By Christian D. Malesic
Company culture was all the rage. Then businesses sacrificed culture on the Work From Home (WFH) altar for reductions in employee and office expenses, gaining short-term record profits.
But long-term effects have been devastating on the workforce. As the Great Resignation claims more and more top talent and corporate loyalty sinks to an all-time low, we must again ask: does a strong corporate culture lead to happier employees with blossoming retention; brand growth; and, eventually, skyrocketing profits?
In the 2010s, “corporate culture” became the buzz phase of business. As the decade progressed, legions of keynote speakers and authors made their names and fortunes heralding the benefits of creating an environment of loyalty where employees became teams, offices transformed into creative spaces, and culture became the loyalty glue that kept it all together. The biggest companies in the world, in Silicon Valley and beyond, built their brands on the backs of this ancient concept that had taken the executive office by storm. From there, it spread like wildfire to change the planet by changing the board room then the cubicle farm. But where is culture in business now?
Synergistic Evolution
The pandemic created an “evolve or die” conundrum. Many small businesses, especially the traditional brick-and-mortar types, faded into the pages of history without the necessary cash reserves to survive the trajectory-altering health catastrophe. more here
Force folks to go into the office after all you’ve done to them with forced masking, forced vaccinations, etc. and you will likely see poor productivity evolve into outright sabotage.
My husband and most in his office get more done at home. Only the managers want to go back
If I have a choice, I would rather go to a small business rather than some behemoth that doesn’t care about me or the country.
All this “corporate culture” junk makes me throw up a little. It’s all twaddle and words, created by HR people and their hired consultants. See, HR is a COST/EXPENSE center so the only way for the top honcho to get a bonus or a boost in title is for them to come up with “metrics” to demonstrate some sort of REVENUE enhancement. It’s entirely smoke and mirrors. The only legitimate “culture” for any company ought to be to make money. Period. If it’s coddling everyone and not making the youngest workers embrace the idea of growing up, maturing in their skills, and getting smarter at what they do, then it’s a total waste of time.
I remember back in the 80’s, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) was the tech company to emulate if you wanted to keep good people. Here’s what their “culture” was all about:
EDS culture: – “Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.” – Ross Perot – “What is an EDSer? An EDSer is a person that goes anywhere, anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to make sure that EDS is the finest computer service company in the world and that nobody beats us in competition.”
As a recruiter, I had my best picks of where I would introduce an EDS-er. No manager in their right mind would not want to meet one. They’d make room if they had to.
Work from home or the office? It only matters if the company’s “culture” is to be the best at what they do. And what that mission is, is the most important message employees need to understand. Give ’em more money for excellence, not free pop, Nerf games, dogs at work, and the rest of the drek.
Not everyone can work from home well but a lot of companies have learned they can reward employees that can with flexible schedules and they can eliminate a lot of corporate travel. It exposes the arrogance of those that thought they could just shut it all down and restart it at will. Too many companies are never going back to anything but absolutely necessary corporate travel particularly going into a recession. And now lots of people are fighting going back to the office and paying $5 or more a gallon to get there.
I’ve worked from home for the past 9 years, and I love it. I can live wherever I want, and I don’t have to put up with the usual office bullshit. Plus, my coworkers are spared from my Gunnery Sgt. Hartman stream of invective when things go to shit.
Mr Illustr8r works remotely often and is dealing with how millennials interpret what work is. They’re perception of work and working hard is to always replying to team messages first-and to post messages early morning/late night so it looks like you are putting in long hours.
Meanwhile, Mr Illustr8r works early and late and has concrete evidence of actual work. Since he doesn’t play that game sometimes it’s all for naught. Buzzwords and fast thumbs get more credit for a job well done. Absolutely maddening.
The old corporate culture is dead, and while the pandemic and the necessity of working from home helped kill it, it cannot be resurrected because the new generation won’t let employers return to the old ways. The new generation(s) communicate and socialize electronically. They send texts, they send emails, they use social media to interact with others, they play video games with each other online, and they even find significant others online. The smart phone is not a convenience; it is now a necessity of life.
Prior to the Covid mess, we required our employees to come into the office. We found that there was nothing like the physical interaction of folks in the workplace. Yes, there was some lost productivity due to bullshit sessions in the break room, but getting to know co-workers and being able to walk down the hall to discuss a problem with someone else was invaluable.
Electronic communication and socialization is the genie that folks like Zuckerberg, Jobs, Dorsey, and the other tech innovators let out of the bottle. Companies won’t build loyalty by now forcing people back into the office; they will continue to foster resentment instead.
I worked entirely from home for over 15 years. They couldn’t pay me enough to cross the bridges (from Seattle) to go to the eastside! I think I drove there 3 times in that period. They were billed for the drive time.
The kind of work I did made it obvious if I was doggin’ it, but I loved what I did and it never occurred to me to waste my time. Early hours, late evenings and weekends, if absolutely necessary.
Our daughter is a financial analyst in an operational role with a tech consulting company. She’d just started with them and was only onsite 3 weeks before they sent everyone home to work and she’s never had an onsite office since. After about a year she moved from Seattle to Brooklyn (one of her long-time wishes) to “experience” NYC. That was last November. In the interim she has traveled worldwide for fun. I remember pointedly asking her how she was able to work and get all that skiing in at Whistler. She said that as long as she meets her manager’s goals, they’re good with it. What a life! And they keep throwing more and more money and promotions at her! She has a good work ethic, but it’s been a bed roses for her since graduating college and I wonder how she (and others like her) will do if there is a serious downturn.
woke-orations, suck dick