“Strong leaders that cultivate employee engagement are sensitive to the full humanity of their employees”
A positive workplace culture and wellness is what employees want & need.
Employees increasingly want and expect to work in spaces that are conscious of social inequities, fully accommodate family commitments and work/personal life balance, and truly respect mental health needs. This can sound like a laundry list of responsibilities for conscientious organizational leaders, but it actually all hinges on one crucial imperative: an inclusive workplace culture that breeds positive employee engagement.
Workplace culture says it all…and does it all
What is workplace culture? In short, it’s the synergy of shared values, belief systems, attitudes, and sensibilities among co-workers. A positive culture inspires invested, engaged, dedicated employees. In contrast, a negative culture can create a toxic workplace and often fosters the spiral of problematic behaviors and dysfunctional organizational dynamics that make a place miserable and unproductive to work in. A toxic workplace comes about when power imbalances resulting from hierarchical managerial structures and social inequities stemming from racism, sexism, and heterosexism are allowed to run rampant. This may sound extreme, but it’s easy for it to happen because problematic workplace dynamics simply mimic those pervasive in broader society. So what’s the secret to achieving the former and avoiding the latter? Spoiler alert: It starts (or stalls) with your leadership approach!
Inclusive leadership skills will carry your organization forward.
Human resource experts can pinpoint specific characteristics of a strong workplace culture. For example, The O.C. Tanner Institute finds that a positive workplace culture boils down to six aspects, namely the fostering of:
The workplace consultancy firm Emtrain asserts that dealing with unconscious bias, maintaining equitable power dynamics, and leveraging social intelligence are key indicators shaping workplace culture. Likewise, a healthy workplace culture tends to depend on the daily presence of respectful leadership, transparent communication, and clear, equally applied performance standards where everyone is held similarly accountable.
Crucially, focusing on creating an inclusive culture is the key to your organization achieving all these positive attributes. Leadership development within your organization is a great place to start.
Inclusion is the gift that keeps on giving
It’s well-established that inclusive companies function better and are more successful in terms of business outcomes. But did you know that positive workplace cultures are also associated with employee satisfaction, engagement, retention, and well-being? That’s because inclusive leadership facilitates a sense of belonging for employees and makes them feel uniquely valued and appreciated, safe to express themselves, and personally empowered to work to their full potential.
This is especially important as workers increasingly rely on employers for emotional support–research shows that 90% of employees admit to performing better when their company supports their emotional wellness. And the sense of human connection that is fundamental to an inclusive culture is exactly what employees say they need to feel supported. Ultimately, inclusion underpins successful teamwork, where workers feel comfortable, connected, and have a strong sense of contributing to meaningful outcomes, boosting morale and making their jobs a more satisfying aspect of their lives.
Inclusive leaders support the emotional needs that reflect humanity.
Strong leaders that cultivate employee engagement are sensitive to the full humanity of their employees. They realize that while some stressors originate outside the workplace, employees are human beings whose experiences of distress, grief, or trauma aren’t compartmentalized. When a workplace culture isn’t inclusive, oppression endured both inside and outside the workplace takes an inevitable toll on mental health, disparately impacting and further marginalizing people of color, women, and LGBTQ community members. A truly inclusive workplace is therefore proactive, dedicated, and adaptive to all employees’ emotional needs, motivating attendance and even enhancing health. Indeed, employees with a strong sense of belonging even take 75% fewer sick days than those who feel excluded!
Do you envision your organization as a space where employees find refuge from stress and are eager to be? Inclusive leadership will make that possible, and everyone will benefit!
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“Strong leaders that cultivate employee engagement are sensitive to the full humanity of their employees”
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