What makes a good working environment?
Defining a good working environment is a tricky task. Some people make noise in the office, while others prefer a deafening silence. So there will definitely be different views on what it means. However your employees prefer to work, a good working environment is, broadly speaking, the foundation for wellbeing and progress.
That includes the physical workspaces, the office lighting and indoor climate, as well as relationships with colleagues and management, and the workload. So a good working environment depends just as much on a good, stable company culture. That culture can boost each employee’s wellbeing and productivity and create a healthy working environment with good relationships across departments, supportive management and a manageable workload.
My 7 tips for a healthy working environment
A good working environment depends on both the formal and the informal structures that define a workplace. So you can think about both sides of the business, I’ve put together my 7 best tips for creating a healthy working environment:
- Talk to your employees
However many of you there are at work, it’s a good idea to talk about where you stand and what makes your particular workplace special. That way, you give your employees the chance to describe the environment in their own words. - Show your employees the way
It’s important to put the process into words, but actions count for even more. Your employees shouldn’t just know your mission, vision and values. As a leader, you have to show them the way, so you get there. - Innovation
When leaders are inclusive, employees are keener to share their opinions and ideas and to help make decisions at work. - Focus on team development
A strong team spirit, communication across departments and effective collaboration are a central part of a good working environment. There are lots of different tools you can use to strengthen relationships and build a better understanding of the behaviour and motivation of the different personalities in a workplace, including DISC profiles. - Spend time together outside work
Following on from team building, it’s a good idea to build your sense of community outside the workplace too. - Prioritise wellbeing
Focusing on each employee’s wellbeing is just as important as strengthening the community as a whole. So the workplace should encourage healthy habits and make sure employees dare to come to management with problems, at work or outside it, and feel listened to when they do. - Follow up on feedback
If you want your employees to share how they see the working environment, it’s a good idea for management to keep listening and to follow up on their feedback. This is especially true when decisions about the working environment have to be made, as employees’ experience is particularly relevant here.
Strengthen collaboration with DISC analysis
As I said, there are several different tools you can use to strengthen collaboration in your workplace. DISC analysis is a profiling tool used to assess personality, behaviour and motivation factors. It consists of a series of questions, and the answers then divide the people taking it into four broad personality types: dominance (D), influence (I), steadiness (S) and conscientiousness (C).
The analysis aims to help your team understand how you can make use of each other’s differences, and in that way strengthen collaboration and overall performance. It’s about getting the different personalities in the workplace to complement each other.
What we do at Webamp
At Webamp, I’ve focused on creating an informal workplace where creativity, trust and the freedom to shape the work and the agenda are part of everyday life. We have lots of different personalities, so it’s important that we take the time to make sure everyone is doing well and everyone is heard. We give high priority to initiatives that support personal wellbeing and professional development. That has given us a strong company culture where everyone values each other and each other’s differences. Today, Webamp is called Amplify.
Book me for a talk on company culture
My journey as an entrepreneur has taught me a lot about company culture, entrepreneurship, leadership and marketing. If you and your company are interested in booking an inspiring talk on company culture and how to create a good working environment, feel free to get in touch. Until then, you can listen to interesting conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership and company culture on my Danish-language business podcast, Den Nye Standard, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.