Promoting a positive workplace culture .

Workplace culture is created from the attitudes and behaviours of people working within an organisation. It’s the character and personality of the organisation. It’s made up of your organisation’s leadership, values, traditions and beliefs, and the behaviours and attitudes of the people in it. Having a positive workplace culture is vital to delivering high-quality care and support. A positive workplace culture begins with clear values, which are evident throughout the organisation. 

values? 

Values are fundamental beliefs that influence the way that we live our lives, our decisions and our actions. They are developed throughout our lives and will be influenced by our family, friends, workplace and culture. Values can change because of life experiences, for example, becoming a parent may change what we value and how we behave or many people who have experienced cancer or other life threatening diseases describe how their values and approach to life have changed as a result. Values are held deep within us and are our natural measurement of right and wrong. Recruiting people who share the values of the organisation will support a positive workplace culture. Values are set and modelled by the leadership team. Part of your role as nominated individual is to be as an example of the values held by the organisation. 

What values are important? 

Examples of values that support positive workplace culture in social care include: 

■ kindness 

■ compassion 

■ dignity and respect 

■ openness and honesty 

■ team player 

■ committed to service excellence 

■ desire to be the best version of oneself. 

Values are the roots that support the company culture. If the roots are strong and healthy, then a positive workplace culture can flourish. If the roots are weak, there is no mutual support or resilience during times of stress and change, so the workplace culture will diminish. When the values of an organisation are not robust, and leadership is weak, it creates a vacuum which can be filled by individuals with strong characters and toxic values. A number of techniques will help to embed a positive culture in the organisation.

■ values-based recruitment 

■ embedding values into training 

■ using Nudge techniques to embed a positive workplace culture 

■ role modelling and “living the culture”.