When it comes to a productive workplace, one of the most important elements to consider is cultivating a culture of work ethic.
For an organization to be successful, everyone needs to do their part to make sure that the job they’re assigned is being done well. The problem is, some employees may not consider this – that’s why workplace culture is so important.
Motivating Employees
To motivate employees to do their jobs effectively, everyone needs to understand the company vision and why it’s important.
Does the company make a difference? If so, how does it do this?
For example, let’s look at a coffee shop. As a small business, coffee shops employ baristas, cashiers, and other individuals to keep it running smoothly. For a coffee shop employee , they may just look at it as a place to work eight hours a day to make rent for that month.
But what if the culture created an employee who was excited to go to work every day?
Shared Purpose
No matter the industry, we can safely assume that whatever duties most employees perform during the week are done repetitively. It can get quite boring, monotonous, and eventually tiring…
…unless the company culture is centered around accomplishing an important mission and realizing a company vision.
The truth is, people want to feel as if they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. That’s why a company vision – which nurtures a high work ethic – is so important.
As an example, let’s use the same coffee shop mentioned above. What could its company mission and vision look like to nurture a sense of belonging and shared purpose?
The most obvious part of this vision is that they sell coffee and pastries to help the locals wake up for the day. This might be considered their mission, and their company vision fuels employee motivation.
For this coffee shop, their company vision may be to support local musicians by hosting weekly concerts. The coffee shop employees may also help support the visual arts community by featuring their work on the coffee shop walls.
Expanding on their vision, the coffee shop management may be more involved in the community by donating a portion of their profits to benefit animal shelters in the area.
All of these actions taken to realize a company vision help support employee work ethic and motivation throughout each workday.
Leading The Way
Now that we’ve covered the importance of a company vision and what it could look like, how does one actually go about building a “work ethic culture” among employees?
It starts with being an example to those under your leadership.
Credit: Scott Adams | Dilbert.com
Nobody likes a lazy manager, especially a mean one that micromanages everyone. Have you ever had someone in charge of you who didn’t seem to care about their job, team, or other aspects of their position?
It’s not very encouraging, and it’s one of the reasons why employee turnover is so high.
At the bare minimum, be an example to those under your supervision. Great leaders lead by example – be a motivating manager, supervisor, team lead, or whatever position you’re in, and your employees will follow.
To properly foster a work ethic culture among employees, an example must be set from owners, CEOs, supervisors, managers, team leads, and other leaders within an organization.
Sense Of Belonging
In some industries, it can be challenging to convey the company mission to employees because the work is stressful and repetitive. This is where a sense of belonging can help support an employee’s motivation levels so that they still feel like they’re important.
Small businesses may be able to accomplish this more easily, as the size of their company can feel more intimate to employees with better communication in the organization.
However, bigger companies may struggle with creating a sense of importance to the organization for each individual. This can be overcome by creating small teams, meeting regularly, and rewarding employees for their hard work on a regular basis.
Prioritize Work Ethic Culture
To create a work ethic culture, employees need to feel important. An organization can do this by emphasizing the importance of the company vision, and remind employees consistently about how their work contributes to this. Organizations can also foster a sense of belonging that helps employees through stressful days, personal issues, and other problems.
If employees are not motivated, this could cause high turnover rates and lethargy throughout a company. Remember: the culture is what keeps employees motivated and maintains their work ethic.In short, when employees feel unimportant to their employer, they won’t feel that their work is important either.
