For most of my working years, the only definition of culture I was familiar with was that relating to civilizations of ancient peoples living in different countries. But at the peak of my career, a job of 13 years finally brought me nose-to-nose with the more elusive occurrence of culture, specifically in the context of “workplace culture”. That job finally gave me a true taste of what workplace culture actually is, and how well hidden and elusive it can be. Bravo; Now I fully understood and felt “workplace CULTURE”.
Workplace Culture exists in any company, organization or even a small group. It is safe to say that as long as a human is involved, there will be some form of workplace culture present, from the simplest out-in-front as written or the deeper, more elusive culture, that easily forgoes any acknowledgement or recognition by most employees. Some workplace cultures may be easily spotted within weeks. But in some organizations, the workplace culture may be so subtle, and so deeply embedded, that it may take months, even several years to fully observe and identify the presence and acting workplace culture.
To confirm a specific attribute of workplace culture, it may take events such as promotions to solidify a suspicion of a workplace culture trait. Simply, by looking at the historical, analyzing and simply asking, “Who and how are those employees promoted, once can decipher what is probably a workplace culture attribute. Also, many people, as I witnessed first-hand, may be totally oblivious and indifferent to the existing workplace culture. As the saying goes, “there are none so blind as those who fail to see“. But with me being detailed, technical, very observant and always interested in how things work, or don’t work, I was able to connect those dots, as they occurred over time along with starting to see replicating patterns. And in my particular job role and responsibility, that workplace culture was a major hurdle I could not overcome. I ran into it like hitting a brick wall, nose first.
So you ask, “What is workplace culture?”
My own definition goes, “the unwritten and informal operation of process, or modus operandi, that exists and is given full operational support, without the slightest of challenge or critique thereof “. Workplace culture can be easily ignored, go unchallenged and unquestioned, by all those in the perimeter of senior ranks. Senior staff become fully complicit in the continuance of such workplace culture, despite that workplace culture being negative, not fair, just, moral, and detrimental to the efficient operation of the company.
My main role in that 13 year job, was as the sole manager of a standards group. I was tasked with devising, testing, documenting, managing and facilitating, along with training employees, on the correct execution of that operational standards process for all to follow. But many times, staff that needed a component, just did what they felt, ignoring the process I had formalized, rolled out and adhered to. In short, my initial definition of that specific workplace culture I was coming up against, after observing a recurring pattern emerging with that practice, was simply, “people do what they want . . . . when they want . . . . any way they please“. And I state that definition not to be facetious. For one, not only was it true, but secondly, stating that definition in my head, that short definition gave me much comic relief with humor to carry on and not take it personally. Yes, there were a few people who were diligent in following my process, with me listening to their every feedback and always tweaking to make the process as easy and efficient for the employees as possible. I also realized that I too was becoming complicit. But short of leaving, there was nothing I could do. That practice, I concluded, was one of many workplace culture attributes that existed within this company I worked for.
After approximately 1 year after rolling out my new process, I realized I cannot change that culture and specifically, how that workplace culture is used to ignore my process. That workplace culture becomes another unwritten rule you do not tamper with. It is sacred and to be followed. Fortunately, what saved me from reprimand was that many in senior roles around me, did not hold me responsible or take me to task for the clear and obvious failure of my process by most who touched it. They already knew and understood that what was being witnessed was their specific workplace culture. After observing that response and how it was easily glossed over, I never made any big deal about it and just continued by patiently following through, trying to facilitate my process properly.
A secondary revelation and learning I discovered is that there may be little impetus to change that workplace culture, in the case where a negative workplace culture facet is patterned. There also seemed to be little interest to change that negative workplace culture practice, despite clearly being counterproductive. No one in senior management ranks may ever see justification to change that facet, simply because, “Well every company has a culture. And having a culture is good. So there is no need to change it. Workplace culture is such that it is in a safe haven, of just being, and not being either good or bad.
In other cases, I doubt “the leaders” would really want to change some unwritten aspect of workplace culture. Remember, some, perhaps most leaders are where they are because of some aspect of their specific workplace culture. For that reason they may be very hesitant, if not totally against even attempting to touch or change that cultural aspect. The number one rule, thus becomes, not to touch a workplace cultural aspect, and instead, fully protect it. And if they are pushed they may resort to that age old adage, “if it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it”. They will then spend endless amounts of time defending and proving that a workplace culture attribute is broken.
Discovering workplace culture can be a fun exercise. It is a big part of getting to know the company you are working at. Identifying and verifying a pattern is key. In some cases it can lead you to identify how to advance within the company. In other instances, it may just lead you towards a stress free workday, and preventing you from repetitively banging your head against a wall. Perhaps people that rise quickly within the ranks are those who have identified what the workplace culture is, and most importantly, how to put it to their personal use in their position or role. The sooner you identify it, the better off you will be.
