Rental Warehouse. This was the first job that I ever held and I truly loved being with this company. I believe that the aspect that generated this healthy culture was the fact that colleagues were challenged and rewarded for their hard work. "Engaged employees buy into, and have active role in creating, both the company's mission and team specific goals and accountabilities to achieve that mission. When work is rewarding and challenging, employees look for ways to do things better because they care about each other and the results that they are trying to deliver," (Mobilio, 2023). Each month employees were given a goal to reach in new memberships. If you were struggling to reach your goal, your colleagues and even the manager would jump in to help in any way they could. There were competitions in if you hit your goal for two consecutive months, you were given free movie rentals for an extra day off, or numerous other prizes that showed the organization's appreciation.
The second attribute that contributed to the healthy culture was the leadership values that each manager I came into contact with upheld. The leaders led by example and everyone was held to the same standard. They also were willing to provide extra training and were proactive about meeting with colleagues to address areas for improvement. Having this led to a culture in which leadership was aware of and practiced the company values and created an environment of trust (Heinz, 2022).
For the unhealthy organizational example, we will call the organization The Beauty School. This was my first position in higher education, I was hired to be an admissions representative. At the time I was nineteen years old, so while employed there, I did not realize that it was a toxic or unhealthy culture. My department was led by a woman we will call Ursula.
The two practices that I believe contributed to the unhealthy culture were the gossip that was a daily routine in the office. The gossip was often started by Ursula talking with her coordinator and then would spread through the entire office. "Gossip leads to unwanted cliques that divide your workforce, turning employees against each other and creating a culture of distrust," (Heinz, 2022). The gossip created two different cliques in the office. The first clique was Ursula's, and it was very obvious that you were not part of her group. The other clique were those that refused to participate in the gossip, sadly most of these colleagues were terminated over time. The second attribute that contributed to the unhealthy environment was the competition culture that was created by Ursula. While some competition is healthy in the workplace, "However, having competition as the focal point of your culture will breed animosity between employees," (Heinz, 2022). It was well known that Ursula had to have the highest enrollments each start. While I figured this was because she had been in the industry the longest and was a very good admissions representative, this was different. There were two sessions in which I beat her enrollment numbers, after the second time I was brought in to have a meeting for falsifying my enrollment numbers and pressuring students to enroll. After this meeting, I went to the president of the company and an investigation was launched. About a month later, Ursula was terminated.
To fix the gossip in the unhealthy environment, the President of the company should have addressed the entire company once the rumors had reached his ears. This could have been done via email or just setting expectations when it came to office etiquette. Doing this would have shown the colleagues and Ursula that leadership does not condone this type of behavior and is striving to create a healthy working environment (Heinz, 2022). I should have been proactive and expressed my concerns to Ursula or the President sooner, this could have aided in helping to eliminate the toxic environment. To address the unhealthy competition, Ursula should not have been in competition with her staff, instead, she should have, "Encouraged managers to recognize their direct reports' effort and reward their achievements with prizes centered on wellness, such as a comped fitness class, gift card to a favorite restaurant or an extra day off. Additionally, create a platform for individuals to congratulate and thank their coworkers for a job well done. This will motivate employees and encourage a team-oriented mindset," (Heinz, 2022).
QUESTION
- Ask a question about the examples of healthy and unhealthy organizational cultures that your colleague described.
- Ask a question about or share an insight you gained from the practices that either contributed to or detracted from the overall health of the organization your colleague described.
- Provide an additional recommendation for how an unhealthy practice your colleague identified could be handled differently to yield more positive organizational health outcomes.